Cover  Crops  in  Potato  Produc1on  

ACORN  Conference    Charlo9etown,  PEI    

November  23-­‐  25,  2015  

Ruth  Knight  –  Organic  Consultant  Inc  

Cover  Crop  Services  

Cover  Crop  Services  

•  Weed  management  •  Water  management  •  Disease  Management  •  Pollina1on  •  Soil  Structure  •  Biodiversity  •  Carbon  /  Life  

Gruver,  Joel  h9p://www.slideshare.net/jbgruver/      

Adding  Carbon  to  Soil  Decomposi)on  Pathway     Photosynthesis   Biomass  produc)on   Decomposi)on   CO2  

 Organic  Ma;er    Organic  ma9er  –  Lose  CO2  

Labile  =  not  stable  

Humifica)on  Pathway   Photosynthesis     Transloca)on  to  roots   Transloca)on  to  soil/  microbes  

 Humus    Humus  –  Increase  C  Non  Labile  =  Stable  

Principles  for  Soil  Regenera1on  

1.  Minimize  soil  disturbance  -­‐  tillage  

2.  Keep  soil  covered  24/7  3.  Living  roots  as  long  as  possible  4.  Diversity  

5.  Integrate  livestock  6.  Manage  Farmscape  for  other  ecological  services  -­‐  

pollinators,  wildlife,  community    

Rockey  Farms  

•  Brendon  Rockey,  Rockey  Farms,  Center  Colorado  

•  speciality  potatoes,  cer1fied  potato  seed,  fresh  market  fingerlings,    •  2  year  rota1on,  mul1  species  green  manure,  center  pivot  irriga1on  •  focus  on  quality,  reach  quality  get  quan1ty  •  no  inorganic  fer1lizers,  no  pes1cides  •  green  manures,  companion  cropping,  compost,  fish  based  fer1lizers,  

biological  soil  amendments  •  decreased  pest  and  disease  pressure,  water  savings,  decreased  soil  

erosion,  lower  inputs,  higher  quality  and  more  profitability  •  principles  apply  to  any  crop  

Rockey  Farms  Pro-­‐Bio1c  Approach  

Rockey  Farms  

Adding  Carbon/  Life  is  Base  

Rockey  Farms  

Rockey  Farms  

Adding  Carbon/  Life  is  Base  

Rockey  Farms  

Adding  Carbon/  Life  is  Base  

Is  your  Cropping  Management  Removing  Life    

or    Adding  Life?  

Campanion  Crop  

•  Peas,  chickling  vetch,  and  buckwheat    •  seed  6  "  with  potato  piece,  peas  get  out  of  ground  before  potato  

•  diverse  root  system  in  the  soil  feed  different  biology,  N  fixing,  more  flowers  to  a9ract  predators,  complimentary  vine  types  that  dont  compete  with  the  potatoes  (mycorrhizal  fungi  connec1ng  legumes  to  potatoes  

•  instead  of  looking  at  sterile  environment  with  only  one  crop,  looking  for  adding  some  more  diversity  

•  Peas  seed  itself  acer  potato  harvest.  

Rockey  Farms  Interseeding  Cover  Crops  

Cover  Crop  Emerges  with  Potato  

Cover  Crop  In  Potato  

Green  Manure  Cover  Crop  •  Diversity    -­‐    move  from  single  spp  -­‐  sudan  grass,    to  mul1  10  spp  •  cool  season  broadleaf  -­‐    peas,  len1ls,  radish,  purple  top  turnip,  ethopian  

cabbage  •  cool  season  grasses    -­‐  oats  •  warm  season  broad  leaf  –  buckwheat,  safflower,    •  warm  season  grass  -­‐  sudan,    millet    •  Legumes  –  peas,  len1ls    -­‐  add  free  N,  reduce  fer1lizer  needs  •  Buckwheat  -­‐    mobilize  P,    flowers  a9ract  predator,  •  Brassicas  -­‐  radish  turnip,  cabbage    -­‐  deep  1llage,  nitrogen  scavenger,  weed  

suppression    -­‐  reduce  1llage  prac1ces  •  Sudan  grass  -­‐    nematode  suppression,  subsoil  condi1oner  •  mul1  spp  -­‐  benefits  every  year  from  all  the  green  manure  •  Change  not  very  diverse  &  boring  to  exci1ng  to  grow  new  plants  •   Incorporate  green  manure-­‐  plow  need  to  break  down  residue  for  next  

crop  •  have  reduced  1llage,  one  deep  disturbance  every  other  year  

Cover  Crop  Selec1on  

Cool  Season  Grasses  •  Oats  •  Winter  Rye  •  Winter  Tri1cale    

Warm  Season  Grasses  •  Millet  •  Sorghum  Sudan  

 Cool  Season  Broadleaves    Radish    Turnip    Peas    Clover  

Warm  Season  Broadleaves    Sunn  Hemp    Sunflower    Buckwheat    Cow  Peas    Faba  Beans    

Diversity  •  Crop  Rota1on  •  Cover  Crops  •  Terminate  and  Start  •  Reduced  Tillage  •  Shorten  Maturity  •  Intercrop  •  Add  Livestock  •  Address  Resource  Need  •  Landscape  

No  Till  Soybeans  in  Rye  

No  Till  Soybeans  in  Rye  

No  Till  Soybeans  in  Rye  

No  Till  Soybeans  in  Rye  

Grazing  Fall  Biennials  

Mul1  Species  Pasture  

Mul1  Species  Cover  Crops  

AGROECOSYSTEM  MANAGEMENT  

Increase  in  Natural  Enemies  Species  Diversity  Lower  Pest  Popula1on  Densi1es  

Hedgerows  Shelterbelts  Windbreaks  

Polyculture   Rota1ons   Cover  Crops  

Habitat  Diversifica1on  

Decrease  in  Natural  Enemies  Species  Diversity  Popula1on  Increase  of  Pest  Species  

Organic    Soil  Management  

Low  Soil  Disturbance  Tillage  Prac1ces  

Cultural  Prac1ces   Pes1cides  

Conven1onal  Tillage  

Total  Weed  Removal  

Monoculture   Chemical  Fer1liza1on  

M.  A  Al1eri  /  Agriculture,  Ecosystems  &  Environment  74  (1999)  19-­‐31  

AGROECOSYSTEM  MANAGEMENT  

Increase  in  Natural  Enemies  Species  Diversity  Lower  Pest  Popula1on  Densi1es  

Hedgerows  Shelterbelts  Windbreaks  

Polyculture   Rota1ons   Cover  Crops  

Habitat  Diversifica1on  

Decrease  in  Natural  Enemies  Species  Diversity  Popula1on  Increase  of  Pest  Species  

Organic    Soil  Management  

Low  Soil  Disturbance  Tillage  Prac1ces  

Cultural  Prac1ces   Pes1cides  

Conven1onal  Tillage  

Total  Weed  Removal  

Monoculture   Chemical  Fer1liza1on  

GOOD  HABITS  

POOR  HABITS  

M.  A  Al1eri  /  Agriculture,  Ecosystems  &  Environment  74  (1999)  19-­‐31  

?Commitment  

Thoughts  on  Change  

•  The  true  sign  of  intelligence  is  not  knowledge  but  imagina1on  

•  Look  deep  into  nature,  and  you  then  will  understand  everything  be9er  

•  We  cannot  solve  our  problems  with  the  same  thinking  we  used  when  we  created  them    Albert  Einstein  

Brendon  Rockey’s  Advise    

•  Don’t avoid your problems, solve your problems

•  Encourage life in the soil in order to support the complete system

•  Focus more on quality and less on quantity

•  Eliminate expenses from your operation and start investing in your soil

•  Commit to break bad habits and form good habits

Work  with  Others