Field Management/Mulch Project

In tropical regions, huge volumes of biomass are generated year round. Mowing this biomass can be expensive and time consuming, but chopping and collecting the product with a crop chopper and using it as mulch increases its potential as a multi-use resource. Fernand Severi, who operates a diverse biodynamic farming operation on 16 acres of northeast Kauai, will use his Western SARE organic grant to evaluate the health of two fields and a garden plot using harvested biomass as mulch, cover crops and a biodynamic treatment. He plans to measure the soil fertility, crop productivity and general health under each treatment. Successful chopping and use of the biomass will preclude treatment with Roundup, a common method of dealing with biomass in tropical regions.