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cover mix at a heavy 30 lb./A between the rows. The mix is 50 percent white Dutch clover,30 percent berseem clover, and 20 percent HUIA white clover, which is a bit taller than the white Dutch. He mows the field in fall,then broadcasts medium red clover early the next spring to establish a hay field and replace the berseem, which is not winterhardy (207, 208). New Zealand white clover provided good weed control for winter squash in the wetter of two years in a New York trial. It was used in an experimental non-chemical system relying on over-therow compost for in-row weed control. Plants were seeded into tilled strips 16 inches wide spaced 4 feet apart. Poor seed establishment and lagging clover growth in the drier year created weed problems, especially with perennial competitors.The living mulch/compost system yielded less than a conventionally tilled and fertilized control both years, due in part to delayed crop development from the in-row compost (226). The research showed that in dry years,mowing alone won’t suppress a living mulch enough to keep it from competing for soil moisture with crops in 16-inch rows.Further,weeds can be even more competitive than the clover for water during these dry times (226). A California study showed that frequent mowing can work with careful management. A white clover cover reduced levels of cabbage aphids in harvested broccoli heads compared with clean-cultivated broccoli. The clover-mulched plants, in strip-tilled rows 4 inches wide,had yield and size comparable to clean cultivated rows. However, only intensive irrigation and mowing prevented moisture competition. To be profitable commercially, the system would require irrigation or a less thirsty legume, as well as field-scale equipment able to mow between several rows in a single pass (67). Chemical suppression is difficult. An application rate that sets back the clover sufficiently one year may be too harsh (killing the clover) or not suppressive the next year due to moisture, temperature or soil conditions. Healthy stands can produce 80 to 130 lb. N/A when killed the year after establishment. Partial rotary tillage. In a New York evaluation of mechanical suppression, sweet corn planting strips 20 inches wide were rotary tilled June 2 into white clover. While mowing (even five times) didn’t sufficiently suppress clover, partial rotary tilling at two weeks after emergence worked well. A strip of clover allowed to pass between the tines led to ample clover regrowth.A surge of N within a month of tilling aided the growing corn. The loss of root and nodule tissue following stress from tillage or herbicide shock seems to release N from the clover. Leaf smut caused less problem on the living-mulch corn than on the clean-cultivated check plot (133). Crop shading. Sweet corn shading can hold white clover in check when corn is planted in 15- inch rows and about 15 inches apart within the row. This spacing yielded higher corn growth rates, more marketable ears per plant and higher crop yields than conventional plots without clover in an Oregon study. Corn was planted into tilled strips 4 to 6 inches wide about the same time the clover was chemically suppressed. Adapted row-harvesting equipment and handpicking would be needed to make the spacing practical (105). Unsuppressed white Dutch clover established at asparagus planting controlled weeds and provided N over time to the asparagus in a Wisconsin study, but reduced yield significantly. Establishing the clover in the second year or third year of an asparagus planting would be more effective (251). Other Options Seed crop should be harvested when most seed heads are light brown, about 25 to 30 days after full bloom. Intermediate types of white clover add protein and longevity to permanent grass pastures without legumes.Taller ladino types can be grazed or harvested. Living mulch fields can be overseeded with grasses or other legumes to rotate into pasture after vegetable crops, providing IPM options and economic flexibility. 150 MANAGING COVER CROPS PROFITABLY
COMPARATIVE NOTES • White clover is less tolerant of basic soils above pH 7 than are other clovers. • In a Wisconsin comparison, ladino clover biomass was similar to mammoth red clover when spring-seeded (330). • White clover stores up to 45 percent of its N contribution in its roots, more than any other major legume cover crop. • Ladino and alsike are the best hay-type legumes on poorly drained soils. • Spring growth of fall-seeded white clover begins in mid-May in the Midwest, about the same time as alfalfa. Seed sources. Widely available. WOOLLYPOD VETCH Vicia villosa ssp. dasycarpa Also called: LANA vetch Cycle: cool-season annual Type: legume Roles: N source, weed suppressor, erosion preventer, add organic matter, attract bees Mix with: other legumes, grasses See charts, p. 47 to 53, for ranking and management summary. area of primary utility viable during mild, moist seasons Specialty vetches such as woollypod and purple vetch (Vicia benghalensis) are fastergrowing alternatives to hairy vetch (Vicia villosa) in Hardiness Zone 7 and warmer. Requiring little or no irrigation as a winter cover in these areas,they provide dependable,abundant N and organic matter, as well as excellent weed suppression. Many growers of high-value crops in California rely on one or more vetch species as a self-reseeding cover crop, beneficial insect habitat and mulch. They can mow the vetch during winter and in late spring after it reseeds. Some vineyard managers seed LANA woollypod vetch each year with oats or as part of a legume mix—common vetch, subterranean clover, a medic and LANA, for example. They plant the mix in alternate alleyways to save on seeding costs and reduce moisture competition, while ensuring sufficient cover that they can mow or disk. LANA’s climbing tendency (even more so than purple or common vetch) and abundant biomass can become problems in vineyards and young orchards,but can be readily managed with regular monitoring and timely mowing. In Zone 5 and colder and parts of Zone 6,woollypod vetch can serve as a winterkilled mulch— or as a quick, easy-to-mow spring cover—for weed control and N addition to vegetable transplants. It’s a good choice as an overwintering cover before or after tomato crops in Zone 6 and warmer. A study in California showed that WHOOLLYPOD VETCH 151
Page 1 and 2:
$19.00 Managing Cover Crops Profita
Page 3 and 4:
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE NETWORK THE
Page 5 and 6:
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This book represent
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FOREWORD Cover crops slow erosion,
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HOW TO USE THIS BOOK Think of this
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BENEFITS OF COVER CROPS Cover crops
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decompose quickly, especially in wa
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Expect excessive field traffic arou
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5. Settle for the Best Available Co
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ORGANIC MATTER ADDITIONS The benefi
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Cover Crops Can Stabilize Your Soil
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generally a good idea to kill a leg
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• For perennial legumes that have
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MANAGING PESTS WITH COVER CROPS By
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The farmers get weed control by fla
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insects. This approach has been use
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• Subterranean Clover (Trifolium
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does no direct tillage, but aggress
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eplace the cover crop before beans,
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as buckwheat, cowpeas, sorghum-suda
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the couple harrows every two to thr
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Start Where You Are In many instanc
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INTRODUCTION TO CHARTS The four com
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pH Preferred. The pH range in which
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Chart 1 TOP REGIONAL COVER CROP SPE
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Chart 2 PERFORMANCE AND ROLES conti
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Chart 3B PLANTING Cost Cost/A Inoc.
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Chart 4B POTENTIAL DISADVANTAGES Sp
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ANNUAL RYEGRASS Lolium multiflorum
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prolonged heat, cold or drought.Tha
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crop for establishing a forage or l
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arley plants from fungus, armyworm
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can increase the fertilizer replace
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cultural and local considerations t
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(339), and by 99 percent in a Calif
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Killing & Controlling Nutrient avai
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ye/vetch/crimson clover,for example
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• In the Corn Belt and northern U
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Wheat Offers High-Value Weed Contro
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BUCKWHEAT Fagopyrum esculentum Type
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Rotations Buckwheat is used most co
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plants fractured subsoil compaction
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press some species of nematodes. Sp
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Incorporated sorghum-sudangrass res
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lodge soil particles. Sunlight is u
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Crimson-Berseem Clover Combo Works
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in water-use efficiency in the tria
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Microorganisms mineralize, or conve
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COWPEAS Vigna unguiculata Also call
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control if you go with rows, using
Page 101 and 102: drought-tolerant sorghum-sudangrass
Page 103 and 104: several winter annual legumes that
Page 105 and 106: In Ohio, crimson clover mixed with
Page 107 and 108: FIELD PEAS Pisum sativum subsp. arv
Page 109 and 110: Chill tolerant. Austrian winter pea
Page 111 and 112: In a “Flexible Green Manure” cr
Page 113 and 114: values from 13 to 34,but were gener
Page 115 and 116: year Maryland study that also inclu
Page 117 and 118: possible, but remember that hairy v
Page 119 and 120: especially in winter grains. With w
Page 121 and 122: less biomass than overwintering sta
Page 123 and 124: Jess Counts on GEORGE for N and Org
Page 125 and 126: after mid-April planting in souther
Page 127 and 128: second cutting. Regrowth comes from
Page 129 and 130: RED CLOVER Trifolium pratense Also
Page 131 and 132: MANAGEMENT Establishment & Fieldwor
Page 133 and 134: it function more like a biennial th
Page 135 and 136: Subclover cultivars often are descr
Page 137 and 138: trample in the seed. Subclover ofte
Page 139 and 140: Crop Systems Interseeded with wheat
Page 141 and 142: SWEETCLOVERS Yellow sweetclover (Me
Page 143 and 144: difficult to establish annual cover
Page 145 and 146: Spring seeding provides yellow swee
Page 147 and 148: enhances soil fertility, texture an
Page 149 and 150: WHITE CLOVER Trifolium repens Also
Page 151: for several freeze-thaw cycles. Mak
Page 155 and 156: Fall planting. Most growers seed at
Page 157 and 158: combining with a belt-type rubber p
Page 159 and 160: Then seed the remainder while walki
Page 161 and 162: screening, a number of farmers have
Page 163 and 164: the seed is relatively expensive. B
Page 165 and 166: Dyer, David A. 1998. Conservation L
Page 167 and 168: OTHER RESOURCES Cover Crops On The
Page 169 and 170: Cal/West Seeds Box 1428 Woodland, C
Page 171 and 172: Pick Seed Canada P.O. Box 304 1 Gre
Page 173 and 174: SARE Northeast Region Office Univer
Page 175 and 176: APPENDIX F REGIONAL EXPERTS These i
Page 177 and 178: David W. Wolfe Cornell University 1
Page 179 and 180: Bob Burdette Southern Seed Certific
Page 181 and 182: Shiou Kuo Washington State Universi
Page 183 and 184: 20 Bird, George. 1997. Personal com
Page 185 and 186: 59 Clark,A.J. 1993. Managing hairy
Page 187 and 188: 102 Fernholz, Carmen. 1997. Persona
Page 189 and 190: 141 Helm, J.L. and Dwain Meyer. 199
Page 191 and 192: 186 Koume, C.N. et al. 1988. Screen
Page 193 and 194: 226 Mohler, Charles L. 1994.A livin
Page 195 and 196: 267 Plumer, Mike. 1997. Personal co
Page 197 and 198: 309 Shrestha,A. et al. 1996.“Annu
Page 199 and 200: 352 Varco, J.J., J.O. Sanford and J
Page 201 and 202: Bulk Discounts: Except as indicated
Page 203 and 204:
INDEX A Alfalfa, 10, 42, 84, 88, 94
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performance and roles, 48-49 planti
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sorghum-sudangrass hybrids, 85 subt
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subterranean clovers, 133, 137 swee
Page 211 and 212:
comparative notes, 71 crop systems,
Page 213 and 214:
crimson clover for, 102, 103 crop r
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