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Diversification for new management systems opportunities in the Pacific Northwest

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2009

L.F. Elliott  and
P. Chevalier
L.F. Elliott
Affiliation:
Microbiologist, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Forage Seed Production Research Center, Corvallis, OR 97331
P. Chevalier
Affiliation:
Associate Professor, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164.
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Abstract

Sustainable rainfed cropping systems are needed in the Pacific Northwest of the United States to reduce or eliminate wind and water erosion, improve soil quality, and control weeds with reduced chemical inputs. A grass seed cropping system is excellent for improving soil quality and for controlling erosion, and can be grazed by sheep to produce meat and wool Tilla ge and residue management methods that create a rough surface to reduce wind and water erosion and increase water infiltration include: use of a chisel to create large clods; leaving residue on the surface; and use of the Paratill to shatter the soil to increase water infiltration with little disturbance of the soil surface. Including a legume in the rotation may help to break disease cycles, add N and C to the soil, and improve soil biological properties. The use of surface residues and tillage to control erosion and increase water infiltration may demand new approaches to weed contro I Rhizobacteria that attack the roots of weeds but not of wheat may reduce the need for chemica I herbicides. Research being conducted on these techniques in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and in other countries should soon result in guidelines for sustainable agricultural systems for the dryland, rainfed areas of the world.

Keywords

no-tilllegumesannual croppingsoil qualitycrop rotationserosion controlweed controlrhizobacteriagrass seeddryland agriculture
Type
Selected Papers from the U.S.-Middle East Conference on Sustainable Dryland Agriculture
Information
American Journal of Alternative Agriculture , Volume 11 , Issue 2-3 , September 1996 , pp. 77 - 82
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

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