May 1998
Reduced Tilling May Protect Soil
In a dramatic shift that might change the use of clean planting beds on most California vegetable farms, scientists are starting to identify the benefits of growing crops amidst a tangle of organic matter leftover from a cover crop planting. The University of California recently hosted experts from throughout the nation and some of the Central Valley's most innovative farmers to discuss this pioneering system at identical day-long conferences at UC Davis and the UC West Side Research and Extension Center. The meetings focused on issues related to tilling the soil, a common practice that is now implicated in the decline in soil organic matter, which may lead to problems with water infiltration, aggregate stability and nutrient absorption, according to meeting organizer Jeff Mitchell, UC Davis vegetable crops specialist based at the Kearney Agricultural Center near Parlier. "There is a great deal of interest in possible benefits of conservation tillage here in California, but there needs to be a lot of work done to evaluate and develop appropriate and workable practices before the concept is widely adopted," Mitchell said. "We had an exceptionally prominent group of individuals who came to California from Washington, D.C., Minnesota, Virginia and Oregon to share the latest research on no-till options for vegetable farming. Whether these systems will work on California's large-scale vegetable farms is something that remains to be seen." Speakers included Louise Jackson, an agroecologist in UCD's Department of Vegetable Crops, who presented aspects of her work on reduced tillage systems in the Salinas Valley. Case studies of reduced tillage systems from around the country were also presented. Panels of California growers discussed their ideas related to adopting the use of no-till, strip-till or other minimum till systems in California, and there was a demonstration of no-till equipment.
The event was co-sponsored by the UC Davis-based Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP), UC Davis Vegetable Crop Research Information Center, the UC Davis-based Sustainable Agriculture Farming Systems Project (SAFS), Western Region USDA-SARE program, and UC Cooperative Extension South Central Region.
Media Contacts:
Lyra Halprin, (530) 752-8664, lhalprin@ucdavis.edu
