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Weeds, nitrogen and yield: measuring the effectiveness of an organic cover cropped vegetable no-till system

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

David Robb ,
Geoff Zehnder ,
Robin Kloot ,
William Bridges  and
Dara Park
David Robb*
Affiliation:
Department of Plant & Environmental Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, 29634, USA
Geoff Zehnder
Affiliation:
Department of Plant & Environmental Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, 29634, USA
Robin Kloot
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
William Bridges
Affiliation:
Department of Mathematical Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, 29634, USA
Dara Park
Affiliation:
Department of Plant & Environmental Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, 29634, USA
*
Author for correspondence: David Robb, E-mail: drobb@clemson.edu
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Abstract

Organic vegetable growers rely heavily on mechanical methods such as tillage and other forms of labor-intensive soil cultivation for weed management despite the negative effects to soil health associated with intensive soil disturbance. The use of cover crops and no-till (NT) vegetable production represents an alternative approach to weed control that can enhance rather than degrade soil health; however, there are challenges inherent with this practice and previous results in vegetable production have been mixed. Field experiments were conducted over 2 yr at the Clemson Student Organic Farm to examine the effects of tillage [NT versus conventional tillage (CT)] on weed development and management in organic tomato and summer squash production under different nitrogen (N) fertility regimes, and to assess soil N dynamics in both systems. Squash yields were similar between tillage treatments in both years. NT tomato yields were 43% greater than CT yields in 2014, whereas CT tomato yields were 46% greater than NT yields in 2015. Squash and tomato yields per unit of management labor (time) were significantly greater in NT compared with CT treatments for both years. There were no statistical differences in squash and tomato yields between N fertilization treatments in either year. Pre- and post-season soil N results were mixed. Pre-season soil N levels were significantly higher in NT tomato plots in 2014 but similar between tillage treatments in tomato plots in 2015 and in squash plots both years. Post-season soil N levels in tomato plots were similar between tillage treatments both years. Post-season soil N levels were significantly higher in NT squash plots in 2014 and in CT squash plots in 2015. Roller-crimped NT mulches provided adequate early-season weed suppression in both years and saved considerable weed management and seedbed preparation labor. Overall, the results demonstrated that organic NT is a viable method for reduced tillage summer vegetable production in the southeastern Piedmont region.

Keywords

Cover cropsorganic no-tillvegetablesweed management
Type
Research Paper
Information
Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems , Volume 34 , Issue 5 , October 2019 , pp. 439 - 446
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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