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After fall harvest, carry-over nutrients typically remain in the soil. Fall plantings of cover crops are vital to scavenge carry-over nutrients, particularly nitrogen, which is susceptible to loss. Cover crops can reduce nitrogen loss through leaching. Cover crops are a valuable resource to reduce erosion and are vital to water quality in the entire region. Traditionally, planting techniques have included the following: No-till drill into previous crop residue or tilled soil, broadcast seed and lightly incorporate, and broadcast only (includes aerial applications). Recent innovations in conservation tillage options have introduced vertical tillage. Vertical tillage is an intermediate tillage form between minimum till (chisel plow or field cultivator) and full no-till. A large percentage of crop residue is left on the soil surface, reducing erosion. Wheat , rye, hairy vetch, canola, annual rye grass, tillage radish, and spring oat cover crop plots were planted at three Maryland locations using 4 planting treatments. The following planting techniques were utilized: broadcast only, broadcast and vertical till, broadcast and lightly disk, and no-till drill. Seed emergence counts tracked establishment for each treatments. Seedling emergence rates were highest in the no-till plots with wheat averaging 28 seedlings/ft2 compared to 24 seedlings/ft2 in the broadcast only plots. Hairy vetch plots had the lowest emergence rates, averaging 18 seedlings/ft2 in the no-till plots and only 5 seedlings/ft2 in the broadcast only plots. Overall, seedling rates were highest in the no-till drill, broadcast and lightly disked, and vertical tilled plots and lowest in the broadcast only plots. As expected increased seed to soil contact resulted in higher establishment rates. Results indicate that increased seed to soil contact was more critical for good seed establishment in hairy vetch and canola and less critical for wheat, rye, and spring oats. Vertical tillage provided comparable establishment rates for rye, and wheat to no-till plots and disked plots, but lower establishment rates for hairy vetch, canola, and spring oats. In all cases, vertical tilled plots had higher establishment rates than broadcast only plots.

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