Delayed control of a hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) cover crop in irrigated corn production

Although a hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) cover crop can supply nitrogen and suppress weeds, corn planting in central Illinois must be delayed past optimum planting dates to realize significant benefits from this cover crop. As an alternative to delayed planting, controlling a band of hairy vetch over corn rows followed by a sequential treatment between the rows may allow for increased vegetative growth and greater weed suppression. Vetch between the rows provided greater than 80% weed control if allowed to grow for at least four weeks. These treatments, however, reduced corn height by approximately 20%. If hairy vetch between the rows was controlled within 2 weeks of planting, it did not appear to adversely affect crop growth.