Cuphea Production and Management - Industrial Crops: Breeding for BioEnergy and Bioproducts - page 305

In another 4-year rotation study conducted by Gesch et al. [ 9 ], 2-year rotational
sequences of cuphea with corn, soybean, and spring wheat were evaluated. In this
study, seed yields of cuphea were unaffected by the previous crop, and vice-versa,
corn, wheat, and soybean yields were unaffected by cuphea. However, wheat stand
establishment was consistently 17 % greater and grain crude protein content was
significantly higher when wheat followed cuphea in rotation as compared with
following corn or soybean. This response was attributed to nitrate N remaining in
the soil following cuphea harvest, which in part may be due to the low C-to-N ratio
of its plant material causing it to decompose quicker, thus allowing N available
early in the growing season for the next crop. When cuphea was the previous crop,
it left more moisture in the soil profile for the next crop than soybean and was
equivalent to that of wheat. Cuphea was found to slightly negatively affect soybean
stands, although this was not reflected in grain yield.
Gesch et al. [ 9 ] also evaluated the economics of cuphea in rotation and reported
that the cost of cuphea production averaged $172 ha 1 less than corn and $118 and
$126 ha 1 higher than soybean and wheat, respectively. However, since that study
was conducted, more has been learned about fertility and harvest management of
cuphea, which have greatly reduced the input cost of its production, bringing it
more in line with that of wheat. In the Gesch et al. [ 9 ] study averaged across years,
cuphea was not found to be profitable at a price less than $1,830 mt 1 for its seed.
Nevertheless, it did provide rotational benefits, with net returns for corn and
soybean following cuphea comparable to other non-monoculture sequences and
greater than corn or soybean grown continuously. It was concluded that cuphea fits
well in rotation with corn, wheat, and soybean but may fit best when rotated after
soybean and before wheat or corn.
References
1. Thompson AE. Cuphea - a potential new crop. HortScience. 1984;19:352-4.
2. Johnson JMF, Coleman MD, Gesch RW, Jaradat AA, Mitchell R, Reicosky DC, Wilhelm
WW. Biomass-bioenergy crops in the United States: a changing paradigm. Am J Plant Sci
Biotechnol. 2007;1:1-28.
3. Knapp SJ, Crane J. Registration of reduced seed shattering Cuphea germplasm PSR23. Crop
Sci. 2000;40:298-9.
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5. Knapp SJ, Crane J. Registration of high oil Cuphea germplasm VL186. Crop Sci. 2000;40:301.
6. Gesch RW, Forcella F, Olness A, Archer D, Hebard A. Agricultural management of cuphea
and potential for commercial production in the Northern Corn Belt. Ind Crops Prod.
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7. Gesch RW, Forcella F, Barbour NW, Phillips B, Voorheees WV. Yield and growth response of
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8. Gesch RW, Forcella F, Barbour NW, Voorheees WV, Phillips B. Growth and yield response of
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9. Gesch RW, Kim K-I, Forcella F. Influence of seeding rate and row spacing on cuphea seed
yield in the Northern Corn Belt. Ind Crop Prod. 2010;32:692-5.