Volunteer corn arising from unharvested kernels in fields is a common problem that reduces yield of crops like soybean in intensive rotational agricultural systems. Over the last decade, farmers in the Midwestern United States have increased use of cover crops to improve soil health and suppress weeds in corn‐soybean rotational agriculture. We assessed whether the fate of unharvested corn kernels in cover‐cropped fields differed from fields without cover crops. After the 2018 harvest season, we recorded overwinter removal and spring 2019 germination of corn kernels from plots in six fields in Tippecanoe county, west‐central Indiana, United States. We used mixed effects logistic regression to model the role of a cereal rye cover crop, bare ground, soil drainage class, distance from field edge, and average height of vegetation on mortality of kernels. Probability of kernel absence from a plot was greater in fields planted to cover crops (0.93–0.98) than in no‐till fields without cover crops (0.53–0.85). Distance from field edge was positively related to kernel loss in cover‐cropped fields, but negatively related to loss in fields without cover crops. Within cover‐cropped fields, kernel removal near field edges increased to levels comparable to field interiors only for plots with >15% bare ground. Cover crops substantially reduced survival of corn kernels that serve as prospective volunteer corn, consistent with increased foraging activity and use of cover‐cropped fields by vertebrate seed predators.

中文翻译：

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覆盖作物田地未收获玉米的越冬存活率降低

在田间集约化农业系统中，未收获的玉米籽粒产生的志愿玉米是一个普遍的问题，它降低了大豆等农作物的产量。在过去的十年中，美国中西部的农民在玉米-大豆轮作农业中增加了使用遮盖作物的产量，以改善土壤健康并抑制杂草。我们评估了在没有覆盖作物的田地中未收获的玉米粒的命运是否不同于没有覆盖作物的田地。在2018年收获季节之后，我们记录了美国印第安纳州中西部地区Tippecanoe县六个田地中玉米粒的越冬清除和2019年春季发芽的情况。我们使用了混合效应Logistic回归模型来模拟谷物黑麦覆盖作物，裸露地面，土壤排水类别，距田间边缘的距离，和平均植被高度对籽粒死亡率的影响。在没有覆盖作物的免耕田地上，覆盖农作物的田间缺少籽粒的概率更大（0.93-0.98）。距耕地边缘的距离与被覆作物田的籽粒损失成正相关，但与不覆盖作物的田地的损失呈负相关。在有盖作物的田地中，仅对裸露地面> 15％的田地，田间边缘附近的谷粒去除率增加到与田间内部相当的水平。覆盖作物大大减少了用作前途自愿玉米的玉米粒的存活，这与增加的觅食活动和脊椎动物种子捕食者对覆盖作物田的利用相一致。98）比没有覆盖作物的免耕田地（0.53-0.85）。距耕地边缘的距离与被覆作物田的籽粒损失成正相关，但与不覆盖作物的田地的损失呈负相关。在有盖作物的田地中，仅对裸露地面> 15％的田地，田间边缘附近的谷粒去除率增加到与田间内部相当的水平。覆盖作物大大减少了用作前途自愿玉米的玉米粒的存活，这与增加的觅食活动和脊椎动物种子捕食者对覆盖作物田的利用相一致。98）比没有覆盖作物的免耕田地（0.53-0.85）。距耕地边缘的距离与被覆作物田的籽粒损失成正相关，但与不覆盖作物的田地的损失呈负相关。在有盖作物的田地中，仅对裸露地面> 15％的田地，田间边缘附近的谷粒去除率增加到与田间内部相当的水平。覆盖作物大大减少了用作前途自愿玉米的玉米粒的存活，这与增加的觅食活动和脊椎动物种子捕食者对覆盖作物田的利用相一致。仅对于裸露地面> 15％的地块，田间边缘附近的籽粒去除率增加到与田间内部相当的水平。覆盖作物大大减少了用作前途自愿玉米的玉米粒的存活，这与增加的觅食活动和脊椎动物种子捕食者对覆盖作物田的利用相一致。仅对于裸露地面> 15％的地块，田间边缘附近的籽粒去除率增加到与田间内部相当的水平。覆盖作物大大减少了用作前途自愿玉米的玉米粒的存活，这与增加的觅食活动和脊椎动物种子捕食者对覆盖作物田的利用相一致。