Project Overview
Transition strategies for an organic peanut-grain cropping system
Annual Reports
Commodities
- Agronomic: millet, peanuts, rye
Practices
- Crop Production: cover crops, organic fertilizers
- Education and Training: demonstration, networking, on-farm/ranch research
- Farm Business Management: agricultural finance
- Pest Management: genetic resistance, physical control
- Production Systems: transitioning to organic
Abstract:
The transitional period to get land certified plays a critical role in minimizing the impact of pests (especially weeds) on organic peanut production. This research demonstrated that transitioning through row crop production (pearl millet and cowpea) provided more adequate weed control than bahiagrass or a cultivated fallow rotation. Cultivar selection also plays an important role in reducing incidence of late leaf spot and maximizing yield potential in peanut, with Tifguard and Georgia-06G as strong candidates for organic production. These two cultivars are also widely available commercially since they are two of the most prominent cultivars grown in conventional production as well. There is still work to be done to make an efficient, effective, and profitable transitional and organic crop production system more feasible on a larger scale. However, great strides are being made in progressing toward a regional supply of organic peanuts from the southeast, where much of the infrastructure of the peanut industry in the U.S. resides.
Project objectives:
- Determine effectiveness of organic transition strategies to manage weeds and improve soil quality in three prior land-use types.
Evaluate the impact of transition practices and weed management strategies on organic peanut production, pest management, and returns on investment.
Determine how management characteristics (physical and human) of farms relate to crop yield and economic returns of organic transition strategies across the transition period.
