December 1, 2014 by

Selecting Summer Cover Crops

It’s tempting to cash crop every season, but eventually – especially on Coastal Plain soils – you’ll run into problems with disease pressure impacting yields. In addition, farming on Coastal Plain soils with their low level of organic matter makes using recommended herbicide label rates tricky; low organic matter results in a narrow window between efficacy and phytotoxicity, negatively affecting yields.

Cover crops can help remedy these problems. Summer cover crops are an option few Northeast growers use because there is only so much time in-season to cash crop, but it’s an option worth serious consideration. Summer cover crops add versatility to your cropping rotation – another chance to address weed and disease pressure plus build organic matter; another chance to boost future yields.

Don’t miss Cover Crop Field Day
Date: December 11, 2014
Location: Now or Never Farm, 37 Welisewitz Road, Ringoes, NJ
Host: USDA NRCS and North Jersey RC&D
Contact: For Information and RSVP (by Dec. 8) call USDA NRCS 908-782-4614×3

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Articles, Evidence Based Agriculture, Organic Farming, Soils
December 1, 2014 by

Seven Years of Cover Crops in Rotations

A cover crop rotations study was conducted to determine if Coastal Plains soils could meet the challenge of cash cropping most seasons while also advancing soil organic matter and cation exchange capacity.

The rotations were Sudex-Rye-Soybean-Rye-Corn-Rye-Soybean-Wheat-Corn-Rye-Sudex-Wheat–Alfalfa. Soil organic matter remained unchanged the first three years but started to rise in year four. By year seven, soil organic matter had increased by 40 percent. Soil cation exchange capacity increased by 50 percent during the study period.

Soil Organic Matter vs CEC

USDA NE-SARE Cover Crop Rotations Study Results

Filed Under: Articles, Evidence Based Agriculture, Organic Farming, Soils
September 28, 2014 by

Farm Calls: Biocontrol of Mexican Bean Beetle

This past week a grower called to ask about a recurring problem,

We’ve got a problem that hits us every year in our snap beans that we grow to sell at the local farm markets. Around June we experience heavy losses due to Mexican Bean Beetle. Somebody mentioned using parasitic wasps as a possible control agent.
What do you know about this and how do we go about getting them?

Mexican Bean Beetle: Adult and Larva

Mexican Bean Beetle:
Adult and Larva

Mexican bean beetle (MBB) has been a serious bean pest for decades in the Mid-Atlantic region, causing intolerable yield reductions. Fortunately, the Phillip Alampi Beneficial Insect Rearing Laboratory at the NJ Department of Agriculture rears small wasps (Pediobius foveolatus) that parasitize young Mexican bean beetle larvae before they can cause significant defoliation damage. The NJDA program saves about 21 tons of pesticide applications that would cost farmers about $450,000 a year.  [Read more…]

Filed Under: Articles, Farm Calls, Organic Farming
June 9, 2014 by

Sex and the Single Asparagus

When planting new asparagus fields, the advantages of choosing the newest Rutgers hybrid male varieties far outweigh the disadvantage of increased cost. We asked Steve Garrison, Rutgers Professor Emeritus, to discuss the benefits of these new, expensive varieties that will be increasingly offered by seed companies worldwide since Rutgers NJAES recently both licensed and sold its asparagus-breeding program. Finally, we test your memory of high school biology describing how 45 years of genetics and technologies research made hybrid all-male asparagus production fields possible.

Rutgers Hybrid Male Asparagus Variety Benefits

Asparagus spears emerging in a field of Rutgers NJAES all-male hybrid asparagus

Rutgers Hybrid Male Asparagus

According to Dr. Garrison, the best Rutgers hybrid males out-yield females by 15-25% over time – the differences increasingly apparent after the 2nd and 3rd years. One reason for this is that the male plants do not produce fruits (seeds) which would divert crop energy resources away from future stalk growth. Hybrid male asparagus emerge earlier in spring under colder soil conditions than females. In addition, hybrid male production fields are longer-lived. Compared with females, the hybrid male stalks fetch better prices due to a higher percentage of yield pack out of desirable USDA No.1 Grade diameters of medium and large. In asparagus, the larger diameter spears have superior culinary qualities of tenderness and sweetness. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Articles, Education, Growing Crops