Cover crops for weed suppression in organic vegetable systems in semiarid subtropical Texas

Soti, Pushpa; Racelis, Alexis

doi:10.1007/s13165-020-00285-4

Cited by 19 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…To conclude, our results are in congruence with other studies which collectively demonstrate that intercropping different cover crops can influence the insect diversity during the cropping season [29,34,[36][37][38]43,44] and bridge a few, if not all, insects and their benefits, if any, to the subsequent cash crop [41]. However, it is important to plan and select appropriate cover crops for maximum benefits that are both species-and location-specific.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…Cabbage grown on the cover crop treatment plots had significantly higher biomass than the control cabbage. This is consistent with the benefits of cover crops reported in the earlier studies [25,44,45]. It is also important to note that there was a significant difference between the height of the two cover crops, with sunn hemp being taller than cowpea [39,40].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

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Impact of Cover Crops on Insect Community Dynamics in Organic Farming

et al. 2020

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Manipulating cover crops as an integrated pest management strategy has recently gained popularity in both traditional and organic agroecosystems. However, little information is available for producers to make informed decisions about cover crop selection, management, and their potential use as a pest management tool. To address this, we conducted a two-year, four-season field experiment on the potential of various cover crops during the summer seasons of both years, followed by monocultures of cash crops during winters. We hypothesized that the cover crop treatments would attract beneficial insects and repel damaging herbivores in a species-specific manner, and the insect community dynamics would be bridged to the cash crops in the subsequent season. In addition, we hypothesized that cash crops would suffer lower herbivory damage following specific cover crop treatments. Our design comprised of three cover crops. Our results indicate that cover crops support beneficial insects during the early summer season, while the time of growing season doesnot affect herbivore abundance. Crop-specific effects were found for herbivore abundance with possible cascading effects on insect community as well as damage levels on the subsequent cash crop, but without any impact on the growth traits of the cash crop. Together, our data suggest that cover crops, when carefully selected, can be an integral part of a pest management strategy for sustainable agriculture.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Impact of Cover Crops on Insect Community Dynamics in Organic Farming

et al. 2020

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“…Millsp. & Chase] [17]. Cover crops with greater biomass close their canopy early and provide greater suppression of associated weeds [29].…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The use of cover crops has been suggested as an effective approach to overcome herbiciderelated ill effects in cropping systems [14][15][16]. Cover crops offer alternative soil and weed management options to tillage and chemical weed control [17,18]. Additional benefits of cover crops are reductions in soil erosion and improvement of soil health, nutrient and water relations, provision of nectar for pollinators, and habitat for beneficial insects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Utilization of the neighborhood design to evaluate suitable cover crops and their density for Echinochloa colona management

Matloob

Chauhan

2021

PLoS ONE

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Summer weed species, including Echinochloa colona, are becoming problematic in the eastern grain region of Australia, but cover crops can be useful to suppress weeds during the summer fallow period. The present study evaluated the growth and seed production of E. colona grown alone or with four and eight cover crop plants per pot (i.e., 80 and 160 plants m-2). Four legume (cowpea, lablab, pigeonpea, and soybean) and two grass (forage sorghum and Japanese millet) cover crops were used. Interference by cover crops reduced the height, the number of leaves and tillers, inflorescence number, seed production, and biomass of this weed than when it was grown alone. Cover crops differed in their ability to suppress the growth and seed production of E. colona. The effect of cover crop density on the studied attributes was non-significant in most cases. Pigeonpea as a cover crop was the least effective in suppressing the growth and seed production of E. colona. In general, leguminous cover crops exhibited less suppression of E. colona than grasses. Forage sorghum was most efficient in reducing the growth of this weed. Forage sorghum and Japanese millet reduced E. colona leaf and tiller numbers per plant by 90 and 87%, respectively. These cover crops reduced E. colona leaf number to only 17 per plant as against 160 per plant recorded without cover crops. Inflorescence number per E. colona plant growing alone was as high as 48. However, it was reduced by 20–92% when this weed was grown with cover crop plants. E. colona’s seed production was significantly suppressed by all the cover crops, except pigeonpea. Biomass of E. colona was suppressed largely by forage sorghum and Japanese millet compared to other cover crops. Among the cover crops, pigeonpea produced the lowest biomass of 11 g pot-1, and the highest biomass (114 g pot-1) was produced by forage sorghum. The study demonstrated the usefulness of cover crops, especially forage sorghum and Japanese millet, to suppress the growth and seed output of E. colona.

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“…Cover cropping is a conservation strategy where crops are grown primarily to improve soil health. It improves soil organic matter, soil fertility, water infiltration and retention, as well as suppresses weed emergence and disrupts pest life cycles (Snapp et al, 2005; Soti and Racelis, 2020). Legumes used in cover cropping contribute largely to sustainable nitrogen management through biological nitrogen fixation (Sarrantonio and Gallandt, 2003) and estimated to contribute 50-70 Tg of nitrogen each year to the global nitrogen budget, 18-26 Tg of which is within agricultural systems (Herridge et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rhizobial adhesives enhance nodule formation in sunn hemp

Rai

Choudhury

Soti

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Inoculation of legume seed with rhizobacteria before planting is an efficient and convenient way of introducing effective rhizobacteria to soil vicinity of legume root and ensuring nitrogen fixation in cover cropped field. However, there are still challenges in identifying the proper seed coating technique to ensure microbial survival in adverse environmental conditions and maintaining the symbiotic relation with plants. The objectives of this study are firstly, to analyze the effectiveness of different sticking agents aiding inoculation of Bradyrhizobium japonicum L. in sunn hemp seeds to enhance root nodule formation. Secondly, to observe nodulation pattern over time as affected by the treatment and lastly to check if there is significant difference between main root and lateral root nodulation pattern due to the treatments. Two similar field studies were conducted in fall 2019 and summer 2020 using four sticking agents: water, peanut oil, 10% jaggery solution, and 40% gum arabic solution. The fall study showed no significant differences among total nodules across treatments, but percentage of active nodules was highest in the oil treatment and lowest in the water treatment. In the summer study, significantly higher total nodules were seen in the jaggery treatment and the lowest was in water treatment again, however, there were no differences in percentage of total active nodules across treatments. Interestingly, the trend across weeks showed gum arabic treatment exhibiting higher main root nodulation and jaggery treatment exhibiting higher lateral root nodulation. Overall, water as an adhesive was less effective in aiding nodulation compared to other treatments. Peanut oil and jaggery showed better performance as adhesives aiding active nodulation and could be more effective than gum arabic or water.

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Cover crops for weed suppression in organic vegetable systems in semiarid subtropical Texas

Cited by 19 publications

References 45 publications

Impact of Cover Crops on Insect Community Dynamics in Organic Farming

Impact of Cover Crops on Insect Community Dynamics in Organic Farming

Utilization of the neighborhood design to evaluate suitable cover crops and their density for Echinochloa colona management

Rhizobial adhesives enhance nodule formation in sunn hemp

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