Reducing plastic mulch use by expanding adoption of cover-crop-based no-till systems for vegetable producers

Reducing plastic mulch use by expanding adoption of cover-crop-based no-till systems for vegetable producers

Summary

To meet our goals of informing at least 3000 growers about reducing plastic mulch use through no-till cover crops, Rodale Institute (RI) researchers successfully delivered extensive educational programming, completed the first year of RI research trials of tomatoes and pole beans, built solid relationships with 4 collaborating farms, and established 2010-2011 field trials on all 5 sites. Researchers disseminated information on cover crop-based no-till vegetable production to more than 3000 unique visitors through 2 project web articles and monthly online updates. More than 160 farmers and educators visited the RI research and demonstration plots and nearly 180 received presentations on the practices at 4 educational events. Main take-home messages of the presentations were the effectiveness of the rye-vetch cover crop combination at both suppressing weeds and increasing soil nitrogen in tomato production, while maintaining a yield comparable to that of black plastic.

Objectives/Performance Targets

Impact Objective 1 (Farmer Practices): By the end of this project, the Institute will have documentation that at least 25 regional farmers implemented this system on 10 percent of their collective vegetable production acreage (at least 20 acres), decreasing their input costs for that acreage by 90 percent, increasing their net income for that acreage by 50 percent, relative to their standard black plastic-based system. This performance objective will be assessed by:
• Follow-up phone and web-based surveys of farmer participants at project-related field days, extension-hosted events, and grower-oriented conference presentations.
o At the July 2010 Field Day, “Emerging Technologies in Organic Agriculture”, 7 of the 16 farmers (47 percent) who returned the survey indicated that they intended to make changes to their farming operations with cover crops. All farmers said they intended to make some sort of change to their farming operations. We determined some possible Field Day improvements for next year: Some responding farmers requested more stream-lined field days with sessions targeted to farm operations of different sizes and scales. Others suggested that RI increase event advertising by calling farmers, and follow up with a detailed cover crop specific survey asking about acreage adopted.
o A researcher-moderated, farmer-led rotating discussion group is being planned for the 2011 field day, where individual farmers will bring to the table a different aspect of the system. Small groups would then move through the different “topic” sessions led by the different farmers.
o We have worked with 4 participating farmers to plant cover crops in preparation for 2011 data collection on yield, soil characteristics, and weed biomass. This work encompasses approximately 6 acres.
o Through individual meetings and discussions, researchers worked with participating farmers to identify appropriate crops and rotation entry points to try the cover crop-based no-till practices. Researchers calibrated drills at all 4 farms to plant a mixture of 70lb/A-‘Aroostook’ rye: 25lb/A-‘Purple Bounty’ hairy vetch approximately 6 weeks before the first anticipated frost (mid-August-early-September). The participating farmers drilled the rye-vetch mixture over 6 acres.

Impact Objective 2 (Farmer Awareness): By the end of this project, the Institute will have documentation that at least 3000 farmers became informed about the cover crop mulch system of vegetable production, as documented by:
• Attendance / participant surveys at RI field days,
o Sixty-seven people attended RI’s July 2010 Field Day, “Emerging Technologies in Organic Agriculture,” where the no-till vegetable trial was showcased. Attendees viewed a presentation about the project and the benefits of cover crops, had a tour of the trial, and responded to a survey. We handed out free copies of “Sustainable Production of Fresh-Market Tomatoes and Other Vegetables With Cover Crop Mulches” by J. Teasdale, so that participants could receive information on how to implement the system on their own farms. At this Field Day, 100 percent of the farmers (n=16) agreed or strongly agreed that the field day encouraged them to explore or recommend the use of cover crops in vegetable production.
o Project presentations at RI’s June 4th field event hosted for PA Women in Agriculture (PA-WAgN) reached 42 participants, and RI’s June 9th training session hosted for NRCS scientists and agents reached 59 people.
• Attendance / participant surveys at extension-hosted events,
• Attendance / participant surveys at grower-oriented conference presentations,
o About 20 farmers attended Alison Grantham’s “Alternatives to Black Plastic” presentation at the May 27th meeting of the Berks Agricultural Resource Network, a non-profit agency serving the Berks County agricultural community.
• Independent page views of website articles
o “From The Field To The Lab”, a monthly (from July through October) online posting of RI research team activities, contained an on-going narrative and explanation of work conducted in the No-Till Veggie trial at RI. These posts had a total 914 unique page-views, with an average 2.55 minutes spent on the page (site average is 1.45 minutes). (These posts can be viewed at: http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/20100901_from-the-field-to-the-lab-august)
o “Infestation Hits First-Year Multi-Variant Tomato Trial,” an article posted on our website in January 2010, described the results from the 2009 trial of tomatoes planted in rye cover crops. This posting had 1,539 unique views with an average view-time of 4.44 minutes. (This article is available at: http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/20100119/nfr_Infestation_hits_first-year_multi-variant_tomato_trial)
o “Escape from Black Plastic”, was posted in June, an article detailing the initiation of the summer research trial and describing various mulches. The page had 1,577 unique page-views with an average 3.52 minutes spent on page. (This article can be viewed at: http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/20100603_Escape_from_black_plastic)
• Responses to surveys posted in the sidebars of website articles
o Ten farmers responded to a survey included in a sidebar of the “Escape From Black Plastic” article. The survey asked respondents about their experiences with black plastic, their potential approach to adopting a no-till cover crop system, and their concerns about the system. The majority of responses indicated a desire to find alternatives to black plastic and some conservative experimentation with cover crops, but also identified a need for resources about cover crop varieties and management, and a fear of weeds in the system. These responses will help guide development of research questions and answers, as well as approaches to presenting project results.
• Purchases of printed Production Manual/ Responses to survey linked to production manual download.
o A production manual will be written at the end of the second full year of research conducted at RI.

Impact Objective 3 (Professional Development): 8 regional extension agents will each host or schedule to host at least 1 event, collectively reaching 400 farmers, that includes information on cover crop use and no-till termination for vegetable production.
• Collaborating extension agent Tianna DuPont will deliver model presentations at the field days, and RI researchers will quantify extension agent adoption through follow-up phone surveys of extension agent field day attendees.
o With data from the 2010 Rodale Institute trial, we will be able to provide extension agents with important background information. Our major findings thus far suggest that rye-vetch mixtures are superior to either vetch alone or rye alone for weed suppression and nitrogen inputs, with yields comparable to black plastic systems.
o Collaborating local extension agents have 19 courses planned for the SE region of PA for next year. Last year these courses were attended by almost 500 farmers. An extension-hosted intensive organic vegetable production training course was successful this year (n=60 participants) and 12 extension agents could be targeted to provide this course next year.

Impact Objective 4 (Researcher/Ag Professional Awareness): By the end of this project, the Institute will have documentation that at least 500 horticultural research scientists and extension agents became informed about the cover crop mulch system of vegetable production.
• This Impact Objective has not yet been addressed, but will be assessed in Y3 of the project.

• Impact Objective 2 (Farmer Awareness): By the end of this project, the Institute will have documentation that at least 3000 farmers became informed about the cover crop mulch system of vegetable production, as documented by:
  • Attendance / participant surveys at RI field days,
  o Sixty-seven people attended RI’s July 2010 Field Day, “Emerging Technologies in Organic Agriculture,” where the no-till vegetable trial was showcased. Attendees viewed a presentation about the project including the benefits of cover crops, had a tour of the trial, and responded to a survey. We handed out free copies of “Sustainable Production of Fresh-Market Tomatoes and Other Vegetables With Cover Crop Mulches” by J. Teasdale, so that participants could receive information on how to implement the system on their own farms. At this Field Day, 100 percent of the farmers (n=16) agreed or strongly agreed that the field day encouraged them to explore or recommend the use of cover crops in vegetable production.
  o Project presentations at RI’s June 4th field event hosted for PA Women in Agriculture (PA-WAgN) reached 42 participants, and RI’s June 9th training session hosted for NRCS scientists and agents reached 59 people.
  • Attendance / participant surveys at grower-oriented conference presentations,
  o About 20 farmers attended Alison Grantham’s “Alternatives to Black Plastic” presentation at the May 27th meeting of the Berks Agricultural Resource Network, a non-profit agency serving the Berks County agricultural community.
  • Independent page views of website articles
  o “From The Field To The Lab”, a monthly (from July through October) online posting of RI research team activities, contained an on-going narrative and explanation of work conducted in the No-Till Veggie trial at RI. These posts had a total 914 unique page-views, with an average 2.55 minutes spent on the page (site average is 1.45 minutes). (These posts can be viewed at: http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/20100901_from-the-field-to-the-lab-august)
  o “Infestation Hits First-Year Multi-Variant Tomato Trial,” an article posted on our website in January 2010, described the results from the 2009 trial of tomatoes planted in rye cover crops. This posting had 1,539 unique views with an average view-time of 4.44 minutes. (This article is available at: http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/20100119/nfr_Infestation_hits_first-year_multi-variant_tomato_trial)
  o “Escape from Black Plastic”, was posted in June, an article detailing the initiation of the summer research trial and describing various mulches. The page had 1,577 unique page-views with an average 3.52 minutes spent on page. (This article can be viewed at: http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/20100603_Escape_from_black_plastic)
  • Responses to surveys posted in the sidebars of website articles
  o Ten farmers responded to a survey included in a sidebar of the “Escape From Black Plastic” article. The survey asked respondents about their experiences with black plastic, their potential approach to adopting a no-till cover crop system, and their concerns about the system. The majority of responses indicated a desire to find alternatives to black plastic and some conservative experimentation with cover crops, but also identified a need for resources about cover crop varieties and management, and a fear of weeds in the system. These responses will help guide development of research questions and answers, as well as approaches to presenting project results.
  • Purchases of printed Production Manual
  o A production manual will be written at the end of the second full year of research conducted at RI.
  • Responses to survey linked to production manual download.
  o Production manual will be written at the end of 2 years of research conducted at RI.

• 2010 Photos and Graphs for Annual Report

Accomplishments/Milestones

Milestone 1:
More than 1,500 people viewed the introductory project article for an average of almost 4 minutes. Most viewers who responded to the survey posted with the article indicated an interest in finding alternatives to black plastic and a need for more information (n=10). Some had tried conservative experimentation with cover crops already, and were eager to find plastic alternatives, but were concerned about weed-control and lack of equipment. Next year, we plan to boost survey responses by increasing survey visibility, by linking the survey to the RI main page and by contacting farmers directly by email and phone.

Milestone 2:
Technicians installed 3 temperature data loggers (“I-Buttons”) in each plot (n=123 total) in May 2010. I-Buttons were successfully removed in October (n=117) to collect soil temperature readings throughout the season. Average season soil temperatures (June through October) in the 9 different treatments were fairly similar, ranging in the tomato field from 19.47 degrees C in mowed rye to 21.60 degrees C in rye-vetch terminated with black plastic.
Bi-monthly during the harvest season, we collected data in each plot to determine percent soil moisture. Seasonal average percent soil moisture in the tomato trial ranged from 22% for vetch in black plastic to 29% for mowed rye-vetch. Generally, the vetch treatments had lower soil moisture. In the green bean trial, percent soil moisture ranged from 21% under black plastic to 24% with mowed rye.
Cover crop biomass was collected for analysis of kg/ha production, percent N, and percent C. Comparisons within the rolled treatment suggest that cover crop nitrogen concentrations were greatest in the treatments of mixed rye-vetch (121 kg N/ha) and lowest in the rye treatments (53 kg N/ha).
Stream-lined data-collection protocols and operational suggestions have been created for next season’s RI trial, based on the successes and challenges of this season. One surprise from this season was the slow failure of the moisture data probe (a ThetaProbe), which provided increasingly varied and questionable readings as the season wore on. Thus, soil moisture was determined gravimetrically for the remainder of the season and we plan to use this method next growing season as well.

Milestone 3:
Weed density and diversity were assessed 4 weeks after planting and 8 weeks after planting in all treatments. A bulk sample for each sampling date was collected to be analyzed for percent C, a measurement which correlates with organic matter. Weeds were sorted by species and assigned Bayer codes for analysis and percentages of each weed species were calculated in the plots. The most common weeds were identified and these were included in a newly–created, user-friendly reference document for use in coming years. We also determined percent ground cover in all plots before tomatoes reached full maturity. After four weeks, rolled rye treatments had the least amount of weed biomass (51 kg/ha) and rolled vetch treatments had the most weed biomass (2486 kg/ha). In the bean trials in rye cover crops, yields were greatest in plots terminated by high-residue undercutting and lowest in plots terminated by black plastic. Total weed biomass (assessed 4 and 8 weeks after planting) was greatest in plots terminated by black plastic (3256 kg/ha), and lowest in the mowed plots (906 kg/ha).

Milestone 4:
Total tomato yield was collected and weighed twice weekly from August 6th until September 29th. The farmer across the road noticed Late Blight in his hoop houses, but the very dry weather, post-rain copper sprays, and limiting contamination kept our tomatoes blight-free. To avoid flooding the market and displacing local tomato farmers, project tomatoes were donated to the Berks County Food Bank. Yields ranged from 16,559 lbs/acre (in the rolled vetch treatment) up to 44,079 lbs/acre (in the mowed rye-vetch treatment). These values seem much larger than the Pennsylvania 10-year commercial average of 10,500 to 22,000 lbs/acre because we weighed all fruit (including unsellable fruit) and extended our season until almost October. Preliminary results from the tomato trial suggest that yields were highest in the mowed rye-vetch combination treatments and lowest in the rolled vetch treatment.
Our trial of Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans served as an effective demonstration of rye as a cover crop, although bean yield data collection was time-consuming and production highly variable due to imperfect bean plant survival. Next year we plan to discontinue growing beans, in order to focus our efforts on the tomato trial.

Milestone 5:
The July 2010 Field Day, “Emerging Technologies in Organic Agriculture” hosted at Rodale Institute, educated a total of 67 participants on cover crop use, supplemental weed control practices, and no-till practices. The field day included a tour of RI’s field trials with a period for discussion and questions/answers. Ninety-three percent of the Field Day participants rated the usefulness of the “Cover Crops in Vegetable Production” presentation as “very good” or “excellent” and 100 percent of farmers gave it this rating. In addition to the July field day, an NRCS training workshop highlighted the project field trial (n=59 participants).

Milestone 6:
From August to October, RI staff visited the four collaborating farmers to gather field history; lay out field treatments; deliver and plant cover crop seed; sample soil for percent moisture, rocks and fines, and active organic carbon; and answer any questions the farmers had about the project or the work involved. All the farmers are eager to learn more about the potential to use cover crops on their farms.

Milestone 7:
RI staff performed bi-weekly analysis of soil samples for percent moisture in each of the RI treatments. On-farm and RI trial soil samples were collected in September and processed to determine percent moisture, and percent rocks and fines. Data for active organic carbon is currently being processed. Samples of cover crop biomass were sent to Penn State University for analysis of carbon and nitrogen concentration. An unexpected challenge was the mid-season drought the region experienced this summer, making soil collection more time-consuming than usual due to the difficulty of inserting sampling probes into the dry soil.

• 2010 Milestones Table

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

The ultimate accomplishments of this first year’s project work have been the collection of field data at RI, the development of relationships with collaborating farmers, and the initiation of field trials on their farms. The first field season yielded successful data collection and productive vegetable harvests, even with the dry weather. Now, with these first years of results in-hand, we are well-positioned to begin more education and outreach in the coming year.

Collaborators: