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Cover cropping is the practice of growing pure or mixed stands of annual or perennial herbaceous plants to cover the soil of croplands for part or all of the year.
The plants may be incorporated into the soil by tillage, as in seasonal cover cropping, or they may be retained for one or several seasons.
When plants are incorporated into the soil by tillage, the organic matter added to the soil is called green manure.
Cover crops manage soil erosion, soil fertility, soil quality, water, weeds, pests, diseases, biodiversity, and wildlife in an agroecosystem—an ecological system managed and shaped by humans.
Cover crops may be off-season crops planted after harvesting the cash crop. Cover crops are nurse crops in that they increase the survival of the main crop being harvested and are often grown over winter.
Benefits of Cover Cropping:
The addition of organic matter and roots increases soil aeration and water-stable aggregate levels, thus improving soil structure and water infiltration. It reduces soil tillage effort and equipment movement and reduces soil compaction and soil depth. The plant cover can better support the machine during the rainy season. Cover crops trap water droplets, weakening their strength and preventing crust formation.
Prevents soil erosion by spreading and slowing surface water movement, reducing runoff, and holding the soil in place with root systems.
Improves soil fertility by adding organic material to the soil during decomposition and by making nutrients in the soil more available through nitrogen fixation.
Controls dust by holding the soil in place with root systems.
Aids in controlling insect pests by harboring beneficial insect predators and parasites.
Modifies the microclimate and temperature by reducing the reflection of sunlight and heat and increasing humidity in the summer.
Minimizes competition between the main crop and noxious weeds.
Reduces soil temperatures.
The drawbacks of cover crop systems can be reduced or eliminated with careful management and agronomic practices. Limitations are small compared with the alternatives:
Non-tillage reduces soil compaction and soil erosion and improves water infiltration. A non-tillage system can be started in an existing or new orchard. An existing orchard should be properly prepared soon after harvest. It is particularly important to do a good job of leveling and grading since the soil will not be reworked.
Frequent Clipping: This system is used in conjunction with a drag hose. Farms with sprinklers, boundaries, ditches, and drip irrigation systems. Frequent mowing eliminates the need for deep-rooted reseeding multiple times each year. Annuals or perennials with low growth are best for overseeding under such control.
In this system, fall-sown cover crops are planted in the ground in early spring, followed by summer fallows into autumn or spontaneous summer annuals. Early tillage weakens cover crops and reduces the risk of frost damage. This system is Used for all types of irrigation in most orchards and vineyards. Frequent tillage is disadvantageous because only annuals can be used for a short period of time and the soil is exposed for most of the year.
In this system, winter cover is eliminated by cultivation or chemical control. This is followed by either volunteer summer annuals, annually summer-seeded annuals, or reseeding summer annuals. The summer cover is used from mid-spring until frost. This system works well with border, furrow, or sprinkler irrigation. It is most frequently used in table grape vineyards and has possible use in citrus.
Cover Crop Plants: Good cover crops maintain or improve soil conditions while meeting the soil, site, and management requirements of specific orchards and vineyards. The wide variety of orchard and vineyard management systems creates demand for different catch crops. Grasses have fibrous root systems that are particularly useful for building soil structure, controlling erosion, and promoting water infiltration. Legumes are not as effective as grasses in improving water infiltration, but they provide nitrogen to the soil and its residues are broken down more quickly. Plants useful as capture crops should be divided into annual sown annuals and legumes, winter overseeded annuals and legumes, summer annuals, perennials and legumes, and other capture crops. can be done.
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By K H Akhil Srinivas.
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