Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
There are other potential drawbacks associated with alley crops. Besides
rodents, they can harbor other pests and diseases that attack fruit crops.
They increase the humidity low in the tree canopy, which can increase dis-
ease problems, particularly in low-growing crops. In arid climates, lack of
precipitation and limited or prohibitively expensive irrigation water may
make alley crops less attractive. Invasive weeds can also be troublesome
in cover crops: In the arid Southwest, sandbur, johnsongrass, and Bermuda
grass can all be invasive problems; Canada thistles, quack grass, and hawk-
weeds can make life difficult for fruit growers farther north. For home and
U-pick orchards, cereal crop and alfalfa stubble are less attractive and less
pleasant to walk on than grass. These cover crops may be better suited to
commercial grower-pick orchards.
Each growing region faces its own particular challenges in orchard floor
cover crop management. We will discuss strategies to overcome some of
these potential problems.
Annual Alley Crops
For a newly planted orchard where the tree root systems are small, tilling
under the alley crop to make it a green manure crop can provide some soil-
building benefits. This practice, however, makes access to the orchard diffi-
cult during the growing season when the trees need care. A better strategy
is to grow your green manure crops during the site preparation phase, before
planting your trees.
Annual crops are often cereal grains, such as wheat, barley, oats, or annu-
al rye. Austrian winter peas and other legumes are sometimes used as annu-
al cover crops, and grains and legumes can be blended together in a single
crop. Some annual cover mixes might include 80 pounds of wheat, barley,
or oats per acre; 30 pounds of common buckwheat mixed with 4 pounds of
clover; or 100 pounds of winter or spring peas per acre.
Buckwheat is well adapted to cool, moist climates, short growing seasons,
and acid soils, but it is not winter-hardy and is killed by mild freezing tem-
peratures. Buckwheat is particularly effective at taking up otherwise insol-
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