Cover crop

A plant crop grown mainly to protect or improve soil rather than to harvest. Cover crops are often planted between growing seasons or alongside a main crop.

Living mulch: A plant cover maintained among or beneath a main crop to suppress weeds and protect soil. It is the cover-crop strategy that remains alive during the main crop’s growth.
Cereal rye: A winter-growing cereal grain commonly planted for forage, grain, or soil cover. Its rapid growth and winter hardiness make it a widely used cover crop.
Soil erosion: The displacement of soil by water, wind, or other forces. Living cover and roots reduce the exposure that allows erosion to remove topsoil.
Cash crop: A crop grown primarily for sale or other economic return. A cash crop is harvested for its product; a cover crop is grown chiefly for soil benefits.
Green manure: Plant material grown and incorporated into soil to add organic matter and nutrients. Some cover crops are terminated and incorporated to improve soil fertility.
Crimson clover: An annual legume with crimson flowers, used for forage, pollinator habitat, and soil improvement. It provides winter cover and can contribute biologically fixed nitrogen.
Soil organic matter: The carbon-rich material in soil derived from living organisms and their remains. Cover-crop roots and residues can add organic matter as they decompose.
Crop rotation: The planned sequence of different crops on the same land over time. Cover crops can fill gaps in a rotation without replacing the main harvested crops.
Nitrogen fixation: The conversion of atmospheric nitrogen gas into biologically usable nitrogen compounds. Legume cover crops can add nitrogen through symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
Oilseed radish: A fast-growing radish cultivated for its large taproot, seed, or forage. Its deep taproot is used to explore compacted soil and capture nutrients.

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