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Tag: cover crops

25 Jun 2024
By Firstfruits Consulting Website Articles ,

Short-term effects of cover crops on soil properties and the abundance of N-cycling genes in citrus agroecosystems

Limited information is available on the influence of cover crops (CCs) on soil nutrient cycling and the abundance of bacterial and archaeal communities, nitrogen (N)-fixers, nitrifiers, and denitrifiers in tree crops. We examined the effect of replacing the traditional weedy inter-row middle of a commercial citrus orchard in Florida with two different mixtures of CCs: legumes and non-legumes (LG + NL) and non-legumes only (NL). A no-treatment/grower standard was used as a control (GSC). After one year of CCs, the use of NL and LG + NL CCs significantly increased soil carbon (C) availability in the row middles compared to GSC as shown by increases in permanganate oxidizable C, and to a lesser extent, soil organic matter. Treatment with LG + NL significantly increased soil ammonium content compared to the NL and GSC treatments. Improved C cycling in soils treated with CCs was related to increased abundance of bacteria and archaea. Changes in the size of the soil N pool were accompanied by increases in the abundance of N-fixation (nifH) and nitrification (amoA) genes in soils treated with LG + NL, likely due to greater N-mineralization and N-fixation by legumes.

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28 Feb 2023
Cover Crops
0 Comments By Firstfruits Consulting Website News ,

Improve soil health with cover crops

Cover crops support soil health by increasing soil carbon – organic matter – which stimulates microbial activity and improves soil structure.

The impact of cover crops on soil health was discussed at a workshop facilitated by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) held at Oak Valley in Grabouw in August. Ivan Jansen van Rensburg from Barenbrug described eight soil-health benefits of cover crops: sequestering carbon, supporting microbes, suppressing diseases, fixing nitrogen, suppressing weeds, preventing erosion, building structure, and improving aeration and infiltration. Different cover crops have different strengths, so diversity is important. For example, radish roots muscle into the soil, breaking up compaction, enabling water movement. But Jansen van Rensburg pointed out that the finer roots of cereals are as useful as the large roots of radishes.

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05 Dec 2020
Cover Crops
0 Comments By Firstfruits Consulting Website Articles , , ,

Cover crops for citrus

Cover crops are specific crops not intended for sale but for soil improvement and sustainability. They are increasingly common in the agricultural fields of the Midwest and other grain-producing regions because of the wide range of benefits not just for the soil, but also the cash crop. In those systems, cover crops improve water and nutrient retention, promote microbial activity, reduce weed growth and insect pests, and improve plant growth. Similar impacts have been found in tree crops like apples and peaches, where cover crops are planted in row middles.

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29 Jun 2020
Cover Crops
0 Comments By Firstfruits Consulting Website News , , , , , , , , ,

Can cover crops save Florida’s citrus?

Citrus greening has devastated the Sunshine State’s orange industry. Researchers and pioneering farmers see cover crops as a road to recovery.

For the last couple of decades, a tiny insect called the Asian citrus psyllid has fed on the stems and leaves of the orange trees in Florida, infecting them with bacteria that cause a lethal disease called citrus greening. The bacterial disease, huanglongbing (HLB), originated in China and has destroyed 90 percent of the state’s groves, devastating its $9 billion citrus industry.

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28 Apr 2020
Cover Crops
0 Comments By Firstfruits Consulting Website Articles ,

Orchard Floor Management: Cover Crops

Cover crops can be one component of orchard floor management, but are not a “system” alone. Cover crops are important in maintaining soil structure, encouraging water infiltration, reducing erosion, reducing mud and dust, and maintaining an acceptable driving surface for equipment. A good cover crop can be established with grasses, broadleaf plants such as legumes, or both, although a uniform plant stand is often easier to manage than one made up of multiple crop species. A cover crop should establish itself quickly and thereafter should not require much maintenance. It should be chosen and managed so that competition with trees is minimal.

Grasses are the most common cover crops in orchards. Many different grasses and grass mixtures are available, so orchardists can choose what is best suited to each particular situation. Several low growing perennial rye grasses are available and allow easy orchard access even when headed out.

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31 Oct 2019
Cover Crops
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Citrus Grower Sees Success with Cover Crops

Ed James has citrus in his veins. He has been working and thriving in the citrus business since he was a teenager — from hoeing orange trees to owning a caretaking business that serviced thousands of acres. That is, until about eight years ago.

In 2010, James looked around his personal 45-acre citrus grove and realized it was time to throw in the towel. The citrus industry in Florida had gone from over 800,000 acres to less than 400,000 acres. Citrus greening was the main culprit, but there were other factors for the decline. For James, it had just become completely unprofitable. The trees looked stunted and almost dead from foot rot, Diaprepes root weevil and HLB.

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28 Aug 2019
Cover crops
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Cover crops for citrus

Sarah Strauss, Davie Kadyampakeni, Ramdas Kanissery, Tara Wade, Lauren Diepenbrock and Juanita Popenoe
Citrus Industry

Cover crops are specific crops not intended for sale but for soil improvement and sustainability. They are increasingly common in the agricultural fields of the Midwest and other grain-producing regions because of the wide range of benefits not just for the soil, but also the cash crop. In those systems, cover crops improve water and nutrient retention, promote microbial activity, reduce weed growth and insect pests, and improve plant growth. Similar impacts have been found in tree crops like apples and peaches, where cover crops are planted in row middles.

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26 Jun 2019
Soil Surface
0 Comments By Firstfruits Consulting Website Articles , , , ,

Effects of soil surface management practices on soil and tree parameters in a ‘Cripps Pink’/M7 apple orchard 2. Tree performance and root distribution

John Wooldridge, Johan Fourie & Marlise E Joubert
https://www.tandfonline.com

There are around 22 000 ha of commercial apple orchards in South Africa. Of these, 70% are located in the upland areas of the Western Cape. The apple industry exports c. 40% of its production and supports an on-farm labour force of 27 800 (Hortgro 2012. Apple producers are currently adjusting their production techniques to meet increasing consumer demands for organic over conventionally produced fruit.

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