Exploring Cover Crops in an Integrated Approach to Reduce Disease Pressure and Increase Beneficial Insects in Watermelon Production

Project Overview

GS18-189
Project Type: Graduate Student
Funds awarded in 2018: $13,664.00
Projected End Date: 08/31/2019
Grant Recipient: University of Arkansas - Little Rock
Region: Southern
State: Arkansas
Graduate Student:
Paige Hickman
Email
Major Professor:
Dr. Jackie Lee
Email
University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service

Commodities

  • Fruits: melons

Practices

  • Crop Production: cover crops, pollination
  • Pest Management: integrated pest management

    Proposal abstract:

    Cover crops offer a range of benefits that include suppressing disease in subsequent cash crops, providing habitat for beneficial insects, and promoting pollinators. Overwintering cover crops can provide early floral resources for pollinators and refuge to other beneficial insects like natural predators before cash crops are planted. These attributes may help bridge beneficial insects into the crop following cover crop termination.

    Cover crops have also been found to reduce severity of some watermelon diseases. Based on these benefits, it is worthwhile to investigate the potential of different cover crops for use as an integrated pest management strategy in watermelon production. Such a strategy would benefit watermelon yield while cutting costs and pesticide use, making production more sustainable. This will be a 1-year project designed to determine the cover crop monocultures or mixtures best suited for the watermelon disease suppression, pollinator production, and bridging beneficial insects into watermelon production systems.

    To achieve this goal, insects will be sampled in various cover crop treatments before planting, and disease and insects will be evaluated in the subsequently planted watermelon. Findings will be presented to watermelon growers in the form of educational materials and a field day.

    Project objectives from proposal:

    Objective 1: Evaluate winter cover crops and cover crop mixtures to determine which are best suited for increasing natural enemies.

    Objective 2: Evaluate winter cover crops and cover crop mixtures to determine which are best suite for disease suppression in watermelon.

    Objective 3: Determine the effect of different winter cover crops and cover crop mixtures on pollinator abundance and diversity, especially for pollinators essential to watermelon production.

    Objective 4: Participate in a field day to disseminate information on cover crops in watermelon production systems.

    Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.