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Title: ENHANCED PEST MANAGEMENT WITH COVER CROP MULCHES

Author
item Teasdale, John
item Abdul Baki, Aref
item Mills, Douglas
item Thorpe, Kevin

Submitted to: Acta Horticulturae
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/12/2002
Publication Date: 6/30/2004
Citation: Teasdale, J.R., Abdul Baki, A.A., Mills, D.J., Thorpe, K.W. 2004. Enhanced pest management with cover crop mulches. Acta Horticulturae. 638:135-140.

Interpretive Summary: Agricultural weeds and pests cause loss of crop yield and income for farmers as well as increasing environmental risk to natural resources from increased pesticide use. An ecologically-based, systems approach is needed that focuses on preventive practices and natural processes for regulating pest populations. No-tillage production systems that maintain high levels of cover crop residue on the soil surface offers opportunities to regulate weed and pest populations. Research has been conducted at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center during the past decade to develop and characterize a no-tillage system for growing fresh-market tomatoes in a hairy vetch cover crop. This research has identified the potential for cover crop residue to suppress several pests including weed populations, foliar diseases of tomato, and colonization by the Colorado potato beetle. Reduction of weed and pest populations by cover crops has reduced or eliminated crop yield loss by these organisms. This research has been used by scientists, extension personnel, and growers to develop cover crop-based cropping systems worldwide.

Technical Abstract: Living and dead plant vegetation on the surface of soils can provide opportunities for regulating pest populations in no-tillage production systems. Cover crops generate substantial quantities of surface vegetation and residue that can be managed to enhance control of pests. Research at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center has shown that weed germination and emergence is inhibited by high levels of cover crop mulch, that small-seeded annual weeds are particularly susceptible to suppression by mulches, and that herbicide use can be reduced when cover crops are incorporated into cropping systems. Growing mixtures of legume and cereal cover crops is a particularly effective way to produce large quantities of cover crop residue for weed suppression. Mulches with a high surface area-to-soil area ratio and a low amount of internal empty space are most highly correlated with inhibition of weed emergence. Foliar diseases can be reduced by a cover crop mulch, primarily by preventing dispersal of pathogen propagules through splashing and/or wind-borne processes. Cover crops can suppress establishment of soil-inhabiting herbivores such as Colorado potato beetle by disrupting emergence and migration behavior. Reduction of weed and pest populations by cover crops has reduced or eliminated crop yield loss caused by these organisms.