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©2010 Rodale Institute

Impacts of Plastic and Cover Crop Mulches on Weeds, Soil Quality, Yields

and Season Length for Tomatoes

Christine Ziegler Ulsh Research Agroecologist and Science Editor


Vegetable Research at Rodale

1980’s – Research on amaranth, wild triga, and many other vegetable trials

1990’s-2000’s – Focus on larger scale grain production

2010’s – Renewed interest in vegetable production in balance with grain crops


Research Goals

• Maintain and improve yields• Reduce or eliminate external inputs• Manage weeds• Reduce/redirect labor• INCREASE SOIL HEALTH

Make farming more sustainable and profitable by developing and improving organic practices that:

How?• Cover crops• Compost• Rotation• Reduce tillage


What is Organic No-Till?

1. Grow a fall-planted winter annual cover crop, such as rye or hairy vetch

2. Let the cover crop grow in the spring until it reaches at least 50% flowering (mid-late May for rye, late-May or early-June for vetch)

3. Kill the cover crop by rolling it down with a front-mounted roller and planting with a rear-mounted no-till planter in one pass.

Three Basic Steps


The No-Till Roller in Action

Rolling Rye Rolling Hairy Vetch


A Brief History of Organic No-Till

1988 -1994 - First tried in the Low-Input Reduced Tillage (LIRT) Trial

Late 1990s - Attempts to stalk-chop cover crops not very successful

2002 - Roller designed and built by Jeff Moyer and John Brubaker with NE SARE funding

Fall 2004 – Received NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant for no-till received

Spring 2006 – Received SARE No-Till Grant

Fall 2008 – Received OREI IOP No-Till Grant, led by Iowa State University

Spring 2011 – Received SARE No-Till Vegetable Production Grant


Benefits and Challenges of Organic No-Till

• Reduces number of tractor passes over the field (saves time, fuel, and money)

• Keeps the soil covered to reduce erosion and weed growth at vulnerable times

• Retains moisture and cools soil in mid-summer• Eliminates herbicide use

• Can keep soil too cool in the spring• Can allow weed growth if the cover crop stand is

poor• May provide habitat for plant-damaging pests• Requires later planting, and well-timed rolling

Benefits

Challenges


The importance of timing in cover crop termination

Rye, rolled at the soft dough stage, lays down well and dies quickly.

Vetch, when rolled before it reaches at least 50% flowering, doesn’t die

and will continue to grow and compete with the crop plants.


Other cover crops that can be used…

Or any grain – wheat, barley, triticale, mature oats, etc.

Fall-Planted Spring Oats (die and lie down on their own at frost)

Austrian Winter Peas (flowers early)

Crimson Clover (flowers early)


Cast Iron Closing Wheels

Additional Weight130 lb per row

Equipment modifications to make it work


Ron Morse’s No-Till Vegetable Transplanter


No-till pumpkins


No-till peanuts


No-till eggplant


No-till tomatoes


Cover Crop Mulches for Small-Scale Production?

Yes!!!

Cover crops can be crimped by hand, scythed or mowed.

Timing is still key.

Kill is most successful when the cover crop is at bloom or anthesis, but mowing can provide greater flexibility.


Rodale Institute’s Current Vegetable Work

• Identify four effective cover crops/combinations for weed suppression and N contribution in vegetable production;

• Measure efficiency of cover crop termination techniques, economic returns, and soil health impacts;

Project goals:

Project title:

Reducing Plastic Mulch Use by Expanding Adoption of Cover Crop-Based No-Till Systems for Vegetable Producers


Block 1 Block 2 Block 3 Block 4

111 35' Buffer 232 35' Buffer 321 35' Buffer 422

V 112 RV 231 R 322 R 421

113 233 323 423

133 221 313 432

RV 131 R 223 V 311 RV 433

132 222 312 431

121 213 331 412

R 123 V 212 RV 333 V 411

122 211 332 413

First Digit Second Digit Third Digit

1) 1st Replicate 1) Vetch 1) Black plastic

2) 2nd Replicate 2) Rye 2) Roll

3) 3rd Replicate 3) Rye + Vetch 3) Mow

4) 4th Replicate

Field 6 - 2012 SARE No Till Veggie Tomatoes

50' 10Cover

10'

30' 90'

The Basic Experimental Design…

3 cover crop mixturesX 3 cover crop kill methods

9 treatmentsX 4 replications

36 plots


RI’s 2010 trial

3 cover crop treatments:1. Vetch2. Rye3. Rye-vetch mix

3 termination methods:1. Black plastic2. Mowed3. Rolled

3 tomato varieties:1. Black Prince2. Bellstar3. Glacier

1 pole bean variety (KY Wonder)


Changes to the RI Field for 2011

• No beans

• Only one variety of tomato (Glacier)

• One row per plot for all treatments

• Separate weeds only into perennial and annual categories (not by species)

SIMPLIFY!1

11

11

2

11

3

40

' bu

ffe

r

13

1

13

3

13

2

40

' bu

ffe

r

12

2

12

1

12

3

40

' bu

ffe

r

22

2

22

3

22

1

40

' bu

ffe

r

23

3

23

2

23

1

40

' bu

ffe

r

21

2

21

3

21

1

40

' bu

ffe

r

33

1

33

3

33

2

40

' bu

ffe

r

32

3

32

2

32

1

40

' bu

ffe

r

31

2

31

1

31

3

40

' bu

ffe

r

43

2

43

3

43

1

40

' bu

ffe

r

42

2

42

1

42

3

40

' bu

ffe

r

41

2

41

3

41

1

Vetch R + VVetch R + V Rye VetchR + VRye

Field 9/10 2011 No Till Veggie SARE Tomatoes

Rye Vetch

Block 1 Block 2 Block 3 Block 4

R + V Rye

50' covercrop planting width

30'

170'

800'


The 2011 Tomato Field Throughout the Year


Cover Crop Biomass and N Content

2010 Cover Crop Biomass

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

VETCH RYE RYE/VETCH

lb/a

c

plastic rolled/mowed plastic rolled/mowed plastic rolled/mowed

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

black plastic roll mow black plastic roll mow black plastic roll mow

lb/a

cre

dry

mat

ter

May 13th

May 13th

May 13th

May 27th

June 10th June 10th

June 10th

June 10thJune 10th

VETCH ALONE RYE ALONE RYE/VETCH MIX

Nitrogen Content of Cover Crops at Termination

0

50

100

150

200

250

Black Plastic Roll Mow Black Plastic Roll Mow Black Plastic Roll Mow

Co

ver

Cro

p N

itro

gen

(lb

/ac)

VETCH ALONE RYE ALONE RYE/VETCH

2010 Cover Crop Nitrogen Content

0

50

100

150

200

250

VETCH RYE RYE/VETCH

lb/a

c

plastic rolled/mowed plastic rolled/mowed plastic rolled/mowed

2010 2011

Co

ver

cro

p b

iom

ass

Co

ver

cro

p N

co

nte

nt

14,00014,000

lb/a

c D

ry W

eigh

t

lb/a

c D

ry W

eigh

t

lb/a

c

lb/a

c

250250


Weed Biomass at 4 and 8 Weeks

Weed Biomass at 8- 10 weeks

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

BlackPlastic

Rolled Mowed BlackPlastic


Rolled Mowed

Lb

s/a

cre

dry

we

igh

t

VETCH RYE RYE/VETCH

Weed Biomass at 4- 6 weeks

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

BlackPlastic



Rolled Mowed

Lb

s/a

cre

dry

we

igh

t

VETCH RYE RYE/VETCH

2010 8-Week Weed Biomass

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

VETCH RYE RYE/VETCH

lbs

/acr

e d

ry w

eig

ht

plastic roll mow plastic roll mow plastic roll mow

2010 4-Week Weed Biomass

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

VETCH RYE RYE/VETCH

lb/a

cre

dry

wei

gh

t


2010 2011

4-6

wee

ks a

fter

pla

nti

ng

8-10

wee

ks a

fter

pla

nti

ng

80008000

80008000

lb/a

c D

ry W

eigh

tlb

/ac

Dry

Wei

ght

lb/a

c D

ry W

eigh

tlb

/ac

Dry

Wei

ght


Soil Moisture and Temperature

2011 Soil Moisture Through The Season

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

June 14th July 18th Aug 17th Sept 14th

% m

ois

ture

black plastic

roll

mow

black plastic

roll

mow

black plastic

roll

mow

2010 Soil Moisture Through the Season

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

May 7th June 1st June 24th July 20th

% m

ois

ture

vetch plastic

vetch rolled

vetch mowed

rye plastic

rye rolled

rye mowed

rye/vetch plastic

rye/vetch rolled

rye/vetch mowed

2010 Average and Maximum Soil Temperature by Treatment

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35


tem

pe

ratu

re (

C)

vetch rye rye/vetch

2011 Average and Maximum Soil Temperature By Treatment

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35


tem

per

atu

re (

C)

vetch rye rye/vetch

2010 2011

So

il M

ois

ture

by

Dat

eA

vg a

nd

Max

Tem

per

atu

re

35

% m

oist

ure

% m

oist

ure

% m

oist

ure

% m

oist

ure

35

3535

May June July August June July August September


2011 Tomato Yields (total and marketable)

total yield = darker bar (left) marketable yield = lighter bar (right)

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

Black Plastic Rolled Mowed Black Plastic Rolled Mowed Black Plastic Rolled Mowed

lbs/

acre

fre

sh w

eig

ht

e

E

b

B

b

B

de

DE

ab

AB a

A

e

E

cd

CD

c

C

VETCH RYE RYE/VETCH

~ 6500 lbs of tomatoes harvested from late August to mid October

2010 Tomato Yields

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

VETCH RYE RYE/VETCH

lb/a

cre


~ 4000 lbs of tomatoes harvested from late July to early October

2010 2011120,000120,000

lbs/

ac fr

esh

wei

ght

lbs/

ac fr

esh

wei

ght


Comparison of Outcomes from 2010 to 2011

• Rolled Vetch was weediest (replanted=not enough biomass?).

• Mowed Rye/Vetch had the fewest weeds, compared to black plastic.

• Rye and Rye/Vetch kept weed biomass under 1500 kg/ha.

• Rolled and Mowed Rye and Rye/Vetch were comparable to Black Plastic treatment in yields.

• Most rolled and mowed cover crops were equally weedy at 10 weeks

• Rolled Rye/Vetch had the fewest weeds, compared to black plastic.

• All non-plastic treatments had weed biomass over 3000 lbs/ac (up to 6000 lb/ac).

• Black Plastic out-yielded all the other treatments.

• Rolled and Mowed Rye/Vetch out-yielded the Vetch and the Rye, and both termination techniques yielded equally.

2010 2011

This is why we do multi-year agricultural research projects!


Spring 2012 Cover Crop Biomass

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000


Vetch Vetch Vetch Rye Rye Rye Rye/Vetch Rye/Vetch Rye/Vetch

kg

/ha

14,000

kg/h

a


We also performed research at four collaborating farms in 2011

The Farmer Team:Mike Baki – Genesis Farm CSA, Blairstown, NJJames Weaver – Meadow View Farm, Bowers, PAJohn & Aimee Good – Quiet Creek Farm CSA, Kutztown,

PAElizabeth & Douglas Randolph – Swallow Hill Farm,

Cochranville, PA

Doug Randolph planting his cover crops


Plot Lay-Out at Each Collaborating Farm

roll std. roll std roll std

* *11 12 21 22 31 32

* *

Row 1 Row 2 Row 3 Row 4 Row 5 Row 6 ^Corner of field

3 ft 5 ft 5 ft 3 ft 5 ft 5 ft 3ft 5 ft 5 ft

roll: rolled cover crop, rye 70#/A and vetch 25#/A.std: standard practice - spaded cover crop with BioTelo biodegradable plastic mulch1st Digit: Block 2nd Digit: Practice (1= roll, 2=std practice)

39 Feet wide

Gra

ss B

uff

er

Ro

ad

Grass Buffer Road

10

0 f

t lo

ng

Block 3

3 Markers installed here at ~66 ft

3 Markers installed here at ~33 ft

Baki 2010 Tomatoes

Block 1 Block 2

std. roll roll std std. roll

12 11 21 22 32 31

Row 1 Row 2 Row 3 Row 4 Row 5 Row 6

roll: rolled cover crop, rye 70#/A and vetch 25#/A.std: standard practice

1st Digit: Block 2nd Digit: Practice (1= roll, 2=std practice)

Goods 2010 Tomatoes (or squash?)

Block 1 Block 2 Block 3

Baki

Good

Weaver

Randolph

Tomatoes, Melons, and Summer Squash

Tomatoes and Cabbage, using a raised bed roller

Acorn Squash Acorn Squash

10 ft. {R 1

roll

11

R 12

R 2

std Clover 12 Rye

R 11

R 3

roll21

R 10

R 4

std Clover 22 Rye

R 9

R 5

std Clover 32 Rye

R 8

R 6

roll31

R 7} 10 ft.

roll: rolled cover crop, rye 100#/A and clover 25#/A.std: standard practice - pre-emergence burn down

Orange flag

Yellow flag

Yellow flag

350 feet

55 feet

Orange flag

Orange flag

Road32 feet

Yellow flag

std. roll std. roll 9' std. roll std. roll

63'

G # G # G # G # G # G # G # G #

So

uth 100'

No

rth12 11 22 21 32 31 42 41

G # G # G # G # G # G # G # G #

Row 1 Row 2 Row 3 Row 4 Row 5 Row 6 Row 7 Row 810' 10' 10' 10' 7' 10' 10' 10' 10'

33'

Yello

w flag

Yello

w flag

Weaver 2012 Cabbage Weaver 2012 Tomatoes

Yello

w flag

Yello

w flag

Block 1 Block 2 Block 4

po

we

r line

rowB

lue flag

Blu

e flag

Blu

e flag

Dri

ve l

ane

Blu

e flag

Block 3


The Raised Bed Roller


What we’ve learned from the farmers’ fields….


Spring Cover Crop Biomass


0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

Plastic Rolled Plowed Rolled Rolled andHerbicide

Rolled Black Plastic Rolled

bio

ma

ss

(lb

/ac

)

May 6tb

June 2nd

May 10tb

May 26tb

May 23tbMay 23tb

May 25tb

June 1tb

Baki WeaverRandolphGood

rye/clover

Nothing here


Nitrogen Inputs from the Cover CropsNitrogen Inputs from Cover Crops

0

50

100

150

200

250

Black plastic Rolled Plowed Rolled Rolled andherbicided

Rolled Black plastic Rolled

lbs

/ac

May 6th

June 2nd

May 10th

May 26th

May 23rd

May 23rd

May 25th

June 1st

Baki Good Randolph Weaver

nothingSpring Cover Crop Biomass

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000



bio

ma

ss

(lb

/ac

)

May 6tb

June 2nd

May 10tb

May 26tb

May 23tbMay 23tb

May 25tb

June 1tb


rye/clover


Carbon Inputs from the Cover Crops

Cover Crop Carbon Inputs

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

Black plastic Rolled Plowed Rolled Rolled andherbicided

Rolled Black plastic Rolled

lbs

/ac

Baki Good Randolph Weaver

May 6th

June 2nd

May 10th

May 26th May 23rd

May 23rd

May 25th

June 1st

nothingSpring Cover Crop Biomass

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000



bio

ma

ss

(lb

/ac)

May 6tb

June 2nd

May 10tb

May 26tb

May 23tbMay 23tb

May 25tb

June 1tb


rye/clover


Weed Biomass at 4 and 8 WeeksSARE Veggie collaborating farmers 4- 6 week weed biomass

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000



bio

mas

s (k

g/h

a)

Baki

July 20th

July 19th

July 28th

July 28th

WeaverRandolphGood

On-Farm 8- 10 Week Weed Biomass

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000



bio

mas

s (k

g/h

a)

Baki

Aug 17th

Aug 16th

Aug 29th

Aug 29th (tom) Sept

14th (cab)

WeaverRandolphGood

Weeds at 4-6 Weeks

Weeds at 8-10 Weeks


0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000



bio

ma

ss

(lb

/ac

)

May 6tb

June 2nd

May 10tb

May 26tb

May 23tbMay 23tb

May 25tb

June 1tb


rye/clover


Yields

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

40,000

45,000



yie

ld lb

/ac

RandolphGoodBaki Weaver

tomatoes

squash squash

tomatoes


How do we explain these results?

• Wet spring led to low vetch biomass and N input?

• Gaps in cover rolled with the raised bed roller?

• Thistle in one rolled plot at the Randolph’s?

• NO WEEDING?

Stay tuned for answers in the 2012 growing season!


Changes for 2012

LET THEM WEED!!!

• Collaborating farmers will be allowed to weed after the 4-6 week weed biomass cut

• The farmers will track the equipment and amount of time spent weeding, to include in the economic analysis

• RI-site plots will also be weeded after the 4-week biomass cut, tracking labor


Stay tuned for project updates…

Christine [email protected]

(610) 683-1415www.rodaleinstitute.org

Thank you!

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