Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 5.4
Soil, fertility, and irrigation management techniques promoted by selected part-
nerships.
Soil and weed
Fertility
Water
management
management
management
Walnuts,
Cover crops;
Cover crops;
pears,
substitute contact
compost; nitrogen
apples
for persistent
budgets; chipped
herbicides
prunings
Grapes
Cover crops;
Cover crops;
Precision irrigation
(wine,
substitute contact
compost and
table,
for persistent
pomace application
raisin)
herbicides
Almonds,
Cover crops;
Cover crops;
Irrigation water
prunes,
substitute contact
compost; leaf tissue
analysis; leaf tissue
stone fruit
for persistent
sampling; nitrogen
moisture analysis;
herbicides
budgets; chipped
precision irrigation;
prunings
buffer strips
management, but they must be planned, deployed, and managed care-
fully to achieve the desired benefits.
20
For years, organic growers have
used cover crops as their primary strategy for soil nutrition. BIOS
claimed that cover crops could enhance insect diversity and provide some
pest control, but several UC scientists have tried to find direct evidence
of this through research with little success.
21
Managing cover crops is always about tradeoffs. They provide bene-
fits, but being able to select the right variety for one's farming system and
managing it appropriately are essential. Many growers describe having
to re-think their approach to orchard floor management to successfully
derive benefits from cover crops. Proponents of integrated farming
systems insist that cover crops improve soil quality, enhance water infil-
tration, and provide nutrients, all of which improve crop health.
Growers who have tried and abandoned cover crops describe them as
providing marginal benefits but interfering with access to their crop, and
demanding substantial management effort.
BIOS drew from Bob Bugg's ecological understanding of cover crops,
but also turned to the applied expertise of Fred Thomas, a Chico-based
consultant who participated in seven partnerships. Thomas has sold
cover crop seeds and helped growers plan out how to use them for more
