Living Mulch in Corn Boosts Soil Health, Cuts Inputs

Living Mulches For Organic Farming Systems

HortTechnology ◽

10.21273/horttech.10.4.692 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 692-698 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

James Leary ◽

Joe DeFrank

Keyword(s):

Pest Management ◽

Organic Farming ◽

Production Systems ◽

Soil Health ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Organic Production ◽

Living Mulch ◽

Organic System ◽

Nutrient Runoff ◽

Organic Farmers

An important aspect of organic farming is to minimize the detrimental impact of human intervention to the surrounding environment by adopting a natural protocol in system management. Traditionally, organic farming has focused on the elimination of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides and a reliance on biological cycles that contribute to improving soil health in terms of fertility and pest management. Organic production systems are ecologically and economically sustainable when practices designed to build soil organic matter, fertility, and structure also mitigate soil erosion and nutrient runoff. We found no research conducted under traditional organic farming conditions, comparing bareground monoculture systems to systems incorporating the use of living mulches. We will be focusing on living mulch studies conducted under conventional methodology that can be extrapolated to beneficial uses in an organic system. This article discusses how organic farmers can use living mulches to reduce erosion, runoff, and leaching and also demonstrate the potential of living mulch systems as comprehensive integrated pest management plans that allow for an overall reduction in pesticide applications. The pesticide reducing potential of the living mulch system is examined to gain insight on application within organic agriculture.

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Effects of Three Conservation Tillage Strategies on Yields and Soil Health in a Mixed Vegetable Production System

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.50.12.1770 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 50 (12) ◽

pp. 1770-1776 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Jeffrey R. Pieper ◽

Rebecca Nelson Brown ◽

José A. Amador

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Soil Organic Matter ◽

Conservation Tillage ◽

Soil Health ◽

Aggregate Stability ◽

Vegetable Production ◽

Vegetable Crops ◽

Living Mulch ◽

Crimson Clover ◽

Strip Tillage

Most vegetable farms in southern New England market directly to consumers and are characterized by high crop diversity and intensive cultivation. Growers rely on tillage to prepare fields for planting and control weeds, but are concerned about the negative effects of tillage on soil health. This study evaluated three tillage reduction strategies in a market garden system producing tomatoes, melons, cucumbers, cabbage, carrots, and lettuce. Treatments of strip tillage into a killed cereal rye (Secale cereale) cover crop mulch, perennial white clover (Trifolium repens), and ryegrass (Lolium perenne) living mulch between planting rows, and annual crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum) living mulch interseeded between vegetable rows were established in 2010 and compared over 3 years to a control system using tillage to maintain bare ground between rows. Treatments were evaluated for effects on vegetable yield and soil biological, chemical, and physical properties. The strip tillage treatment was the most effective at promoting soil health, resulting in significant increases in soil aggregate stability, potentially mineralizable nitrogen, active soil carbon, and microbial activity relative to the control, and significant decrease in loss of soil organic matter. However, it was not effective for production of vegetables, with the strip-tillage plots having the lowest yields throughout the study. The perennial living mulch treatment produced yields of carrots, melons, and cucumbers similar to the control yields, but reduced yields of tomatoes, cabbage, and lettuce. Microbial respiration was significantly higher than in the control, and nitrate levels, and loss of soil organic matter were significantly lower. The annual living mulch treatment produced yields similar to the control for all crops, and soil health was similar to the control for all variables except soil nitrate, which was significantly higher than the control. Perennial living mulch shows the most promise for improving soil health while maintaining yields in some vegetable crops, but challenges remain in preventing competition between vegetables and living mulches.

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White clover living mulch enhances soil health versus annual cover crops

Agronomy Journal ◽

10.1002/agj2.20768 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Nicholas S. Hill ◽

Matthew Levi ◽

Nicholas Basinger ◽

Aaron Thompson ◽

Miguel Cabrera ◽

...

Keyword(s):

White Clover ◽

Cover Crops ◽

Soil Health ◽

Living Mulch

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Impact of Cereal+legume Intercropping Systems on Productivity and Soil Health -A Review

International Journal of Bio-resource and Stress Management ◽

10.23910/1.2020.2109 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 274-286

Author(s):

Ankita Begam ◽

◽

Ramyajit Mondal ◽

Susanta Dutta ◽

Hirak Banerjee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Health

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Organizational and Economic Principles of Agricultural Machinery Use

Visegrad Journal on Bioeconomy and Sustainable Development ◽

10.2478/vjbsd-2018-0008 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 42-46

Author(s):

Dmytro Kachan

Keyword(s):

Quality Indicators ◽

Soil Health ◽

Technical Support ◽

Organizational Forms ◽

Topical Issue ◽

Agricultural Machinery ◽

Labor Costs ◽

Agricultural Enterprises ◽

Soil Cultivation ◽

Agrarian Sector

Abstract Technical support of producers of agrarian products has always been and will remain a topical issue in realities of agrarian sector of Ukraine. In recent years, integrated forms of agricultural enterprises have become more widespread, which make it possible to increase and renew a machine-tractor park of their participants. In course of study four main technologies of soil cultivation and their impact were considered, an amount of necessary machinery and equipment, energy and labor costs, and impact on quality indicators of soil health. Also, main organizational forms of enterprises that provide equipment rental services or perform fieldwork were analyzed. Proposals were made regarding a merger of existing enterprises into agro technical centers, which would increase an efficiency of their functioning and cover functions of regional self-government. Also, the most common forms of machinery usage by agricultural enterprises were considered.

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