Cover Crop Flashcards
Past Exam Questions
2018: Is the use of cover crops worthwhile in viticulture?
2014: How important is the management of the area between the rows? Consider vineyards in both warm and cool climates.
Examples
SONOMA:
- Hanzell crimping and night irrigation dropped water use by 75%, also microbe-rich, no reseeding
BURGUNDY:
- Dujac has a few rows on mother rock so sew legumes to fix Nitrogen
LOIRE:
- Julian Braud couldn’t spray against mildew after a rain in Muscadet unless he planted cover crops for the tractor. Too much mud.
NAPA:
- Kelly Maher uses a lot of grass at Larkmead with his 039-16 because it is so vigorous, plus brassicas like mustard
- Kelly Maher used to use a lot of legumes but people in Napa are moving away from that as the alfafa hopper likes that and that is the vector for red blotch
- Mary Maher at Harlan creates a mulch layer for water retention and organic buildup (the problem is makes a nice home for voles who girdle the vines which can kill young vines)
COST:
- cover crops range from 30 cents to $10/lb.
- Harlan dry casts 60/70lbs seeds per acre
- Barley is cheap at 30 cents/lb
- Clovers cost $3-4/lb
- poppies and wildflowers are more
Uses of cover crops
- prevents erosion
- fixes nitrogren
- soaks up excess moisture
- provides competitions
- increases microbial biome
- prevents compaction
- reduce vigor
- improved water penetration
- improved aeration
- reduce dust and increase traction
- increase nutrients and organic matter
NEGATIVES:
- increased frost risk
- increased vertebrate pests
- expensive
Types of cover crops
Grasses: fibrous roots prevent erosion, can absorb water & nitrogen in vigorous sites, competitive with weeds
Legumes: tap roots aid in water penetration. Adds nitrogen to deficient soils. Negatives: can attract rodents
Insectory mixes: attracts beneficial insectss
Mustard: weed suppresant
Cereals: can be drought-tolerant
Fescues: AKA bunch gras - good weed suppression and traction, good for dry-farming
