Intercropping Tillage Radish and Wheat for Improving Nutrient Cycling, Soil Properties and Yield

The purpose of this award is for VA Tech to assess and demonstrate intercropping wheat with forage radish to obtain commercially viable wheat yield, while also realizing the benefits of forage radish: which include nutrient scavenging, decreasing soil compaction, keeping the soil covered, energizing with diversity and maximizing living roots. The specific objectives of this project are: (1) Determine if forage radish intercropped with wheat negatively affects wheat stand, tiller development or yield, (2) Evaluate if residual soil nitrogen (N) increases radish competitiveness in winter wheat. Also, investigate the potential for forage radish to scavenge excess nitrogen from a failed corn crop and then provide that N to a following wheat crop, (3) Examine the ability of forage radish to decrease soil compaction, and (4) - Evaluate herbicidal control options for overwintering forage radish in winter wheat.