Cover crop and mulch practices reduce agricultural pollutant loads in stormwater runoff from plastic tunnels
Macrotunnel production systems contribute over $1 billion to California's economy, but despite increased use, guidance to help macrotunnel growers limit agricultural pollutant loads in rainfall-induced runoff is sparse. Using raspberry as a model crop, we evaluated four runoff management practi...
| 發表在: | California Agriculture |
|---|---|
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
| 格式: | Article |
| 語言: | 英语 |
| 出版: |
University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources
2020-01-01
|
| 主題: | |
| 在線閱讀: | http://calag.ucanr.edu/archive/?article=ca.2020a0004 |
| 總結: | Macrotunnel production systems contribute over $1 billion to California's economy, but despite increased use, guidance to help macrotunnel growers limit agricultural pollutant loads in rainfall-induced runoff is sparse. Using raspberry as a model crop, we evaluated four runoff management practices during two rainy seasons of the normal 3-year raspberry production cycle: barley cover crop seeded at 500 pounds per acre, weed barrier fabric, yard waste mulch spread 2 to 3 inches thick, and polyacrylamide (PAM). Treatments were applied to 300-foot-by-6-foot-wide post rows. Barley cover crop and mulch reduced combined nitrate and nitrite nitrogen in runoff by 21% to 48% at some runoff events and reduced nitrate nitrogen in soil and leachate to groundwater by 52% to 90%. All treatments reduced turbidity and phosphorus levels in runoff and had 75% to 97% less sediment accumulation compared with bare soil. Additionally, all treatments except PAM reduced weed densities by 48% to 87% compared with bare ground, which reduced the costs of weed management. Barley cover crop had the lowest estimated costs (∼$60.00 per tunnel period), while PAM and mulch were highest (∼$193.00 per tunnel period). |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0008-0845 2160-8091 |