2017 ASHS Annual Conference

Consumers that buy organic strawberries may assume that these production systems have few environmental problems. However, the common use of single use plastic mulch in these systems results in a waste product that is challenging to recycle, and in problems with runoff and soil erosion during winter rainy periods. Growing cover crops in furrow bottoms can help to reduce runoff and erosion, but in organic systems, these cover crops need to be carefully selected so that they are easy to kill mechanically. This presentation will provide data on the effect of cover crop seeding rate and planting arrangement on cover crop biomass production and canopy development, and weed growth in strawberry furrows. It will also highlight lessons learned when cover cropping in furrow bottoms, and novel equipment that has been developed at the USDA-ARS in Salinas, California to help farmers increase their use of cover crops in plasticulture systems and improve the efficiency and sustainability of these systems.