Abundant nitrogen, high forage yields, early maturity.
AU Merit hairy vetch was bred for high forage yields, early maturity, and wide adaptation.
Features
Early Maturity
AU Merit is nearly ½ month earlier than other hairy vetch cultivars. When used as a cover crop, this means more biological N fixation (BNF) potential exists for early spring planted crops.
High Forage Yield
AU Merit’s early maturity combined with its high forage production is excellent for spring grazing.
Abundant Nitrogen
In trials, AU Merit showed up to 175 lbs. of N/acre.
Vigorous and Adaptive
AU Merit was bred to have good disease resistance, excellent seedling vigor and tolerance to a wide range of soil types.
Attracts Wildlife and Pollinators
AU Merit provides wildlife and pollinators abundant forage and flowers throughout the spring growing season.
Nitrogen Studies
AU Merit was evaluated as part of an extensive cover crop nitrogen study conducted by North Carolina State University in 2008-2010. In this trial, AU Merit showed up to 175 lbs. of N/acre and direct positive grain yield contributions to the following corn crop.
North Carolina State
Cover Crop Nitrogen Study
2008-2009
| Cultivar | Piedmont, NC | Tidewater, NC | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biomass (Mg/ha) | Total N (kg/ha) | Biomass (Mg/ha) | Total N (kg/ha) | |||||||||
| Early | Mid | Late | Early | Mid | Late | Early | Mid | Late | Early | Mid | Late | |
| AU Merit HV | 4.2 | 6 | 5.5 | 166 | 197 | 190 | 4.1 | 4.6 | 5.6 | 157 | 166 | 179 |
| Dixie Crimson | 5 | 5.6 | 5 | 134 | 136 | 87 | 3.5 | 4.8 | 3.6 | 82 | 117 | 73 |
| Bigbee Berseem | 2.6 | 4.3 | 5.2 | 73 | 112 | 139 | 0.8 | 1.8 | 3.4 | 26 | 48 | 74 |
| Cereal Rye | 5 | 6.4 | 7.1 | 52 | 45 | 42 | 5.4 | 6.7 | 8.3 | 54 | 56 | 53 |
North Carolina State
Cover Crop Nitrogen Study
2009-2010
| Cultivar | Caswell, NC | Piedmont, NC | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biomass (Mg/ha) | Total N (kg/ha) | Biomass (Mg/ha) | Total N (kg/ha) | |||||
| Early | Late | Early | Late | Early | Late | Early | Late | |
| AU Merit HV | 3.1 | 2.6 | 79 | 64 | 6.2 | 4.7 | 204 | 136 |
| Dixie Crimson | 3.6 | 2.4 | 62 | 34 | 5.9 | 5.7 | 138 | 90 |
| Bigbee Berseem | 2.4 | 1.8 | 42 | 43 | 6.3 | 7.7 | 155 | 169 |
| Aus Winter Pea | 3.2 | 3.6 | 77 | 91 | 6.2 | 4.7 | 208 | 128 |
| AU Merit + Wrens Abruzzi | 4.1 | 6.2 | 92 | 152 | 8.4 | 9.7 | 212 | 217 |
| Cereal Rye | 1.8 | 2.6 | 12 | 21 | 12.6 | 8.3 | 69 | 37 |
North Carolina State
Cover Crop Nitrogen Study
2008-2010
| Tidewater 2009 | Piedmont 2009 | Caswell 2010 | Piedmont 2010 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corn Planting date* | 4/16 | 4/29 | 5/13 | 4/23 | 5/8 | 5/21 | 4/23 | 5/6 | 4/28 | 5/28 |
| AU Merit HV | 1.0 | 3.6 | 7.8 | 5.3 | 7.0 | 8.4 | 0.9 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 3.1 |
| Dixie Crimson | 4.8 | 4.2 | 5.5 | 3.8 | 5.0 | 3.5 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 2.1 | 1.8 |
| Bigbee Berseem | 0.8 | 0.7 | 2.3 | 0 | 1.0 | 4.3 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 2.2 | 5.0 |
| Aus Winter pea | - | - | - | 3.1 | 5.3 | 5.0 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 3.1 | 2.0 |
| AU Meri + Wrens Abruzzi | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1.0 | 5.4 | 5.1 |
| *Grain Yields of Corn planted into roll-killed cover crop residue. | ||||||||||
North Carolina State
Cover Crop Nitrogen Study (Ndfa*)
2008-2010
| Cultivar | Piedmont 2009 | Tidewater 2009 | Caswell 2010 | Caswell 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ndfa (%) | Total N (Kg/ha) | Ndfa(%) | Total N (Kg/ha) | Ndfa(%) | Total N (Kg/ha) | Nfga(%) | Total N (Kg/ha) | |
| AU Merit HV | 100±10 | 174±25 | 87±20 | 152±14 | 97±3 | 109±9 | 83±3 | 135±14 |
| Dixie Crimson | 85±13 | 101±30 | 71±20 | 73±20 | 97±4 | 62±13 | 88±5 | 119±21 |
| Bigbee Berseem | 100±13 | 139±30 | 96±15 | 73±20 | 100±3 | 42±10 | 94±3 | 151±13 |
| Aus Winter Pea | 71±10 | 69±25 | - | - | 87±3 | 80±9 | 79±3 | 130±13 |
| AU Merit + Wrens Abruzzi | - | - | - | - | 88±3 | 117±9 | 80±3 | 174±13 |
| *Nitrogen Derived from the Atmosphere (Ndfa) | ||||||||
Yield Data
AU Merit was bred by Auburn University specifically for high forage and biomass production and early flowering. The result is a variety which exhibits high forage yields (up to 12% higher than common hairy vetch).
Auburn University
Forage Yields (DM/A)
1997-1998
| Variety | Tallassee | Belle Mina | Brewton | Ave | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AU Merit | 2244 | 1191 | 2096 | 1844 | 112 |
| Common | 2184 | 1245 | 1495 | 1641 | 100 |
| AU EarlyCover | 1693 | 859 | 2087 | 1547 | 94 |
| Americus | 2164 | 550 | 1691 | 1468 | 90 |
| Lsd | Ns | 501 | 400 | – | – |
| Plants cut around April 1 | |||||
Performance
Winter Hardiness
While a full winter hardiness evaluation has not yet been completed, AU Merit is known for exhibiting good tolerance in the Southeast US as well as showing good to excellent survivability in cover crop trials in Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and New York.
Ohio State University
Cover Crop Trial
April 27, 2016
| Variety | Stand % | Cover % | Tons/A |
|---|---|---|---|
| AU Merit | 98 | 100 | 1.26 |
| Oregon common | 100 | 100 | 1.14 |
| Purple Bounty | 100 | 100 | 1.06 |
| Australian common | 99 | 99 | 0.99 |
| Argentine common | 1 | 1 | - |
| Lsd | .62 | ||
| Planted Sept 4, 2015 | |||
Planting
AU Merit hairy vetch can be seeded at a rate of 10-40 lbs/acre depending on the mix or purpose. For best results, plant 3-6 weeks prior to the average first killing frost. Ideal seeding depth: ½–1½".
| Seeding Rate–Drilled | 15–20 lbs/ac, 10–15 lbs/ac (in mix) |
|---|---|
| Seeding Rate–Broadcast | 25–40 lbs/ac, 15–20 lbs/ac (in mix) |
| Planting Dates | 3-6 weeks prior to the average first killing frost |
| Planting Zones (map) | green |
| Planting Depth | ½–1½" |
| Termination | Roll kill, selective or non-selective herbicide allows for no-till seeding into terminated stand. |
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