Impact of Oat (Avena sativa L.) and Daikon Radish (Raphanus Sativus var. Longipinnatus) Cover Crops on Some Soil Properties

The degradation of soil as a substrate for the production of agricultural products has become a global concern. The preservation of soil quantity and quality has led to an increasing need for environmentally friendly methods. Cover crops have emerged as a promising strategy to improve soil health and quality. To investigate the effects of cover crops on soil characteristics, a field experiment was conducted with three replicates during the crop years of 2020-2021 and 2021-2022. The experiment included monoculture of Oat (Avena sativa L.) and Daikon radish (Raphanus sativus var. Longipinnatus), intercropping these two crops, and a control treatment without cover crops. The results indicated that the highest and lowest biomass of cover crops was obtained from Oat monoculture (538.83 g m-2) and Daikon radish monoculture (325.83g m-2), respectively. The monoculture of Oats, Daikon radish, and their intercropping increases the percentage of soil organic carbon (30.56, 27.86, and 28.86%) and soil microbial population (9.59, 11.70, and 05. 13 %) compared to the control treatment without cover crops. Intercropping of Oats with Daikon radish reduces the time of water infiltration into the soil and bulk density (36.86 and 15.86%, respectively), increasing the soil moisture percentage and the percentage of soil porosity (46.39 and 53.83%, respectively) compared to the control treatment. Spearman's correlation analysis revealed an increasing and significant effect of cover crops on soil organic carbon percentage, microbial population, soil moisture percentage, and soil porosity percentage. Conversely, the study found a decreasing and significant effect of cover crops on the water infiltration rate and soil bulk density. In conclusion, Daikon radish monoculture and its intercropping with oats had a favorable effect on most of the soil characteristics studied. These findings underscore the importance of cover crops as an environmentally friendly approach to improving soil properties.