Vegetative groundcover (also referred to as cover crop) may be planted in perennial fruit and nut systems for a variety of ecological or production goals, including growth reduction in humid
The use of cover crops can have a significant impact in reducing nutrient losses in fields and affecting overall nutrient availability in soils. Speakers in this session will share some
Insect natural enemies play a critical role in suppressing agricultural pests, but they also rely on plants for alternative food and shelter when their prey is scarce. Many agricultural landscapes
With the concurrent increases in both cover crop adoption and climate change awareness over the past several decades, there is a growing need to understand their interactions. The response to
The NRCS Great Basin Plant Materials Center, based in Fallon, Nevada, performs a 60-day cover crop trial on an area farm in Northern Nevada. What can grow in just 60
In managed agricultural systems, species can be chosen to ensure that plant mixtures contain functional traits that contribute to achieving agronomic and environmental goals. Moreover, many diversification practices, such as
Despite the popularity of multispecies cover crop mixtures, there is little published evidence of their effects on subsequent crop yields, especially for multiple crops grown in rotation. We examined the
A success story in Lovelock, Nevada where several years of drought has plagued the area-and cover crops were the answer for some farmers. It was a gamble that paid off
Despite the common assumption that you can’t make cover crops work on dryland wheat in Eastern Oregon, Wasco County wheat grower Noah Williams is determined to find a solution. By
Warm season cover crops are not currently widely used in western Oregon, but they could be incorporated into crop rotations to serve a variety of purposes, including mitigating for an
Dave Brandt discusses long-term cover cropping in annual crop systems at Dansville, Pennsylvania, in March 2016 during the Columbia County Conservation District Soil Health Conference. Dave’s decades of experience comes
The purpose of this project was to examine potential benefits of cover crops for mature hazelnut orchards in the Willamette Valley, Oregon where 99% of the US hazelnut crop is
Cover crop establishment following processed vegetable culture in Western Oregon is a challenge because harvest often occurs late into the fall. Soil may already be saturated from fall rains, and
The main objectives of this multi-year project were to: 1) Evaluate how planting times, seeding rates, and seeding equipment affected multi-species cover crop establishment. 2) Investigate three different cover crop
Cover crop establishment in late-season crops, like sweet corn, may be difficult due to the relatively short operational window following crop harvest. In regions like western Oregon, where fall-precipitation can
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