Comparison of Trellis-Grown Cucumbers and Tomatoes Versus Free-Standing Plants on Three Types of Mulch, With and Without Intercropping for Disease Severity and Yield

View the project final report

Commodities

• Vegetables: cucurbits, tomatoes

Practices

• Crop Production: conservation tillage
• Production Systems: general crop production
• Soil Management: organic matter

Trellis systems have been shown to be less expensive and to require less labor than staking individual plants; trellises can also make pest monitoring more effective, decrease chemical usage, and reduce diseases and post-harvest rot. The farmer will compare cucumbers and tomatoes grown on trellises and mulched with hay, shredded newspaper, or crushed leaves with freestanding cucumber and tomato plants grown with the same mulches. Diseases and pests will be monitored, and the farmer will make her results available to other farmers through field days and a brochure.