Cover Crops Lure Beneficial Insects to Cotton Fields

SARE National Report Highlights Innovative Research

Georgia scientists funded through the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program tested flowering cover crops and conservation tillage in cotton fields to manage damaging earworms. Research results were promising – they could eliminate one insecticide application, boost yields and improve soil quality by planting legume cover crop mixes amid cotton rows.

Findings from the SARE project team – Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists, Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CREES) educators, and farmer members of the Georgia Conservation Tillage Alliance, among others – are significant for cotton farmers and those who work with them. NRCS staff who want to know more about how cover crops such as balansa clover, crimson clover and hairy vetch can improve cotton operations can request a copy of the 2005 SARE Highlights, a new 16-page publication that features practical, profit-enhancing ideas that have been researched and tested at universities and on farms and ranches.

The 2005 report is the latest of a series of publications that shine a light on some of the most creative research funded by SARE, administered by CREES. “SARE’s great advantage comes in its ability to fund forward-thinking research and education subjects that keep producers on the cutting edge,” said SARE Director Jill Auburn.

Since 1988, SARE has funded grants to promote farming and ranching systems that are profitable, environmentally sound and good for communities. The 2005 SARE Highlights provides an array of farm improvement ideas in summaries of 12 innovative, SARE-funded projects.

In the Georgia cotton project , scientists theorized that cover crop blooms would bring earworm- and budworm-killing predators. They used conservation tillage to plant cotton amid growing cover crops seeded the previous fall. Growing a mix of cover crops prolonged flowering from early March through late April and had the added benefit of out-competing weeds. Moreover, the conservation tillage and cover crop residue resulted in more beneficial soil organisms that likely contributed to better cotton yields. “With this range of blooming, we’re able to start building the beneficial populations early in the season,” said Harry Schomberg, an ARS ecologist and project leader. “Reducing one application of insecticides could be pretty substantial on a larger scale like 100 acres.”

Among the other projects in the SARE Highlights:

• Growing peas as forage in place of the typical 14-month fallow in dryland wheat rotations added profits and reduced erosion. A Montana researcher found that planting winter-hardy peas created a system that saves water, guards against erosion, helps the soil – and supplies a fast-growing market for quality hay.

• Planting “trap” crops like thick-skinned squash lured insect pests away from high-value vegetables, elevating profits. A Connecticut researcher introduced trap cropping to 30 New England growers, several of whom increased yields by 18 percent and reduced insecticide use by 96 percent.

• Introducing trees as windbreaks to Great Plains farms added profitable crops such as berries, nuts and decorative branches, while achieving conservation goals.

View the 2005 SARE Highlights or request a print copy from san_assoc@sare.org.