Increasing Crop Diversity and Production. Chris Benedict WSU Whatcom County Extension

Transcription

1 Increasing Crop Diversity and Production Chris Benedict WSU Whatcom County Extension

2 Outline Crop Rotation Cover Cropping Emerging Research Principles/Theoretical Practice

3 Crop Rotation A planned sequence of crops grown in succession on the same field over time Commonly consists of crops with different temporal, spatial, and cultural needs (Power and Follet 1987; Liebman and Dyck 1993) Crop Rotation Principles

4 Crop Rotation Rotation Planning vs. Crop Sequencing Crop Rotation Principles

5 Effective Rotations: Crop Rotation Maintain or improve profitability Increase crop (plant) diversity Consist of crops with diverse nutrient req. Maintain healthy soil Utilize/create temporally or spatially diverse niches Reduce off-farm inputs Crop Rotation Principles

6 A well-functioning rotation for a dairy farm should: Meet the feed needs of the operation Grow crops adapted to the soils and climate Effectively use nutrients from manure Match the labor availability of the operation Minimize pesticide use through IPM practices Minimize soil erosion Crop Rotation Principles

7 Flexibility Estimate Feed Requirements Essential Components Estimate Production Credit for Rotations Rotation Match Crops to Soils Adjust Ration to rotation Crop Rotation Principles

8 Pest Pressures Feed Shortages Rotations as Tool to Address Production Issues Forage Quality Inconsistent Corn Performance Efficient N Use Crop Rotation Principles

9 Rotation and Nutrients Match soil nutrient pulses with rotational demands Pulses timed for uptake of high-demand crops Crop Rotation Principles

10 Long-term Systems Experiment established WSU Puyallup 2003 Crop Rotation Practices

11 Three Cover Crop Treatments Relay planted Legume (RLY) Post-Harvest Cereal & legume (PH) Short-term Grass-legume Pasture (LEY) Crop Rotation Practices

12 Soil quality measurements include physical, chemical, and biological indicators Bulk Density Infiltration Compaction Particulate OM Enzyme activity Nematodes Collembola Microbial biomass Nitrogen cycling Microbial community structure Nutrients and carbon Crop Rotation Practices

13 Bulk density is an indicator of porosity and compaction. Crop Rotation Practices

14 Soils had higher bulk density during short-term pasture cycle. Bulk density, g/ml a b c a Ley Post Harvest Relay a b a Cover crop a b a b a Cogger, 2013 Crop Rotation Practices

15 Crop Rotations and Weed Populations Anderson, 2010 Crop Rotation Practices

16 Fig. 3 Wild oat populations in research plots at Lacombe, Alta. over four years as affected by growing barley for grain (grain-0) compared to cutting barley for silage at the soft dough stage (norm. silage) or just after head emergence (early sil... J.T. Donovan, R.E. Blackshaw, K.N. Harker, G.W. Clayton, J.R. Moyer, L.M. Dosdall, D.C. Maurice, T.K. T..Integrated approaches to managing weeds in spring-sown crops in western Canada. Crop Rotation Practices

17 Designing Effective Rotations for Weed Management More complex rotations results in lower total weed density and greater weed diversity (Liebman and Dyck 1993) Reduced dominance of a narrow range of species Promote diversity by creating niches for wider range of weeds (Cardina et al. 2002, Dorado et al. 1999; Liebman and Dyck 1993) Crop Rotation Practices

18 Liebman and Staver 2001 (adapted from Kelner et al 1996, and Derksen 1997)

19 Influence of Crop Rotation on Weed Biology/Ecology Davis et al. 2005, Swanton et al., 1999 Crop Rotation Practices

20 Crop Rotation and Plant Disease -Effectiveness is organism-based Soil invader vs. soil inhabitant Source: Davis et al Crop Rotation Practices

21 Crop Rotation & Cover Crops Benefits of Crop Rotation Build soil Reduced pest pressure Reduced dependence on external inputs Decreased crop risk Increased profitability Benefits of Cover Crops Build Soil Reduced pest pressure Reduced dependence on external inputs Reduced nutrient leaching Increased profitability

22 Cover Crop Choice Goal Problem or Use Identify Place Time Select Cover Crop Integrate Rotation Niche Cover Crop Principles

23 Cash/Cover Crop Interactions N-Immobilization Grain vs. Legume Residue Management For benefit? Pest bridging/breaking Disease Arthropods Weeds Cover Crop Principles

24 Interseeding Cover Crops Tetraploid ryegrass Cold tolerance Non-competitive Planted 3-6 leaves lbs/a Disease resistance > still host

25 Winter Cover Crops: Cover Crop Blends Trial Pure rye, pure hairy vetch, and 3 mixtures 30% Rye 40% Rye 50% Rye 2 planting dates Mid Sept and early Oct 2 termination dates Late March and late Apr Cogger et al., 2010

26 Winter Cover Crops: Cover Crop Blends Trial More vetch and early termination decreases C:N Pure vetch and early termination blends should be net suppliers of N in short run Late termination blends should supply N a little more slowly Pure rye would tie up N in short run Carbon:Nitrogen ratio Sept planting late harvest Sept planting early harvest Oct planting late harvest Oct planting early harvest % Rye Cogger et al., 2008

27 Nitrogen uptake by cover crops Winter Cover Crops: Cover Crop Blends Trial June soil nitrate following cover crops N uptake, lb N/a Sept planting date Oct planting date Soil nitrogen, NO 3 -N mg/kg Sept planting date Oct planting date Rye % Rye % Cogger et al., 2008

28 8210HR 8210HR 8210HR 8210R 8210HR 8210HR 8210HR 8210HR 8210HR 8210HR 8210R 8210HR 8210HR 8210HR 8210HR 8210R 8210HR 8210HR Ryegrass 8210HR Aroostook Rye Common Rye Ryegrass Aroostook Rye Common Rye 8210HR 8210HR 8210R 8210HR 8210HR Field 485' E400' N-S REP ' REP ' REP 2 No CC (Bare) 40 REP 1 STND 150 lbs N/A PSNT-based 75 lbs N/A 30' 40 Cover Crop Practices

29 Aroostook Rye Common Rye Cover Crop Practices

30 Cover Crop Practices

31 Cover Crop Practices

32 Emerging Research Interseeding Soybeans/Corn Perennial Wheat

33

34 Post Sexual Cycle Regrowth, October

35 Stay Green 6 1/2 feet

36 November, 2012

37

38 What we Know: Tonnage of dry matter per area is 3X wheat or barley. Twelve ton per acre straw alone? Feed quality (green chop) is good. Grain protein higher than comparable cereals. Indeterminate types offer a range of options for growers.

39 whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/newsletter

40 Chris Benedict Questions 1000 N. Forest St. Bellingham, WA ext. 21 whatcom.wsu.edu/ag