Winter Malting Barley Growth, Yield, and Quality following Leguminous Cover Crops in the Northeast United States

Abstract

There is growing interest in malting barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) production in the Northeastern United States. This crop must meet high quality standards for malting but can command a high price if these quality thresholds are met. A two-year field experiment was conducted from 2015 to 2017 to evaluate the impact of two leguminous cover crops, sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea L.) and crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.), on subsequent winter malting barley production. Four cover crop treatments—sunn hemp (SH), crimson clover (CC), sunn hemp and crimson clover mixture (SH + CC), and no cover crop (NC)—were grown before planting barley at three seeding rates (300, 350, and 400 seeds m−2). SH and SH + CC produced significantly more biomass and residual nitrogen than the CC and NC treatments. Higher barley seeding rates led to higher seedling density and winter survival. However, the subsequent spring and summer barley growth metrics, yield, and malting quality were not different in any of the treatments. There is much left to investigate in determining the best malting barley production practices in the Northeastern United States, but these results show that winter malting barley can be successfully integrated into crop rotations with leguminous plants without negative impacts on barley growth, yield, and grain quality.