Effects of cover crops, rotation, and biological control products on soil properties and productivity in organic vegetable production in the Northeastern US

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert P. Larkin
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Cover Crops ◽  
Vegetable Production ◽  
Organic Vegetable Production

scholarly journals Effects of Selected Soil Amendments and Mulch Type on Soil Properties and Productivity in Organic Vegetable Production

Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 795
Author(s):  
Robert P. Larkin
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Fish Meal ◽  
Soil Amendments ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Dairy Manure ◽  
Growth And Yield ◽  
Nutrient Concentrations ◽  
Vegetable Production ◽  
Organic Vegetable Production

The potential benefits of different types of soil amendments and mulch ground covers on soil chemical and biological properties, crop development and yield, and disease and pest issues in organic vegetable production, as represented by legume (green snap bean), cucurbit (green zucchini squash), and brassicaceous (turnip) vegetable crops, were evaluated in a two-year field trial in Maine, USA. Soil amendments evaluated (following an initial fertilizer base) included a commercial organic fertilizer alone, composted dairy manure, compost plus fish meal, and compost plus Wollastonite, a natural source of silicon (Si). A paper mulch was also compared with a woven polypropylene fabric mulch for their performance and effects as weed barriers within these systems. Mulch type significantly affected soil properties, with the fabric mulch associated with increases in soil moisture, organic matter, and other soil chemical and biological properties relative to the paper mulch. The fabric mulch also resulted in earlier emergence and earlier harvests for bean and zucchini. Soil amendments affected soil properties and crop growth and yield of bean and zucchini, with compost amendments increasing soil pH, organic matter, and several nutrient concentrations, as well as crop emergence and yield relative to a fertilizer-only treatment. Compost treatment also reduced the infestation and damage caused by mites on beans in 2018. Addition of fish meal increased most nutrient element concentrations and microbial respiration, and Si amendment increased emergence of beans, and reduced powdery mildew on squash and late season browning of beans. These results help define specific management practices to improve organic vegetable production and provide useful information and options for growers.

scholarly journals Summer Squash Planting Systems Following a Rye Cover Crop

HortScience ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 998D-999
Author(s):  
James W. Shrefler ◽  
Warren Roberts ◽  
Charles Webber ◽  
Jonathan Edelson ◽  
Merritt Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Weed Control ◽  
Cover Crops ◽  
Cover Crop ◽  
Soil Improvement ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Vegetable Production ◽  
Plastic Mulch ◽  
Organic Vegetable Production ◽  
Marketable Fruit

Commercial organic vegetable production requires using soil improvement practices and effective weed control measures. Rye (Secale cereale) cover crops are known to suppress annual weeds. Research was begun in 2004 to measure crop yield, annual weed infestation, and weed control requirements for vegetable planting systems that begin with a rye cover crop. Poultry litter was used to supply nutrients and was applied based on a soil test and commercial vegetable recommendations. Rye `Elbon' was seeded 21 Oct. 2004 on beds with 1.8-m centers. Zucchini squash (Cucurbita pepo) `Revenue' was planted the following year using three crop establishment dates, such that transplanting occurred on 6 May, 3 June, and 29 June. Planting system treatments included: conventional tillage (CT), CT and plastic mulch (P), CT with stale seedbed, mow, mow and burn-down, mow and shallow till (ST), ST and burn-down. Following field preparation, squash was transplanted in a single row at the bed center with 0.77-m plant spacing. Drip irrigation was used in all plantings. Emerging weeds were removed by hoeing. Squash was harvested from each planting over approximately 3 weeks and total marketable fruit counts were determined. Marketable yields with P were approximately double those of the CT and ST treatments in the 6 May transplanting. Yields were comparable for CT and ST in the 3 June transplanting, but were significantly lower for the P treatment. There were no significant differences among the treatments that received tillage in the 29 June planting. However, the non-tilled treatments had significantly lower yields compared to tilled treatments.

scholarly journals Faunistic analysis and seasonal fluctuation of ladybeetles in an agro-ecological system installed for organic vegetable production

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
pp. e37016
Author(s):  
Thiago Sampaio de Souza ◽  
Elen De Lima Aguiar-Menezes ◽  
José Guilherme Marinho Guerra ◽  
Vinicius José Fernandes ◽  
Aline Gomes Pimenta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Harmonia Axyridis ◽  
Diversity Index ◽  
Seasonal Fluctuation ◽  
Ecological System ◽  
Leafy Vegetables ◽  
Vegetable Production ◽  
Taxon Richness ◽  
Wiener Diversity Index ◽  
Organic Vegetable Production

Plans for an agro-ecological system for agricultural production must consider vegetal diversification in agricultural properties because, among other advantages, it can help the biological control of pests when it focuses on such an end. Predator ladybeetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) can be found in different environments; they play an important role in biological control. The aims of the present study were to feature ladybeetle populations through faunistic analysis and determine their fluctuations in an agro-ecological system comprising seven sub-systems subjected to different cultivation systems in Seropédica County, RJ. The experiment was conducted from December/2018 to December/2019 at Módulo de Cultivo Orgânico Intensivo de Hortaliças (MCOIH), which is located at Sistema Integrado de Produção Agroecológica (SIPA). In total, 1,231 adult ladybeetles were captured, distributed into 13 species, 3 genera and 2 tribes of Coccinellidae, which resulted in S (taxon richness) = 19, Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H’) = 0.65 (at 0 to 1 scale) and Margalef diversity index (α) = 2.53 (values lower than 2.0 represent low diversity sites). Equitability was low (E = 0.22), since one of the ladybeetle species has prevailed: Cycloneda sanguinea (most frequent, dominating and constant) in MCOIH, as well as in each of the sub-systems. However, the simplest sub-systems installed for vegetable production (monoculture gardens) were not favorable for ladybeetle diversity, whereas sub-systems installed for polyculture of leafy vegetables recorded the greatest taxa diversity of ladybeetles, including species that predate in aphids that attack vegetables [Coleomegilla maculata, Coleomegilla quadrifasciata, Cycloneda sanguinea, Eriopis connexa, Harmonia axyridis, Hippodamia convergens and Hyperaspis (Hyperaspis) festiva]. The sub-system comprising gliricidia was used to produce fertilization biomass and favored the predominance of C. sanguinea in comparison to the other ladybeetle species in MCOIH. Spring was the season mostly favoring the occurrence of C. sanguinea and H. convergens adults; which were dominant species in ladybeetle assemblage in MCOIH; however, C. sanguinea was constant and H. convergens was accessory.

Fall-sown cover crops as mulches for weed suppression in organic small-scale diversified vegetable production

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 349-357
Author(s):  
Eric Bietila ◽  
Erin M. Silva ◽  
Anne C. Pfeiffer ◽  
Jed B. Colquhoun
Keyword(s):  
Winter Wheat ◽  
Cover Crops ◽  
Cover Crop ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Weed Suppression ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Vegetable Production ◽  
Cereal Rye ◽  
Organic Vegetable Production ◽  
Manual Weeding

AbstractCover crop-based reduced tillage (CCBRT) has achieved positive impacts in organic row crop systems, contributing to the conservation of soil resources and the facilitation of weed management. This technique, which uses cover crop residues as mulches to suppress weeds, has shown more variable success in organic vegetable production systems. This experiment examined CCBRT for small-scale organic vegetable production in the upper Midwestern USA, specifically evaluating weed suppression, labor inputs and crop yields. Cereal rye (Secale cerealeL.) and winter wheat (Triticum aestivumL.) were fall-sown in 2012 and 2013 in a strip-plot design, including control treatments with no cover crop and spring-applied oat straw mulch. Cover crop plots were strip-tilled in mid-April to establish a planting zone, with cover crops terminated in late May at anthesis with a hand-tractor mounted sickle-bar mower. Bell peppers (Capsicum annuumL. var. ‘Revolution’), snap beans (Phaseolus vulgarisL. var. ‘Tavera’), and potatoes (Solanum tuberosumL. var. ‘Red La Soda’) were hand-planted either as transplants or seed in each treatment immediately following cover crop termination. During each summer growing season, weeds were completely eliminated from each plot by hand approximately every 10–14 days, with time for manual weeding recorded for each treatment. Vegetable crop yields and quality were measured at harvest during 2013 and 2014. Cereal rye and winter wheat produced similar biomass at the time of termination. Greater weed biomass was collected in the wheat treatment as compared with the cereal rye, increasing the in-season labor required for manual weeding. Bean yields were decreased in the all CCBRT treatments compared with control treatments in both years of the study. Pepper yields did not differ in CCBRT treatments as compared with the control in both 2012 and 2013, although the CCBRT treatments did yield lower marketable peppers compared with the straw mulch plots. Potato tuber yields were not different in the CCBRT treatments as compared with the control in 2012, but were lower in 2013. These data indicate that, if CCBRT is to be more widely adopted in small-scale vegetable production, further optimization of the system must be achieved to ensure consistent and adequate weed suppression while maintaining crop yield and quality.

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