Location: Water Management Research
Project Number: 2034-13000-013-001-R
Project Type: Reimbursable Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Oct 1, 2019
End Date: Mar 31, 2023
Objective:
This project will broadly demonstrate the economic, ecological, and environmental impacts associated with mixed-species cover crops.
Approach:
The research component of this project will address the potential for mixed-species cover crops to influence (1) water demands, (2) soil organic carbon and nutrient compositions, (3) soil biodiversity, (4) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and (5) crop yield. A diverse pair of field stations will enable recipients to showcase year-by-year effects of mixed species cover crops on soil health in both annual and perennial cropping systems. The recipients will establish one new demonstration site with table grapes. A companion site has demonstration plots under mixed species cover paired with a no-cover crop control under Winter and Summer annual crop rotations. Recipients will monitor GHG emissions, soil health indicators, soil microbial biodiversity, water and fertilizer demands, and crop yields.
