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Cover Crops
Selection considerations for
COVER /companion crops
on
Vineyards and Orchards
The solutions discussed are to aid in the selection of cost effective cover, which will perform to the advantage of the cash crop under natural rainfall and normal cash crop inputs. each can
Green manure
Non-reseeding or late maturing annuals can be used for initial erosion control or when the green manure advantage of growing your own N or soil organic is the prime objective. This solution can be maximized by yearly plowing or disking in the biomass. Disking or plowing has the down side of exposing the soil to erosion, oxidation of organics and disruption of soil mycology. It is in the long run more expensive than other options although lower initial cost and ease of establishing the larger seeded items like: Oats (Avena sativa), Barley (Hordium vulgar), Field Peas (Pisum sativum), Lana Vetch (Vicia dasycarpa), Common Vetch (Vicia sativa), Bell Beans (Vicia faba minor). Mowing can be used leaving the biomass to naturally incorporate from surface decomposition – can reduce summer weed establishment and is less costly and less destructive to soil biota. Mowing is constrained by cash crop cultural requirements and needs a no-till or range land seed drill to annually replant the cover with the least disturbance to the soil.
Permanent Companion Crop using ether reseeding annual or perennial plants
Annuals that will re-seed under natural rainfall when fall seeded are self-sustaining when the chosen plants fit the climate zone, soils, and cash crop inputs. The down side - slower organic build up and higher initial cost. Permanent reseeding annual cover list includes the following: (plus items from the green manure list where climate and cultural needs allow re-seeding) Zorro Annual Fescue (Vulpia myuros var. hirsuta), Cucamonga Brome (Bromus carinatus), Blando Brome (Bromus hordeaceus), Rose Clover (Trifolium hirtum), Subterranean Clovers (Trifolium subterraneum), Medics (Medicago spp), etc: There are many cultivars with deferring soil preferences and maturation times.
Read about Zorro Annual Fescue Certified Seed.
Perennials that are summer dormant or very drought tolerant, long lived, and deeper-rooted, offer further advantages in access, traffic tolerance, reduced soil erosion, higher weed suppression, improved soil structure, and maintenance of both above and below ground organisms. There are special challenges to their use as most are much higher cost and slower starting, minimized by appropriate seedbed preparation and weed control.
There are a plethora of plants that with proper selection can mitigate farm specific problems such as wetness (useful in bog areas), cold, heat, extreme pH levels, compacted soil and salt. The list includes the following: San Diego Bentgrass (Agrostis pallens), Strawberry Clover (Trifolium fragiferum), Birdsfoot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), Tall Fescue (Festuca arundinacea), Creeping Wildrye (Leymus triticoides), Meadow Barley (Hordium brachynatherum), Coast range Melic (Melica imperfecta), Nodding Stipa (Nasella cernua), Pine Bluegrass (Poa secunda), Fine Fescues (there are many specie, cultivars and ecotypes to choose from).
Other objectives may include a diversity of flower types and maturation times to enhance a cover’s insectary benefit. This can also serve an esthetic benefit by enhancing the beauty of a site. This is the objective of our INSECTA-FLORA which creates a natural insectory that attracts and supports the beneficials and provides an alternate target for crop destroyers, We have now improved this great mix with Gopher Stopper, a poisonous legume that adds N and has been reported to discourage gopher activity.
The
Sharpshooter
S&S Seeds
Albright Seed Division
P.O. Box 1275
Carpinteria, CA 93014-1275
805-684-0436
805-684-2798 Fax
http://www.Albrightseed.com
Download the Albright Seed Catalog as an Acrobat PDF file now
pdf catalog download (55K) (requires
Acrobat Reader)