 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
With Cover Crops, Build Soil Health, Improve Crop Performance Beltsville, MD – For several decades, farmers and researchers have been discovering a bevy of positive contributions from cover crops to improve soil and crop health. Cover crops, typically not grown for harvest, cover the soil to protect it against erosion and capture nitrogen before it leaches to vital waters like the Chesapeake Bay. Yet, the latest research shows they may be able to do even more. To learn the latest about how cover crops can improve soil and crop performance on your farm, don’t miss the next Future Harvest field day set for Nov. 27. Ray Weil, a University of Maryland soil science Weil has studied forage radish, a new cover crop, since 2001 and encouraged more than 100 area farmers to test it in their fields. Forage radish’s uncommonly long, thick root is proving a good weapon in combating compaction. Participants will get a rare glimpse of topsoil and radish roots in a soil pit as well as through an underground camera that is sent through a fiber optic cable. The compaction research is just one of the many benefits researchers are testing. “In addition to conserving soil and adding organic matter,” Weil said, “we think they can alleviate compaction, suppress weeds, capture and release nitrogen to protect groundwater and fertilizer the cash crop, and possibly suppress nematodes. Winter cover crops are one of our best tools for capturing nutrients before they leach away to pollute the Chesapeake Bay.” The cover crops field day is sponsored by Future Harvest-CASA, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting profitable and sustainable food and farming systems in the Chesapeake Bay region. The field day will take place at the USDA Beltsville Agricultural Research Center’s North Farm. The research was funded by the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, the Maryland Center for Agroecology, and the Maryland Soybean Board, and supported by the University of Maryland Department of Environmental Science and Technology. The field day will run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 27, with snacks provided. Participants must register to gain access to the research campus. Contact Mark Davis, Future Harvest director, to register and get visitors’ pass, at fhcasa@verizon.net or (443) 340-9207. BARC is located on Route 1, just north of IKEA. Turn onto South Drive, pass through the main gate and stop at the field day sign to pick up your visitor pass and directions to the field day site. Future Harvest-CASA
|
professor and cover crops expert, will be joined by several of his graduate students in demonstrating how covers like rye, rapeseed and forage radish may alleviate vexing farm concerns like compaction. “There is a whole class of cover crops – the Brassica family – that has the potential to do specific things that many farmers need,” Weil said.Winter cover crops with large taproots, such as forage radish, penetrate compacted soil layers when they are wet and soft during the winter. The roots leave channels that enable water, air and cash crop roots to penetrate the soil profile more easily during the summer when the soil is dry and hard. 
 |
 |