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Re: soil erosion/no till
jwright@telusplanet.net wrote:
>
> Hello all,
>
> I'm curious about how/why you would grow a
> cover crop in a no tillage system? For the same reasons you do in other systems: Increase soil tilth, add
N(legumes), add organic matter, further help in erosion control,
smoother weeds(this helps some in reducing herbicides), moisture
retention(after cover is killed)
Are you
> talking about land at extreme risk of water
> erosion in the non-cropping season? No, hilly land that is farmed with diverse crops.
>
> I agree that soil erosion is one of the pervasive
> and and permanent treats to sustainability.
>
> Are there any large scale no-till cropping
> systems that minimise herbicide use?Yes, With Cover crops, crop rotation and statigic low rate herbicide
use. There are a few farmers across the nation who are doing this on a
large scale.
Or are
> you talking about using a "little" less
> than conventional systems?I use about 1/2 the rates(averaged on my whole farm) that CONVENTIONAL
farmers use and I'm 100% no-till. The last 2 years I used only 1/3 the
rate of pesticides on my no-till processing tomatoes when compared to
the top 4 growers in the State.
It depends on who you talk to, the kind of experience thay have, and
what they want to achive. It is possible to significantly reduce rates
in no-till, but more research is needed.
Hope this helps!
This website will give you more information on no-till vegetables.
http://www2.epix.net/~cmfarm/
Steve Groff
Cedar Meadow Farm
679 Hilldale Rd
Holtwood PA 17532
Ph. 717-284-5152
References: