A low-input sustainable agricultural system for the production of staked, fresh-market field tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) is described. The system uses winter annual cover crops to fix N, recycle leftover nutrients, produce biomass, and prevent soil erosion throughout the winter and spring. Yields of tomato plants grown in hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth), crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.), and rye (Secale cereale L.) plus hairy vetch mulches were higher than those grown in the conventional black polyethylene (BP) mulch system in 2 of 3 years. Fruit were heavier with the plant mulches than with BP mulch. Eight weeks after transplanting, N levels in tomato leaves were higher with plant than with BP mulch, although the plant mulch plots received only 50% of the N applied to the BP plots. The cover crops had no effect on populations of five phytoparasitic nematode species.

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Fresh-market Tomato Production in a Low-input Alternative System Using Cover-crop Mulch

Biodegradable mulch mat comprising an air and water-permeable, light-impermeable, open celled, composite of granules and fibers in a binder matrix prepared from a foam precursor. Biodegradable fibers include cellulosic fibers such as shredded wood, straw, paper, corn stalks, cotton fiber and mosses; protein fibers such as hair; and synthetic polymer fibers such as vinyl polymer fibers and polyamide fibers. Granules include milled hard vegetation such as corn cob, nut shells, seed hulls, seeds, gourds and bark. The mulch mats can also comprise pigments, fungicides, soil builders such as vermiculite, perlite, sand, diatomaceous earth and gypsum; nutrients such as nitrate, potassium and phosphorus compounds; soil conditioners such as limestone, sulfur and iron sulfate. Useful binders include polysaccharides, glycosides, vegetable gums, vinyl polymers, waxes and crosslinkable oils. Useful surfactants include saponins, e.g. extract of Yucca shidigera, and amine surfactants. Slurries of fibers, granules, binder and surfactant are gas entrained, e.g. by whipping, to provide a foam which is applied to soil around seedlings; the foams dry to a durable, biodegradable mulch mat which suppresses weeds, builds soil, conserves soil and water and improves soil temperature providing an enhanced growing environment.

Biodegradable mulch mat

Sustainable weed management in conservation agriculture

Weed suppression is one of several benefits achieved by including a cover crop in a cropping system. A requirement for developing cover crop systems is to find species and cultivars which are adapted for the local climate and latitude, prevent weed infestation, and do not compete with the main crop. Two experimental series were established at three locations in Norway to evaluate the ability of different species for use as cover crops in vegetable production. The first series of experiments was with subclover (Trifolium subterraneum L.) cultivars sown at different dates throughout the summer and the second with different winter annual legume species sown in late summer. Winter hardiness, life cycle, growth characteristics, and weed suppression ability of winter annual legumes sown in the autumn were studied. The experiments showed the following ranking of winter hardiness: hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth.) (best), black medic (Medicago lupulina L.), crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.), and subclover (poorest). Time of flowering and senescence, factors related to competition in cover crop systems, showed that subclover was the most promising species followed by crimson dover and hairy vetch-black medic. The winter annual legume species showed the ability for natural reestablishment in the second autumn. Hairy vetch showed the highest biomass production, the lowest regrowth ability after mowing, and the best weed suppression. Subclover showed a very promising life cycle for the use as living mulch; however, more winter hardy cultivars or species with similar growth characteristic are needed before common commercial use in northern regions. In conclusion, until more suitable species or cultivars are found or developed through plant breeding, hairy vetch is the most promising winter annual cover crop under Norwegian conditions.

Winter Annual Legumes for Use as Cover Crops in Row Crops in Northern Regions

Comparison of the effects of cover crops and nitrogen fertilization on tomato yield, root growth, and soil properties

A novel approach is described for using two winter annual legumes - hairy vetch (Vicia villosa L. Roth.) and 'Mt. Barker' subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.) - as cover crops and plant mulches in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) production. The approach calls for sowing the cover crops in the fall in prepared beds, mowing the cover crops with a high-speed flail mower immediately before transplanting the tomato seedlings into the field in early May, and then transplanting the seedlings into the beds with minimal interruption of the soil or mulch cover. Plants in the vetch treatment with no tillage produced a higher yield than those grown under black polyethylene, paper, or no mulch in conventional systems. Both plant mulches delayed fruit maturity by approximately 10 days relative to black polyethylene mulch. The proposed approach eliminates tillage, reduces the need for applying synthetic fertilizers and herbicides, and is adapted to large- and small-scale tomato production in a low-input, no-tillage system. It also may be used to produce other vegetables

J.R. Teasdale

Papers

A no-tillage tomato production system using hairy vetch and subterranean clover mulches