• Authors:
    • Hirata, T.
    • Hoshino, Y.
    • Hane, S.
    • Hajime, A.
  • Source: Horticulture Environment and Biotechnology
  • Volume: 50
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2009
  • Summary: More than 70% of fresh tomato is produced in plastic high tunnel or greenhouse and much fertilizer and agricultural chemicals have been applied for tomato production. Cover crop is one of the important tools for sustainable agro-production because of improving soil properties. Effect of cover cropping on soil properties and tomato production in plastic high tunnel was examined in Sapporo, Japan, snow cover region. Plastic high tunnel was set before snow-melting, late in March, 2007. Two cover crops, legume (hairy vetch; Vicia villosa R.) and non legume (wild oat; Avena sterigosa L.), were planted each alone or mix-planted in the plot (0.8 m in width and 3.5 m in length) early in April. Seeding density in mono-culture was 5 kg/10a in hairy vetch and 10 kg/10a in wild oat. For bi-culture, density was 3.5 kg/10a in hairy vetch and 5 kg/10a in wild oat. Above ground biomass (dry weight) was shown 445 kg/10a in hairy vetch and 982 kg/10a in wild oat late in May. However, in mix-culture, it was 190 kg/10a in hairy vetch and 602 kg/10a in wild oat. Cover crops were killed for residue mulch just before tomato planting. Seedlings of tomato 'Momotaro' were planted in the plots covered with cover crop residue and 12 kg/10a N fertilizer application (12 kg N/10a) and bare plot with 12 kg/10a or 24 kg/10a N fertilizer (24 kg N/10a) application. Nitrate concentration of the petiole sap in the leaf just below the first fruit cluster was higher in the tomatoes grown in bare plot with 24 kg N/10a and in hairy vetch mulch with 12 kg N/10a at 40 days after transplanting. Large yield was shown in bare plot with 24 kg N/10a (7.9 t/10a) and in hairy vetch plot with 12 kg N/10a (7.8 t/10a). The yield in bare plot with 12 kg N/10a and Mix plot with 12 kg N/10a was 6.9 t/10a. The yield in wild oat plot with 12 kg N/10a was the smallest (6.1 t/10a). Soil carbon in the plots with cover crop mulch became higher than that of bare plots after tomato production. It will be possible to obtain current yield and to increase soil carbon in cover cropping with reduction of N fertilizer. This technique will lead the organically grown system in plastic high tunnel production.
  • Authors:
    • Ngouajio, M.
    • Kaya, E.
    • Isik, D.
    • Mennan, H.
  • Source: Crop Protection
  • Volume: 28
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2009
  • Summary: Weed control is a major constraint for organic production around the world. Field studies were conducted in pepper ( Capsicum annuum L.) from 2004 to 2006 at the Black Sea Agricultural Research Institute experimental field in Turkey to determine the weed suppressive effects of winter cover crops. Treatments consisted of ryegrass ( Lolium multiflorum L.), oat ( Avena sativa L.), rye ( Secale cereale L.), wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.), gelemen clover ( Trifolium meneghinianum Clem.), Egyptian clover ( Trifolium alexsandrinum L.), common vetch ( Vicia sativa L.), hairy vetch ( Vicia villosa Roth.) and a bare fallow with no cover crop. Weed density and total weed dry biomass were assessed at 14, 28, and 56 days after incorporation to quantify effects of cover crops during a subsequent pepper crop. Cover crop establishment was similar in both growing seasons and individual species produced in the range of 1800-3500 kg/ha biomass. Ryegrass produced the greatest biomass compared with other species. Weed dry biomass production just before cover crop incorporation varied with year and cover crop species. Hairy vetch, ryegrass, oat and common vetch were the most competitive cover crops based on total weed dry biomass. Hairy vetch was the most promising cover crop and reduced weed density by 73% and 70% at 28 and 56 DAI, respectively. Pepper yields were higher following all cover crops except Egyptian clover. The highest yield was obtained from hairy vetch plots in both years. This research indicates that cover crops such as hairy vetch, ryegrass, oat and common vetch could be used in integrated weed management programs to reduce weed infestation in organic pepper.
  • Authors:
    • Lovato, P.
    • Lana, M.
    • Fayad, J.
    • Comin, J.
    • Kieling, A.
  • Source: Ciencia Rural
  • Volume: 39
  • Issue: 7
  • Year: 2009
  • Summary: To eliminate herbicide use in no-tillage tomato production, an experiment was carried out to evaluate the best combination of winter cover crops for weed control and tomato production at the Ituporanga Experimental Station in Santa Catarina, Brazil. Oat ( Avena strigosa [ Avena nuda]), vetch ( Vicia villosa) and fodder radish ( Raphanus sativus) were grown in monoculture and in mixes. The tomato cv. Marcia-EPAGRI was stake-trained and grown under fertigation. The highest values in above-ground dry biomass were obtained by oat+vetch and oat monoculture, followed by vetch+radish, oat+radish, and oat+vetch+radish. Treatments with oats had the best performances in controlling resident vegetation, while vetch was associated with the worst performances. There were no significant differences between the treatments for total yield and marketable fruit production.
  • Authors:
    • Bellinder, R.
    • Brainard, D.
    • Kumar, V.
  • Source: Hortscience
  • Volume: 44
  • Issue: 3
  • Year: 2009
  • Summary: Hairy galinsoga [ Galinsoga ciliata (Raf.) Blake] has become a troublesome weed in vegetable crops. Field studies were conducted in 2006 and 2007 in central New York to determine the effects of: (1) spring-sown cover crops on hairy galinsoga growth and seed production during cover crop growth grown before subsequent short duration vegetable crops; and (2) cover crop residues on establishment of hairy galinsoga and four short-duration vegetable crops planted after cover crop incorporation. The cover crops [buckwheat ( Fagopyrum esculentum Moench), brown mustard ( Brassica juncea L.), yellow mustard ( Sinapis alba L.), and oats ( Avena sativa L.)] were planted in May and incorporated in early July. Lettuce ( Lactuca sativa L.) and Swiss chard [ Beta vulgaris var. cicla (L.) K. Koch] were transplanted and pea ( Pisum sativum L.) and snap bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.) were sown directly into freshly incorporated residues. Aboveground dry biomass produced by the cover crops was 4.2, 6.4, 6.8, and 9.7 mg.ha -1 for buckwheat, brown mustard, yellow mustard, and oats, respectively. Cover crops alone reduced the dry weight (90% to 99%) and seed production of hairy galinsoga (98%) during the cover crop-growing season compared with weedy controls. In 2006, only yellow mustard residue suppressed hairy galinsoga emergence (53%). However, in 2007, all cover crop residues reduced hairy galinsoga emergence (38% to 62%) and biomass production (25% to 60%) compared with bare soil, with yellow mustard providing the greatest suppression. Cover crop residues did not affect snap bean emergence, but reduced pea emergence 25% to 75%. All vegetable crops were suppressed by all cover crop residues with crops ranked as: pea > Swiss chard ≥ lettuce > snap bean in terms of sensitivity. The C:N ratios were 8.5, 18.3, 22.9, and 24.8 for buckwheat, brown mustard, yellow mustard, and oat residues, respectively. Decomposition rate and nitrogen release of brown mustard and buckwheat residues was rapid; it was slow for oats and yellow mustard residues. Spring-sown cover crops can contribute to weed management by reducing seed production, emergence, and growth of hairy galinsoga in subsequent crops, but crop emergence and growth may be compromised. Yellow mustard and buckwheat sown before late-planted snap beans deserve further testing as part of an integrated strategy for managing weeds while building soil health.
  • Authors:
    • Wang, X.
    • Yang, Y.
    • Wu, F.
    • Li, Q.
  • Source: Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica Section B-Soil and Plant Science
  • Volume: 59
  • Issue: 5
  • Year: 2009
  • Summary: We studied the effects of rotation and interplanting on soil bacterial communities and crop yields using cucumber as the main vegetable. Onion and garlic were used as interplanting species, and wheat, soybean, villose (more commonly, villous) vetch, clover, and alfalfa were used as rotation plants. T-RFLP techniques were used to show the effects of rotation and interplanting systems on diversity index and richness index of cucumber rhizosphere soil bacterial communities. The results showed that both rotation and interplanting systems increased the richness index and diversity index of soil bacterial community structures, except where alfalfa was used as the rotation plant. The diversity index of the cucumber rhizosphere bacterial community structure was highest in the wheat rotation cropping system, and the richness index of soil bacteria was highest in wheat and clover rotations and in the onion interplanting system. Our results show that rotation and interplanting systems beneficially altered community structures of dominant soil bacteria, and increased cucumber yield and soil bacterial diversity. The best cultivation system to increase cucumber yield utilized onion as an interplanting species and wheat as a rotation plant.
  • Authors:
    • Isk, D.
    • Ngouajio, M.
    • Mennan, H.
    • Kaya, E.
  • Source: PHYTOPARASITICA
  • Volume: 37
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2009
  • Summary: Weed control is a major concern for organic farmers around the world and non-chemical weed control methods are now the subject of many investigations. Field studies were conducted in tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum L.) from 2004 to 2006 at the Black Sea Agricultural Research Institute experiment field to determine the weed suppressive effects of winter cover crops. Treatments consisted of ryegrass ( Lolium multiflorum L.), oat ( Avena sativa L.), rye ( Secale cereale L.), wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.), gelemen clover ( Trifolium meneghinianum Clem.), Egyptian clover ( Trifolium alexandrinum L.), common vetch ( Vicia sativa L.), hairy vetch ( Vicia villosa Roth.) and a control with no cover crop. Treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design with four replications. To determine the weed suppressive effects of the cover crops, weed density and total weed dry biomass were assessed at 14, 28, and 56 days after termination (DAT) of the cover crops from all plots using a 50*50 cm quadrat placed randomly in each plot. After cover crop kill and incorporation into soil, tomato seedlings variety 'H2274' were transplanted. Broadleaved weed species were the most prominent species in both years. Total weed biomass measured just prior to cover crop incorporation into the soil was significantly lower in S. cereale plots than in the others. The number of weed species was lowest at 14 DAT and later increased at 28 and 56 DAT, and subsequently remained constant during harvest. This research indicates that cover crops such as L. multiflorum, S. cereale, V. sativa and V. villosa could be used in integrated weed management programs to manage some weeds in the early growth stages of organic tomato.
  • Authors:
    • Gundersen, H.
    • Nielsen, H. H.
    • Rasmussen, J.
  • Source: WEED SCIENCE
  • Volume: 57
  • Issue: 3
  • Year: 2009
  • Summary: POST weed harrowing and other cultivation methods to control weeds in early crop growth stages may result in crop damage due to low selectivity between crop and weeds. Crop tolerance to cultivation plays an important role but it has not been clearly defined and analyzed. We introduce a procedure for analyzing crop tolerance on the basis of digital image analysis. Crop tolerance is defined as the ability of the crop to avoid yield loss from cultivation in the absence of weeds, and it has two components: resistance and recovery. Resistance is the ability of the crop to resist soil covering and recovery is the ability to recover from it. Soil covering is the percentage of the crop that has been buried because of cultivation. We analyzed data from six field experiments, four experiments with species of small grains, barley, oat, wheat, and triticale, and two experiments with barley cultivars with different abilities to suppress weeds. The order of species' tolerance to weed harrowing was triticale > wheat > barley > oat and the differences were mainly caused by different abilities to recover from soil covering. At 25% soil covering, grain yield loss in triticale was 0.5%, in wheat 2.5%, in barley 3.7%, and in oat 6.5%. Tolerance, resistance, and recovery, however, were influenced by year, especially for oat and barley. There was no evidence of differences between barley cultivars in terms of tolerance indicating that differences among species are more important than differences among cultivars. Selectivity analysis made it possible to calculate the crop yield loss due to crop damage associated with a certain percentage of weed control. In triticale, 80% weed control was associated with 22% crop soil cover on average, which reduced grain yield 0.4% on average in the absence of weeds. Corresponding values for wheat, barley, and oat were 23, 21, and 20% crop soil cover and 2.3, 3.6, and 5.1% grain yield loss.
  • Authors:
    • Filippi, F.
    • Magnani, G.
    • Bertolacci, M.
  • Source: Colture Protette
  • Volume: 38
  • Issue: 11
  • Year: 2009
  • Summary: The behaviour of two new black biodegradable mulching films (Mater-BI) was checked on cauliflower (Brassicaoleracea var. botrytis L.), comparing them to a traditional ldpe film and naked soil and at different irrigation systems (dripping irrigation, spray irrigation, without irrigation). The results showed that the water wasted reached the highest values in naked soil and the lowest in the ldpe film, while biodegradable films showed middle values. They also presented excellent results both for plant's growth and production, even higher than ldpe. About the degradation, both the biodegradable films showed good mechanical properties till the end of the cycle, with differences among the irrigation systems: degradation was faster under spray irrigation especially for the MB commercial film. Dripping irrigation was the best for production, soil humidity and film degradation.
  • Authors:
    • De Moura, R. L.
    • Klonsky, K. M.
    • Smith, R. F.
  • Source: University of California Cooperative Extension Publication
  • Year: 2009
  • Authors:
    • De Moura, R. L.
    • Klonsky, K. M.
    • Smith, R. F.
  • Source: University of California Cooperative Extension Publication
  • Year: 2009