Cropping Systems to Improve Vegetable Production

Under Short Crop Rotation

Project GREEEN No.: GR02-057
Team Leader: Mathieu Ngouajio, MSU Dept. of Horticulture
Team Members: J. Breinling, R. Goldy, M. Hausbeck, G. McManus, D. Mutch,
S. Snapp, D. Warncke, and B. Zandstra

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION
The benefits of crop rotations on soil health and pest management are well known in agricultural
systems. However, most vegetable growers have specialized in fewer crops in order to remain
competitive. Intensive production systems have led to the adoption of short-term crop rotations
with low biodiversity. Short-term crop rotations have negative effects on soil fertility and pest
management and can compromise the long-term sustainability of the $246 million vegetable
industry in Michigan. By sowing cover crops between growing seasons, it is possible to improve
short-term crop rotations with minimum changes to the current practices. In order to maximize
the benefits, growers need to know which cover crops are best for their specific production
systems. Our goal was to use a cucumber-tomato rotation as a model to develop a novel cropping
system that would combine the benefits of summer and winter cover crops for sustainable
vegetable production in Michigan.

OBJECTIVES
1. Evaluate the effectiveness of summer-seeded and fall-seeded cover crops at improving soil
fertility under vegetable production systems.
2. Measure the effects of the cover crops on weed populations and species composition.
3. Determine the potential of summer and winter cover crops to reduce vegetable diseases.
4. Assess the effect of the different cropping systems on soil microbial activity.
5. Propose a cropping system that increases sustainability of vegetable production in Michigan.

RESULTS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Objective 1. A total of 15 cropping systems, resulting from combinations of summer and
winter cover crops, were tested under field conditions at a grower’s farm and at the research
station. The summer cover crops included cowpea and sorghum sudangrass and the winter
cover crops tested were cereal rye and hairy vetch. A tomato-cucumber rotation was used as
the model system. Results indicate that both summer and winter cover crops can be
successfully integrated into the cropping system after cucumber harvest. However, only
winter cover crops could be grown during tomato years because of its longer growing season.
The amount of residue produced by the different summer cover crops varied significantly.
The greatest amount of biomass (about 10 t/a) was produced in the sorghum sudangrass
system. Biomass produced by cowpea was less than 2 t/a. Rye and vetch produced 4.6 and
3.4 t/a of biomass, respectively. Because of the large biomass produced, sorghum sudangrass
may be an excellent cover crop for soil building during fallow years. However, most
growers may not afford to leave the land fallow due to limited availability of good land.
Tomato yield increased after most of the cover crops tested (Figure 1)

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 Objective 2. All cover crop treatments showed lower weed populations compared with the
bareground system (Figure 2). At 43 days after cover crop kill (DAK) in 2002, weed density
was 40, 56, 65, and 372 plants m-2 in the sorghum sudangrass, cereal rye, hairy vetch, and
bare ground treatments, respectively. Similar results were found at 40 DAK in 2003.
Because of the low amount of residue produced in the hairy vetch plots, allelopathy is
possibly responsible for the high level of weed suppression. Because fewer weeds grew in all
cover crop treatments compared with the bare ground, vegetable growers can significantly
reduce weed pressure in their farm by sowing cover crops between growing seasons.

Objective 3. Disease pressure was low in our experimental plots. Tomato blossom end rot, a
physiological disorder, was the only problem encountered. When compared with the bare
ground system, the defect increased in rye plots and decreased in hairy vetch plots. Blossom
end rot of tomato is associated with calcium uptake. Further studies are needed to determine
the effects of the cover crops on tomato blossom end rot.

Objective 4. Soil microbial activity was assessed as an indicator of the ability of cropping
systems to improve soil quality (Figure 3). Soil respiration and microbial biomass showed a
clear increase after cover crop incorporation, with about 50% increase in microbial biomass
at 4 weeks after cover crop incorporation. Microbial biomass was greater in soils collected
from plots previously grown with cereal rye or hairy vetch compared to the system without
cover crops. High microbial biomass in the soil is indicative of sustainable management.
Therefore, integrating cover crops into short crop rotations could enhance the population of
microorganisms in the soil and build a more resilient system.

Objective 5. At the conclusion of this study, we developed several cropping systems for
cucumber-tomato rotation based on different options:
Option 1. Possibility to fallow. If a grower can afford to fallow the field every two years, we
propose to plant a warm season cover crop like cowpea or sorghum sudangrass during the
fallow period.
Option 2. No possibility to fallow. When a grower cannot leave the ground fallow, warm
season cover crops, especially sorghum sudangrass, could be planted after an early harvest of
cucumbers (before mid-August). Cool season cover crop (cereal rye and hairy vetch) could
be planted after tomatoes or late cucumbers.
Those options have been presented to growers at various extension meetings.

IMPACTS
Integrating cover crops into current rotation systems will be more attractive to the 1,550
Michigan vegetable growers than any technology that proposes major changes to their
production system. Protecting the soil with cover crops between cash crop seasons has multiple
benefits.
• Our results have clearly shown that by using cover crops, vegetable growers can
significantly reduce weed pressure in their farm. Reducing initial weed pressure
improves subsequent weed control strategies like herbicide applications or cultivation.

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 • Cover crops protect the environmental from nitrate leaching by trapping residual
nutrients left in the soil after harvest of the cash crop and recycling these nutrients to the
following crop.
• Cover crops protect the ground from erosion, which is a major cause of loss of
productivity on most agricultural lands.
• Cover crops improve biodiversity; increase the population of beneficial soil micro
organisms, thereby building a more resilient system for long term productivity.
• Hairy vetch, a legume cover crop, fixed 50 pounds of nitrogen per acre. With a total of
about 177,000 acres of vegetables in Michigan, this will correspond to 4,000 tons of
nitrogen. This will result in significant savings to the industry and 4,000 fewer pounds of
synthetic fertilizers applied.

Publications and Presentations

1. Ngouajio M. and H Mennan .2005. Weed populations and pickling cucumber (Cucumis sativus)
yield under summer and winter cover crop systems. Crop Protection 24:521-526.
2. Hill E.C. and M Ngouajio. 2005. Quackgrass (Elytrigia repens) and Pickling Cucumber (Cucumis
sativus) Response to Hairy Vetch (Vicia villosa Roth). Abstract Weed Science Society of America
Annual meeting 7-10 Jan., Honolulu, Hawaii (Poster presentation and abstract).
3. Hill E.C. and M Ngouajio. 2004. Effects of Incorporated Hairy Vetch Residues on Weed Species
in Cucumber. Great Lakes Fruit Vegetable and Farm Market Expo. Grand Rapids Dec. 7-9, 2004.
(Poster presentation).
4. Hill E.C. and M Ngouajio. 2004. Effect of Hairy vetch (Vicia villosa) residue on weed species
composition in pickling cucumber. Abstract North Central Weed Science Society meeting 14-16
Dec, Columbus Ohio (Oral presentation and abstract).
5. Ngouajio M. 2004. Pickling cucumber quality and quantity begin in the field. The Vegetable
Growers News November issue P. 64-65.
6. Ngouajio M. Using cover crops as an integral part of a cucumber crop rotation. Great Lakes Fruit
Vegetable and Farm Market Expo. Grand Rapids Dec. 7-9, 2004. (Poster presentation and
summary).
7. Selvaraj M. and M. Ngouajio. 2004. Effects of Cover Crops on Soil Microbial Biomass in
Vegetable Cropping Systems. ASHS Annual meeting July 17-20, Austin, TX (Oral presentation).
HortScience (Abstract) 39:871.
8. Ngouajio M. and W. Chase. 2004. Effect of Cover crops on pickle production: 2002-2003 report.
Pickling Cucumber Research Report 2004, Michigan State University p.12-16.
9. Ngouajio M. 2004. It is time to put on the cover: Protect the soil after crop harvest. CAT Alert
August 11, 2004 19(16):5-6.
10. Ngouajio M, Chase W. R., and Ernest J. 2003. Use of cover crops to reduce weeds and soilborne
diseases in cucumbers-2002 report. Pickling cucumber reporting session 2003. p14-19.
11. Ngouajio M., J. Ernest, and W. R. Chase. 2003. Weed populations in cucumbers are affected by
the previous cover crop. Abstract, Weed Science Society of America Annual Meeting. February
10-13, 2003 Jacksonville, FL p.20.
12. Selvaraj M., M. Ngouajio, D. Warncke, D. Mutch, and J. Ernest. 2003. Integrating Summer Cover
Crops into Cucumber–Tomato Rotation. HortScience 28:808.
13. Ngouajio M 2002. Cowpea: A potential summer cover crop for Michigan growers. Vegetable CAT
Alert 17(9):2-3.
14. Ngouajio M. 2002. Cover crops may improve cucumbers production. The Vegetable Growers
News, September, P13.

SUMMARY
Michigan vegetable growers can improve short-term crop rotations by planting cover crops
between harvest of one crop and planting of the subsequent crop. A cropping system that

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includes cover crops would improve soil quality and pest management through enhanced
biodiversity and nutrient recycling and enhance the long-term viability of the farm while
protecting the environment from nutrient leaching.

FUNDING PARTNERS
Michigan Vegetable Council $6,000; Pickle Packers International, Inc./Pickle & Pepper
Research Committee of MSU $15,300; NC-SARE (USDA North central Regions Sustainable
Agriculture Research and Education) $20,000

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