Double cropping
- Also known as
- double crop, double-crop soybeans
Double cropping is growing two crops in the same field within one year, one after the other. In the United States the most common example is planting soybeans immediately after harvesting winter wheat.
What is double cropping?
Double cropping fits two harvests into one growing year on the same land. After an early crop is harvested, a second crop is planted right away and harvested before winter. The classic U.S. system is winter wheat harvested in early summer, followed by soybeans. Other combinations include barley or canola followed by soybeans, and small grains followed by forage or sorghum.
Benefits
- Two crops of income from the same acres and fixed costs.
- Better use of the growing season, particularly in the southern and central United States.
- Continuous soil cover, which reduces erosion and supports soil health.
Challenges
- A shorter season for the second crop, which lowers its yield potential compared with a full-season crop.
- Soil moisture. The first crop may leave little water, making rainfall or irrigation at planting critical.
- Residue from the first crop, which can interfere with planting.
- Timing. Every day of delay planting the second crop costs yield.
Managing double-crop soybeans
Extension guidance for double-crop soybeans commonly includes planting as soon as possible after harvest, often directly into wheat stubble with no-till farming; using narrower rows and higher seeding rates to close the canopy quickly; choosing appropriate maturity groups; and making sure seed is well inoculated, because rapid nodulation matters in a compressed season.
Double cropping at Locus
Locus positions its box-applied Rhizolizer Prime inoculant for double-crop and late-planted soybeans, among other uses.
Frequently asked questions
No. In double cropping both crops are grown for harvest. A cover crop is grown mainly to protect and improve the soil, not for harvest.
They are planted later and have a shorter season to grow, flower and fill seeds, and they often start in drier soil.
Sources
- Double-crop soybean production, Land-grant university extension (e.g. University of Kentucky, Kansas State University)