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Project Leader(s):
John J. Mishanec, CCE, NYS IPM Program
Cooperator(s):
Ralph Childs and Ron
Edgely, Franklin and Essex County potato growers, Richard Gast, CCE
Franklin County Agricultural Technician, Prof. Don Halseth, Fruit and
Vegetable Science Dept., Cornell University
Type of grant:
Cultural methods; sanitation; physical
controls
Project location(s):
This work occurred in Franklin and Essex
counties. Findings may be applied throughout the Northeast.
Abstract:
North Country potato
growers, needing to rotate their fields, are faced with limited choices.
Having a short growing season and because soil ph needs to be kept fairly
acidic mean many of the options other vegetable growers employ are not
available to potato growers. Wishing to maximize soil benefits while
away from potatoes, growers have expressed the desire to look at rotational
crops they are unfamiliar with. Sudangrass has been successfully employed
by onion grower throughout the state as an excellent way to increase
organic matter, break up soil hard pans and decrease soil pathogens.
In recent years, crops in the mustard family used as green manure have
shown soil benefits as well. We looked at yellow mustard and oilseed
radish in combination with sudangrass as green manure in a rotation
with potato.
The cold, wet spring
delayed the growers from getting their potatoes and cash crops planted.
Funding was not secured until early June and this also contributed to
the late start of the trial. The first trial plantings did not occur
till July 14 at the Late Placid location. The trial field in Malone
was planted on July 28. Prior to planting, both locations were sampled
for nematodes. Soil tests were also taken at both locations to evaluate
for organic matter levels. Fifteen acre fields were divided into three
five acre plots. One plot was planted in sudangrass, the second in yellow
mustard and the third plot was planted in oil seed radish.
At the Lake Placid location, the mustard
and oil seed radish plots were plowed down on August 29 and both fields
were replanted in yellow mustard again. The sudangrass plot was left
to grow as it was still quite small. These plots were then plowed down
on September 21. In Malone, the three plots were left to grow till mid
September and then plowed down.
Early next summer, we will again sample
these fields for nematodes and do soil test. We will next be able to
see if these rotational strategies had an impact on organic matter and
nematode levels in the field.
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