Episode 205. Inoculating Legume Cover Crops

In this episode of Voices from the Field, Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Colin Mitchell who works out of NCAT’s Southwest Regional Office in San Antonio, Texas, sits down with Stephanie Kasper, a biology research associate at University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley, to discuss ways to ensure successful nodulation of legume cover crops. In a crop rotation, legume cover crops have the potential to add bioavailable nitrogen to the soil for the next crop and to reduce the need for chemical fertilizers.

Colin and Stephanie discuss how to inoculate cover crops, legume cover crop planting tips, and troubleshooting potential causes of nodulation failure in leguminous cover crops.

This podcast is produced through the ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture program under a cooperative agreement with USDA Rural Development. Colin has worked with Stephanie on NCAT’s Subtropical Soil Health Initiative, funded by a USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Conservation Innovation Grant.

Related ATTRA Resources:

Cover Crop Options for Hot and Humid Climates

Soil Health and the Five Soil Health Principles

Using Cover Crops to Sequester Carbon

Overview of Cover Crops and Green Manures

Other Resources:

Abiotic and Biotic Limitations to Nodulation by Leguminous Cover Crops in South Texas

For more information on this topic, you can contact Colin Mitchell directly via email at colinm@ncat.org.

Please complete a brief survey to let us know your thoughts about the content of this podcast.

You can get in touch with NCAT/ATTRA specialists and find our other extensive, and free, sustainable-agriculture publications, webinars, videos, and other resources at NCAT/ATTRA’s website.