Rafiq Islam is the Director of the Soil, Water, and Bioenergy Resources Program at The Ohio State University South Centers, Ohio, USA. He has over 30 years of academic and research experience on soil and water quality, cover crops, conservation tillage, marginal land, and biofeedstock production. Dr. Islam is a Fulbright teaching scholar and has published over100 journal articles; written several factsheets, manuals, and book chapters; and edited two books.

Bradford Sherman is a publications editor with The Ohio State University, where his responsibilities include writing, editing, and the design of various publications within the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES). With over 14 years of writing and editing experience; he handles the distribution of a CFAES newsletter; has edited books, journal articles, and Extension education materials for national and international audiences.

Introduction to Cover Crops. Benefits of Cover Crops on Agronomic Crop Yield. Potential and Challenges of Growing Cover Crops in Organic Production Systems. Cover Crops in Vegetable Production and Urban Farming in Sub-Saharan Countries. Algorithms to optimize cropping diversity with cover crops. Sustainable suppression of weeds through ecological use of cover crops. Cover crops for pests and soil-borne disease control and insect diversity. Cover Crops for Forages and Livestock Grazing. Cover crops' effect on soil quality and soil health. Cover Crops for Orchard Soil Management. Cover Crop Mixes for Diversity, Carbon, and Conservation Agriculture. Cover crops and soil nitrogen cycling. Effect of Cover Crops on Soil Biology. Cover cropping improves soil quality and physical properties. Cover Crops Effects on Soil Erosion and Water Quality. Effects of cover crops on greenhouse gas emissions. Cover crops influence soil microbial and biochemical properties. Economics of Cover Crops.