Pumpkin Grown on Leaf Mulch Produces Large Attractive Fruit and Builds Soil Quality

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1 Pumpkin Grown on Leaf Mulch Produces Large Attractive Fruit and Builds Soil Quality J. Heckman and A. Wyenandt Mid-Atlantic Pumpkin School January 24, 2007

2 2 Passes = 6 inch Mulch Layer (20 dry tons/acre)

3 Hand Planting June 14, 2005

4 Seed Emergence Mulch vs Bare Soil Mulch Plot Bare Soil Plot

5 2006 Soil Erosion Mulch vs Bare Soil Mulch Plot Bare Soil Plot

6 Erosion After Five Inch Rainfall Event in 2006

7 Comparing Crop Years July 22, 2005 July 20, 2006

8 Date Sidedress N Applications July 22, 2005 vs July 6, 2006

9 Shredded Leaves C/N=50/1 Early Season N Deficiency

10 2004 No Legume vs Legume Cover Crop Previous Crop Corn Previous Crop Clover

11 Fruit Cleanliness Mulch vs Bare Soil Fruit Underside Mulch Plot Fruit Underside Bare Soil Plot

12 Fruit Size, Yield, Quality Mulch vs Bare Soil Mulch Plot Bare Soil Plot

13 Leaf Mulch and N Rate Treatments Pumpkins Planted Mid-June Mulch N Application Sidedress Rate and Time Pre-plant July August Herbicide (75) lbs/acre Herbicide (125) Mulch (75) Mulch (125)

14 Sept 11, 2005 Bare Soil Plot

15 Sept 11, 2005 Mulch Soil Plot

16 2005 Effect of Leaf Mulch and N Rate on Pumpkins Fruit Number in Thousands/Acre N rate Mulch lbs/a Orange Green % Orange None ab 15 ab 85 ab None a 11 b 88 a Mulch bc 16 a 81 bc Mulch c 18 a 78 c

17 2005 Effect of Leaf Mulch and N Rate on Pumpkins Mulch N rate Fruit Size Yield lbs/a lbs/fruit tons/a None b 15.3 a None b 15.7 a Mulch a 16.7 a Mulch a 15.3 a

18 2005 Effect of Leaf Mulch and N Rate on Pumpkins Mulch N rate Good Handles Clean Fruit lbs/a % % None ab 16 b None a 19 b Mulch ab 91 a Mulch b 93 a

19 2006 Effect of Leaf Mulch and N Rate on Pumpkins N rate Fruit Number in Thousands/Acre Mulch lbs/a Orange Green % Orange None a 17 ab 81 a None a 19 a 80 a Mulch a 7 c 92 a Mulch a 8 bc 89 a

20 2006 Effect of Leaf Mulch and N Rate on Pumpkins Mulch N rate Fruit Size Yield lbs/a lbs/fruit tons/a None c 13.6 b None c 13.4 b Mulch b 21.1 a Mulch a 22.2 a

21 2006 Effect of Leaf Mulch and N Rate on Pumpkins Mulch N rate Clean Fruit lbs/a % None b None b Mulch a Mulch a

22 Weeds vs Mulch in 2005

23 Weeds vs Mulch in 2006

24 Soil Coverage Following Spring Mulch vs Bare Soil Mulch Plot Bare Soil Plot

25 Sweet Corn in 2006 Following 2005 Pumpkin

26 Effect of 2005 Leaf Mulch and N Rate on 2006 Sweet Corn Mulch N rate Ear Size Market Yield lbs/a grams tons/acre None b 8.7 b None b 9.5 a Mulch a 9.3 ab Mulch a 9.8 a

27 Summary: Leaf Mulch on Pumpkin Weeds in mulch plots without herbicide was minimal and similar to bare soil plots with herbicide N immobilization was temporary Need early sidedress N N rate had little influence on crop yield Orange fruit size increased 30 to 50% with mulch Total yield by weight on bare vs mulch plots was not different in 2005 but greater with mulch in 2006 Clean fruit near 100% for mulch vs about 25% for bare soil Mulch creates attractive U-pick operation Mulch controls soil erosion and helps build organic matter

28 A Harvest of Entertainment

29 Municipal Leaves on Farmland Concerns/Benefits to Consider May need a permit Carbon to Nitrogen ratio = 50 to 1 Relatively low phosphorus content Estimate of nutrient value $150+ Slight increase in ph, (6.2 to 6.4 in 3 yr study) May contain some trash

30 Municipal Leaves on Farmland Concerns/Benefits to Consider Heavy metals (lead, cadmium) generally do not exceed and in most cases are well below standards for sewage sludge Allelopathic concern studies: no inhibition found Tree species primarily oak maple Improved soil organic matter content Improved soil moisture holding capacity

31 Soil Organic Matter Levels Follow ing Three Years of Applying MCST - Leaves Soil Organic Matter Percentages MCST - Leaves Tons/Acre/Year

32 Effect of leaves on Soil Moisture Content (0 to 6 inch layer) Leaves Soil Sample Data None Sept 2, % moisture ---- July 15, inch layer each yr

33 Average Macronutrient Content of Municipal Leaves (dry wt basis) Macronutrient % 6 inch layer or lbs in 20 tons/a Carbon 47 18,800 Nitrogen Phosphorus as P 2 O 5 Potassium as K 2 O Calcium Magnesium Sulfur

34 Average Micronutrient Content of Municipal Leaves (dry wt basis) Micronutrient ppm 6inch layer or lbs/20 tons/a Boron Iron Manganese Zinc Sodium Chlorine Copper Cobalt Nickel

35 Soybean Grain Yield Bu/Acre MCST-Leaves Tons/Acre 0 N Rate 100 N Rate

36 Corn Grain Yield B u /A c r e MCST-Leaves Tons/Acre 170 Lbs/Acre 270 Lbs/Acre