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Organic broccoli production on transition soils: Comparing cover crops, tillage and sidedress N

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2009

Daniel L. Schellenberg ,
Ronald D. Morse  and
Gregory E. Welbaum
Daniel L. Schellenberg
Affiliation:
Department of Viticulture and Enology, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Ronald D. Morse
Affiliation:
Department of Horticulture, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 301 Saunders Hall, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0327, USA.
Gregory E. Welbaum*
Affiliation:
Department of Horticulture, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 301 Saunders Hall, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0327, USA.
*
*Corresponding author: welbaum@vt.edu
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Abstract

Little information is available about how farmers in transition to organic practices should manage short- and long-term N fertility. The objectives of this research were (1) to evaluate the leguminous cover crops lablab (Dolichos lablab L.), soybean (Glycine max L.), sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea L.) and a mixture of sunn hemp and cowpea (Vigna sinensis Endl.) as N sources; (2) to compare N availability and broccoli yield when cover crops were incorporated with conventional tillage (CT) or retained as a surface mulch using no-tillage (NT) practices; and (3) to quantify the amount of supplemental sidedress nitrogen required to maximize the yield of organic broccoli (Brassica oleracea Group Italica) on transition soils. Broccoli was grown during the first year after organic transition in the spring and fall of 2006 at the Kentland Agricultural Research Farm near Blacksburg, VA. Spring (P<0.001) and fall (P<0.001) broccoli yield increased as the rate of sidedress N was increased up to 112 kg N ha−1, and showed a quadratic correlation with leaf N (P=<0.001, R2=0.80 and P=<0.001, R2=0.38, respectively). There was no difference in spring broccoli yield between CT and NT; however, CT produced the highest yield in the fall crop. At low sidedress N rates, leaf N was highest in CT plots, but tillage had no effect on N uptake at high N rates. This indicates that early season and perhaps total plant-available mineralized N was greater in CT than NT; however, potential N deficiency in NT soil may be compensated by sidedress N. Broccoli yield was not affected by leguminous cover crop, even though the quantity of cover crop biomass and N contribution was different among species. This suggests that N availability from leguminous cover crops may be impacted by other ecological processes such as soil microbial activity. This study shows that organic CT and NT growers can maximize broccoli yield in transition soils low in N availability, by using leguminous cover crops in combination with moderate amounts of sidedress N.

Keywords

Brassica olercea Group Italicasustainable agriculture
Type
Preliminary Report
Information
Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems , Volume 24 , Issue 2 , June 2009 , pp. 85 - 91
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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