COVER CROPS

The practice of cover cropping dates back thousands of years and is a cornerstone practice in building healthy and fertile soils. Like most aspects of farming, finding appropriate species for cover cropping and fine tuning management requires some trial and error. Many farmers have noted that while cover cropping requires adjustments in management, a number of benefits can be realized depending on the type of cover crop: 

  • Increased soil stability and reduced runoff
  • Reduced compaction
  • Weed suppression
  • Pest suppression and better disease resistance
  • Reduced nutrient losses via leaching
  • Reduced dust
  • Better percolation and infiltration rates
  • Increase in soil organic matter
  • Increase in beneficial insects and pollinators
  • Sequestration and storage of carbon into the soil

Cover crops differ from cash crops in that they are not harvested to provide direct income; however, the long-term use of cover crops can result in increasing yields, decreasing inputs, and providing additional services like supplying forage and habitat for pollinators.

WHAT DOES THE RESEARCH SAY?

Cover crops can improve soil health in part through the addition of organic material in the form of roots as well as the whole plant when it is terminated and left to decompose in the soil. These additions help build soil organic matter, including carbon, by providing nutrient-rich food for microorganisms and soil macro fauna such as earthworms and beneficial nematodes. By keeping the ground covered and improving aggregation, cover crops also reduce erosion and improve infiltration and percolation (8). This ground coverage also aids in weed suppression, moderates surface temperature, and reduces evapotranspiration (12).

Water Dynamics

The timing of planting and cover crop termination are important considerations when weighing cover crop irrigation demands and overall contribution to water storage. Overall, studies show that cover crops can lead to a significant increase in water retention and soil moisture on the soil surface (25)(5)(10)(12). This may be due to improved infiltration and less runoff (16)(2)(9)(17) and better aggregation (22)(16)(24)(18). Research specific to the Central Valley shows that barley and vetch cover crops have little influence on winter soil storage (13), while cover crops grown in Northern California have been measured to reduce runoff by 44% and improve water storage compared to winter fallow (2)(11). In vineyards these numbers can be higher, with a reduction in runoff of 23-77% and erosion by 50-75% (4). 

Nitrogen and Carbon Storage

Soil fertility, specifically the dynamics of nitrogen and carbon, are also positively affected by well managed cover crops. Leguminous cover crops contribute nitrogen to crops by fixing atmospheric nitrogen into plant-available forms, providing as much as 55% of the nitrogen they store in their biomass for the subsequent cash crop. In the Sacramento Valley, this can be in the ballpark of 80 to 180 pounds N per acre made available for the following crop. This nitrogen is also in an organic and slow-release form, which is accessible to soil microbes and reduces nitrogen losses via leaching and volatilization as greenhouse gas (6)(15)(19)(3). Soil carbon can also be greatly increased by cover cropping (23)(21)(1), with increases in soil organic carbon in vineyards by 40-50% (20). In California and Mediterranean areas in general, cover crops are shown to increase soil carbon more than conventional fallow, and even more than no-till (7)(1)(14).

References Here >>>

CAFF’S WORK IN COVER CROPS

CAFF’s is currently working with a number of growers carrying out cover crop trials in nut orchards. For our cover crop pilot project, we have partnered with four farms in the Sacramento Valley who are each planting cover crops on about 50 acres for three years. The Climate Smart team works with partnering farms to match the grower’s priorities with the appropriate seed mix and plan for implementation. To better understand the cover crops’ impact on soil health, we conduct annual monitoring of soil health indicators, including soil carbon, of the cover cropped orchard as well as an adjacent orchard without cover crops. Along the way, we work with the growers to learn what works and what needs improvement in terms of seed selection, timing of planting, irrigation and when and how to terminate the cover crop. Each year we host field days to create opportunities for growers and local technical assistance providers to discuss what they’ve learned about cover crops, both the benefits and the challenges, and to share helpful resources for cover crop implementation.

In 2019, CAFF received a Healthy Soils Demonstration grant which will enable us to expand our work in cover crops in nut orchards with three new demonstration sites in Colusa, Yolo and Stanislaus counties.

Check our events page for upcoming cover crop workshops and field days!

CAFF’S HISTORY WITH COVER CROPS

BIOS

Biologically Integrated Orchards Systems (BIOS) was a program that CAFF ran in the 1990s and early 2000s, working with a wide range of actors in the agricultural community (growers, pest control advisors, UC Cooperative Extension, researchers, certified crop advisors) to promote a “whole systems” approach to orchard management. Central to the BIOS program was Best Management Practice training on implementing cover crops, primarily as an integrated pest management strategy. The essential elements of this approach were organizing project management teams of local experts, hosting field days and farm visits, and conducting field monitoring of pest and beneficial organisms.The BIOS program was very successful, leading to the start of a related UC SAREP program, Biologically Integrated Farming Systems (BIFS). The success of both of these programs were documented in Keith Douglass Warner’s book, Agroecology in Action: Extending Alternative Agriculture through Social Networks (MIT Press, 2006).

Many growers who started growing cover crops with the BIOS program are now recognized as leaders in sustainable orchard production. We continue learning from the success and influence of the BIOS program as we endeavor to harvest the lessons of BIOS and integrate them into the current landscape of climate smart farming and sustainable pest management in California.

Colusa Almond Project

The Colusa Almond Project helped to reduce sediment and pesticide run-off from Colusa County almond orchards. Run-off from almond orchards along tributaries to the Colusa Basin Drain in Colusa County contains sediment and pesticides, and the Colusa Basin Drain flows into the Sacramento River. Best Management Practices (BMPs) such as cover cropping, insectary hedgerows, grassed swales, and streambank stabilization could significantly reduce contaminated run-off. We worked with local almond growers to implement BMPs and measured sediment and diazinon loads before and after, up and downstream of demonstration sites to assess BMP effectiveness. CAFF and the Colusa County RCD found that farmer-to-farmer demonstrations and information exchange is the most effective way of changing agricultural management.

COVER CROP RESOURCES

CAFF’s Cover Crop Decision Guides

  We’re excited to share two new resources for growers: our Cover Crop Decision Guide for Perennial Systems and Cover Crop Decision Guide for Annual Systems created in collaboration with

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Managing Cover Crops Profitably

SARE’s publication is available free for download and is a comprehensive and practical resource with recommended species by U.S. region, a section on management in conservation tillage systems, soil fertility,

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Grazing Cover Crops

How to manage livestock with adaptive grazing on cover cropped land, from the Wallace Center. The use of cover crops in row crop farming is becoming increasingly popular. According to

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Cover Cropping in Vineyards

The use of cover crops can yield substantial benefits or be the source of unforeseen problems or drawbacks. The choice of which species to sow, as well as the decision

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Building Soils for Better Crops

Building Soils for Better Crops is a one-of-a-kind, practical guide to ecological soil management, now expanded and in full color. It provides step-by-step information on soil-improving practices as well as in-depth

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Cover Crop Economics

When it comes to making the big decisions about managing a farm, whether it’s to grow a new crop, buy an expensive piece of equipment or upgrade infrastructure, farmers are business people

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‘What Does the Research Say?’ References:

  1. Aguilera E., Lassaletta L., Gattinger A., Gimeno B.S. (2013). Managing soil carbon for climate change mitigation and adaptation in Mediterranean cropping systems: a meta-analysis. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 168, 2536.
  2. Battany & Grismer, 2000 Battany, M. C., & Grismer, M. E. (2000). Rainfall runoff and erosion in Napa Valley vineyards: effects of slope, cover and surface roughness. Hydrological processes, 14(7), 1289-1304.
  3. Bowles, T. M., Hollander, A. D., Steenwerth, K., & Jackson, L. E. (2015). Tightly-coupled plant-soil nitrogen cycling: Comparison of organic farms across an agricultural landscape. PLoS One, 10(6).
  4. Brennan, E. B., & Boyd, N. S. (2012). Winter cover crop seeding rate and variety affects during eight years of organic vegetables: II. Cover crop nitrogen accumulation. Agronomy journal, 104(3), 799-806.
  5. Colla, G., Mitchell, J. P., Joyce, B. A., Huyck, L. M., Wallender, W. W., Temple, S. R., … & Poudel, D. D. (2000). Soil physical properties and tomato yield and quality in alternative cropping systems. Agronomy Journal, 92(5), 924-932.
  6. Drinkwater, L. E., Wagoner, P., & Sarrantonio, M. (1998). Legume-based cropping systems have reduced carbon and nitrogen losses. Nature, 396(6708), 262.
  7. González-Sánchez, E. J., Ordóñez-Fernández, R., Carbonell-Bojollo, R., Veroz-González, O., & Gil-Ribes, J. A. (2012). Meta-analysis on atmospheric carbon capture in Spain through the use of conservation agriculture. Soil and Tillage Research, 122, 52-60.
  8. Haruna, Samuel & Nkongolo, Nsalambi & Anderson, Stephen & Eivazi, Frieda & Zaibon, Syaharudin. (2018). In situ infiltration as influenced by cover crop and tillage management. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation. 73. 164-172.
  9. Horwath, W. R. (2008). Tillage and crop management effects on air, water, and soil quality in California. UCANR Publications.
  10. Jackson L, Ramirez I, Yokota R, Fennimore S, Koike S, Henderson D, Chaney W, Klonsky K. 2003. Scientists, growers assess trade-offs in use of tillage, cover crops and compost. Calif Agr 57(2):48-54.
  11. Joyce, B. A., Wallender, W. W., Mitchell, J. P., Huyck, L. M., Temple, S. R., Brostrom, P. N., & Hsiao, T. C. (2002). Infiltration and soil water storage under winter cover cropping in California’s Sacramento Valley. Transactions of the ASAE, 45(2), 315-326.
  12. Kahimba, Frederick & Sri Ranjan, Ramanathan & Froese, J & Entz, Martin & Nason, R. (2008). Cover Crop Effects on Infiltration, Soil Temperature, and Soil Moisture Distribution in the Canadian Prairies. Applied Engineering in Agriculture. 24. 321-333.
  13. Mitchell, J., Hartz, T., Pettygrove, S., Munk, D., May, D., Menezes, F., … & O’Neill, T. (1999). Organic matter recycling varies with crops grown. California Agriculture, 53(4), 37-40.
  14. Mitchell, J. P., Shrestha, A., Horwath, W. R., Southard, R. J., Madden, N., Veenstra, J., & Munk, D. S. (2015). Tillage and cover cropping affect crop yields and soil carbon in the San Joaquin Valley, California. Agronomy Journal, 107(2), 588-596.
  15. Poudel, D. D., Horwath, W. R., Mitchell, J. P., & Temple, S. R. (2001). Impacts of cropping systems on soil nitrogen storage and loss. Agricultural Systems, 68(3), 253-268.
  16. Roberson, E. B., & Firestone, M. K. (1991). Cover crop management of polysaccharide-mediated aggregation in an orchard soil. Soil science society of America Journal, 55(3), 734-739.
  17. Ruiz-Colmenero, M., Bienes, R., & Marques, M. J. (2011). Soil and water conservation dilemmas associated with the use of green cover in steep vineyards. Soil and Tillage Research, 117, 211-223.
  18. Seiter, S., & Horwath, W. R. (2004). Strategies for managing soil organic matter to supply plant nutrients. Soil organic matter in sustainable agriculture. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 269-293.
  19. Sánchez-Moreno, S., Smukler, S., Ferris, H., O’Geen, A. T., & Jackson, L. E. (2008). Nematode diversity, food web condition, and chemical and physical properties in different soil habitats of an organic farm. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 44(5), 727-744.
  20. Steenwerth, K., & Belina, K. (2008). Cover crops enhance soil organic matter, carbon dynamics and microbiological function in a vineyard agroecosystem. Applied soil ecology, 40, 359.
  21. Suddick, E. C., Scow, K. M., Horwath, W. R., Jackson, L. E., Smart, D. R., Mitchell, J., & Six, J. (2010). The potential for California agricultural crop soils to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: a holistic evaluation. In Advances in Agronomy(Vol. 107, pp. 123-162). Academic Press.
  22. Tisdall, J. M., & Oades, J. (1982). Organic matter and water‐stable aggregates in soils. Journal of soil science, 33(2), 141-163.
  23. Veenstra, J. J., Horwath, W. R., & Mitchell, J. P. (2007). Tillage and cover cropping effects on aggregate-protected carbon in cotton and tomato. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 71(2), 362-371.
  24. Watts, C. W., & Dexter, A. R. (1997). The influence of organic matter in reducing the destabilization of soil by simulated tillage. Soil and Tillage Research, 42(4), 253-275.
  25. Yoo, K. H., Dane, J. H., & Missildine, B. C. (1996). Soil-water content changes under three tillage systems used for cotton. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, 7(2-3), 53-61.