Stale seedbed production of soybeans with a wheat cover crop

Stale seedbed planting is a technique soybean producers have begun to adopt for the clay soils of the Delta. It is defined as planting in a smooth, weedy, but not recently disturbed seedbed. On these clay soils of the Delta, erosion may be a problem if a fall or winter tillage operation is necessary to smooth the seedbed, leaving no soil cover from residue or vegetation during the rainy, winter season. Wheat was investigated as a cover crop. Wheat as a cover crop did provide sufficient soil cover from vegetation, although in most years natural winter vegetation also was sufficient. Wheat as a cover crop did not affect soybean yields in any year of three experiments conducted over 6 years.