100 Highly Recommended Cover Crops for Sustainable Farmland Management

Updated: February 15, 2021

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We have compiled a list of cover crops from plants.usda.gov, to give you a wide range of options in choosing a cover crop.

USDA has done a great job with this huge list of cover crops. The links on the scientific names will lead you to a detailed description of the cover crops and even providing pictures of some of the crops in the list.

Read also: How to select a Cover Crop (Questions to ask)

You can use these cover crops in a variety of situations;

Depending on what you hope to achieve. From soil protection, soil improvement, nutrients addition, and many more. Besides, there are many to choose from and amongst them are grasses, legumes and other dicots.

You can read more about the benefits of cover crops in soil improvements and conservation agriculture.

No.	SCIENTIFIC NAME	COMMON NAME	PLANT FAMILY
1	Amaranthus caudatus	foxtail amaranth	Amaranthaceae – Amaranth family
2	Amaranthus cruentus	red amaranth	Amaranthaceae – Amaranth family
3	Amaranthus hybridus × hypochondriacus	Plainsman amaranth	Amaranthaceae – Amaranth family
4	Amaranthus hypochondriacus	Prince-of-Wales feather	Amaranthaceae – Amaranth family
5	Arachis glabrata	rhizoma peanut	Fabaceae – Pea family
6	Arachis hypogaea	peanut	Fabaceae – Pea family
7	Avena sativa	common oat	Poaceae – Grass family
8	Avena strigosa	black oats	Poaceae – Grass family
9	Beta vulgaris	common beet	Chenopodiaceae – Goosefoot family
10	Beta vulgaris ssp. cicla	chard	Chenopodiaceae – Goosefoot family
11	Brassica juncea	brown mustard	Brassicaceae – Mustard family
12	Brassica napus var. napus	rape	Brassicaceae – Mustard family
13	Brassica napus var. pabularia	Siberian kale	Brassicaceae – Mustard family
14	Brassica nigra	black mustard	Brassicaceae – Mustard family
15	Brassica rapa var. rapa	field mustard	Brassicaceae – Mustard family
16	Brassica campestris
17	Bromus hordeaceus	soft brome	Poaceae – Grass family
18	Cajanus cajan	pigeonpea	Fabaceae – Pea family
19	Camelina sativa	false flax	Brassicaceae – Mustard family
20	Canavalia ensiformis	jack bean	Fabaceae – Pea family
21	Carthamus tinctorius	safflower	Asteraceae – Aster family
22	Chenopodium quinoa	quinoa	Chenopodiaceae – Goosefoot family
23	Cicer arietinum	chick pea	Fabaceae – Pea family
24	Cichorium intybus	chicory	Asteraceae – Aster family
25	Crotalaria juncea	sunn hemp	Fabaceae – Pea family
26	Cucurbita	gourd	Cucurbitaceae – Cucumber family
27	Cyamopsis tetragonoloba	guar	Fabaceae – Pea family
28	Daucus carota var. sativus	carrot	Apiaceae – Carrot family
29	Echinochloa crus-galli	barnyardgrass	Poaceae – Grass family
30	Elymus hoffmannii	RS wheatgrass	Poaceae – Grass family
31	Elymus trachycaulus	slender wheatgrass	Poaceae – Grass family
32	Eragrostis tef	teff	Poaceae – Grass family
33	Eruca vesicaria ssp. sativa	rocketsalad	Brassicaceae – Mustard family
34	Fagopyrum esculentum	buckwheat	Polygonaceae – Buckwheat family
35	Glycine max	soybean	Fabaceae – Pea family
36	Helianthus annuus	common sunflower	Asteraceae – Aster family
37	Hordeum	barley	Poaceae – Grass family
38	Hordeum pusillum	little barley	Poaceae – Grass family
39	Hordeum vulgare	common barley	Poaceae – Grass family
40	Indigofera hirsuta	hairy indigo	Fabaceae – Pea family
41	Lablab purpureus	hyacinth bean	Fabaceae – Pea family
42	Lathyrus sativus	white pea	Fabaceae – Pea family
43	Lathyrus sylvestris	flat pea	Fabaceae – Pea family
44	Lens culinaris	lentil	Fabaceae – Pea family
45	Lespedeza capitata	roundhead lespedeza	Fabaceae – Pea family
46	Linum usitatissimum	common flax	Linaceae – Flax family
47	Lolium perenne ssp. multiflorum	Italian ryegrass	Poaceae – Grass family
48	Lolium multiflorum
49	Lolium rigidum	Wimmera ryegrass	Poaceae – Grass family
50	Lolium temulentum	Darnel ryegrass	Poaceae – Grass family
51	Lotus corniculatus	bird’s-foot trefoil	Fabaceae – Pea family
52	Lotus tenuis	narrow leaf trefoil	Fabaceae – Pea family
53	Lupinus	lupine	Fabaceae – Pea family
54	Lupinus albus	white lupine	Fabaceae – Pea family
55	Lupinus angustifolius	narrowleaf lupine	Fabaceae – Pea family
56	Medicago littoralis	water medick	Fabaceae – Pea family
57	Medicago lupulina	black medick	Fabaceae – Pea family
58	Medicago polymorpha	burclover	Fabaceae – Pea family
59	Medicago rugosa	gama medic	Fabaceae – Pea family
60	Medicago sativa	alfalfa	Fabaceae – Pea family
61	Medicago scutellata	snail medick	Fabaceae – Pea family
62	Medicago truncatula	barrelclover	Fabaceae – Pea family
63	Melilotus indicus	annual yellow sweetclover	Fabaceae – Pea family
64	Melilotus officinalis	sweetclover	Fabaceae – Pea family
65	Melilotus alba
66	Mucuna pruriens	velvet bean	Fabaceae – Pea family
67	Onobrychis viciifolia	sainfoin	Fabaceae – Pea family
68	Panicum miliaceum	proso millet	Poaceae – Grass family
69	Pennisetum glaucum	pearl millet	Poaceae – Grass family
70	Phacelia tanacetifolia	lacy phacelia	Hydrophyllaceae – Waterleaf family
71	Pisum sativum	garden pea	Fabaceae – Pea family
72	Poa pratensis	Kentucky bluegrass	Poaceae – Grass family
73	Psathyrostachys juncea	Russian wildrye	Poaceae – Grass family
74	Puccinellia distans	weeping alkaligrass	Poaceae – Grass family
75	Puccinellia nuttalliana	Nuttall’s alkaligrass	Poaceae – Grass family
76	Raphanus sativus	cultivated radish	Brassicaceae – Mustard family
77	Secale cereale	cereal rye	Poaceae – Grass family
78	Sesbania bispinosa	dunchi fiber	Fabaceae – Pea family
79	Sesbania aculeata
80	Sesbania herbacea	bigpod sesbania	Fabaceae – Pea family
81	Sesbania exaltata
82	Sesbania sesban	Egyptian riverhemp	Fabaceae – Pea family
83	Setaria italica	foxtail millet	Poaceae – Grass family
84	Sinapis alba	white mustard	Brassicaceae – Mustard family
85	Brassica hirta
86	Sorghum bicolor × S. bicolor var. sudanense	Sudex (Sorghum-sudangrass)	Poaceae – Grass family
87	Sorghum bicolor	sorghum	Poaceae – Grass family
88	Sorghum bicolor var. bicolor × bicolor var. sudanense	Sudex	Poaceae – Grass family
89	Spinacia oleracea	spinach	Chenopodiaceae – Goosefoot family
90	Thinopyrum intermedium	intermediate wheatgrass	Poaceae – Grass family
91	Thinopyrum ponticum	tall wheatgrass	Poaceae – Grass family
92	Trifolium alexandrinum	Egyptian clover	Fabaceae – Pea family
93	Trifolium ambiguum	Kura clover	Fabaceae – Pea family
94	Trifolium fragiferum	strawberry clover	Fabaceae – Pea family
95	Trifolium hirtum	rose clover	Fabaceae – Pea family
96	Trifolium hybridum	alsike clover	Fabaceae – Pea family
97	Trifolium incarnatum	crimson clover	Fabaceae – Pea family
98	Trifolium pratense	red clover	Fabaceae – Pea family
99	Trifolium repens	white clover	Fabaceae – Pea family
100	Trifolium subterraneum	subterranean clover	Fabaceae – Pea family
101	Trifolium vesiculosum	arrowleaf clover	Fabaceae – Pea family
102	Trigonella	fenugreek	Fabaceae – Pea family
103	×Triticosecale	triticale	Poaceae – Grass family
104	Triticosecale rimpaui	triticale	Poaceae – Grass family
105	Triticum aestivum	common wheat	Poaceae – Grass family
106	Urochloa ramosa	browntop millet	Poaceae – Grass family
107	Brachiaria ramosa
108	Vicia benghalensis	purple vetch	Fabaceae – Pea family
109	Vicia atropurpurea
110	Vicia faba	fava bean	Fabaceae – Pea family
111	Vicia grandiflora	large yellow vetch	Fabaceae – Pea family
112	Vicia sativa	garden vetch	Fabaceae – Pea family
113	Vicia villosa	winter vetch	Fabaceae – Pea family
114	Vigna radiata	mung bean	Fabaceae – Pea family
115	Vigna unguiculata	cowpea	Fabaceae – Pea family
116	Vulpia myuros	annual fescue	Poaceae – Grass family
117	Festuca megalura
118	Zea mays	corn	Poaceae – Grass family

Reference:

Cover Crop Plants – (plants.usda.gov)

100 Highly Recommended Cover Crops for Sustainable Farmland Management

We have compiled a list of cover crops from plants.usda.gov, to give you a wide range of options in choosing a cover crop.

No.

SCIENTIFIC NAME

COMMON NAME

PLANT FAMILY

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5

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46

47

48

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50

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54

55

56

57

58

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62

63

64

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66

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68

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73

74