Cover Crops for Vegetable Growers
Newsletter articles
Early summer
Mid and
late summer
Late summer
legumes
Early fall
Fall
Early spring
Cover crop information
Annual
ryegrass
Buckwheat
Sudangrass
Mustard, spring
Mustard, fall (includes
radish, rape, kale)
Red
clover
Hairy vetch
Oats
Wheat (includes
spelt, triticale)
Rye
Special cases
Root
knot nematode
Lesion nematode
Verticillium
Ditchbank
Field borders
Special Cases
Control of Northern Root Knot Nematode
Meliodogyne hapla
The Northern root knot nematode can be controlled by using sudangrass. For nematode control, sudangrass is used differently from its more common application for soil conditioning, weed control and biomass production. The following instructions are specific to correcting a nematode problem in a field.
To test whether Northern root know nematode is a problem in your field, a bioassay is available [Beth Gugino link].
Land
preparation
Prepare ground for seeding
Seeding rate
Drill or broadcast at 30 lb/ac.
Seeding date
July 25 to August 10
Control
September 10-15. Plants should ideally be 6 weeks old, with a range of
4 to 8 weeks.
Mow thoroughly and incorporate immediately. Roll lightly to seal
surface.
Tips
The shoot material must be mowed very fine before incorporation to be
effective.
Repeating the sudangrass planting again withing two years increases the
nematode suppression.
Plant a winter cover crop after two weeks (Sept. 25). A grain will keep
the nematode population low. Oats
are good if the field will be sued
for an early vegetable, otherwise wheat
fits.
Problems
If the sudangrass cannot be incorporated on time, it will not suppress
nematodes. It may even encourage them. However, it will still be useful
for improving other aspects of soil health described in the regular
sudangrass section.
These recommendation are based on the work of George Abawi and his colleagues.
Viane, N.M. and G.S. Abawi. 1998. Management of Meliodogyne hapla on lettuce in organic soil with sudangrass as a cover crop. Plant Disease 82:945-952.
Abawi,
G.S. and T.L. Widmer. 2000. Impact of soil health managment
pracrtices on soilborne pathogens, nematodes and root diseases of
vegetable crops. Applied Soil Ecology 15: 37-47.
