- Author: Oleg Daugovish
Plasticulture tunnels are the norm for several multimillion dollar crops such as raspberries and flowers. They are not permanent structures and are don't have to comply with the standard runoff regulations for impervious surfaces, but water running off the plastic surely ends up in post rows that become water channels. These post rows are constantly wet and are great for growing weeds.
Growers with tunnels still need to comply with agricultural runoff regulations and try to manage the weeds, which can be challenging due to limited availability of effective herbicides and significant ‘organic' production (that translates to hand-weeding).
In a pilot study we looked at what would $10-15/acre worth of barley or...
- Author: Lynn M. Sosnoskie
- Author: Stanley Culpepper
- Author: Ted Webster
Cover crops have been/are being used as organic mulches in crop production systems in order to increase soil organic matter, improve soil structure, conserve water and reduce erosion. Cover crops can also suppress weeds by serving as a physical barrier to seedling emergence, inhibiting seed germination via reduced light transmittance, through the release of allelopathic chemicals, and by preventing herbicide loss.
Attached is a video from the University of Georgia describing how to mange and roll rye (not ryegrass) for Palmer amaranth control in a cotton conservation-tillage system. Although much of the information (i.e. herbicide recommendations) may seem specific to the eastern coastal plain, the clip does provide a...
- Author: Lynn M. Sosnoskie
- Author: Stanley Culpepper
Glyphosate-resistant (GR) Palmer amaranth is, currently, the most significant weedy pest of cotton grown in the SE US. In order to reduce population size, maximize herbicide efficacy and prevent the development of further resistances, cotton growers must consider using additional mechanical (i.e. tillage) and cultural (i.e. cover crops) weed management strategies. Small plot experiments conducted in Georgia between 2008 and 2010 showed that the use of deep-tillage plus a heavy rye cover crop, when paired with a herbicide program consisting of both residual and POST-applied...
- Re-posted by: Gale Perez
[USDA 04 Feb 2013 by Ann Perry] -- Farmers can fine-tune their use of cover crops to help manage costs and maximize benefits in commercial organic production systems, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists. Production expenses for high-value organic crops like lettuce and broccoli can exceed $7,000 per acre, so producers often try to streamline costs with an annual two- to three-crop rotation. Agricultural Research Service...
- Posted By: Gale Perez
- Written by: Posted by David Low | WeedsNews2801 | January 22, 2012 | 11:15 PM
Abstract: Organic mulches could be a part of a wide strategy of integrated weed management in vegetable production systems. A 2-year field experiment was carried out in Central Italy with the aim of assessing the effect of grass and legume mulches, coming from winter cover crops, combined with herbicide or mechanical hoeing on weed control, on weed community (density and aboveground biomass of each species), and yield of a pepper crop. Hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth), oat (Avena sativa L.) and their mixture were sown in early autumn and suppressed in May. The cover crop aboveground biomass was cut and arranged in strips which were used as beds for pepper seedlings transplanted in paired rows. A conventional treatment...