In 2018 and 2019, the University of New England worked with Ivankovich Farms in Myalup and David Grays Aglink in Perth, Western Australia, on a two-season trial to explore the effects of different winter cover crop varieties in suppressing weeds in vegetable production.
In this video, Peter Ivankovich from Ivankovich Farms and Grant Swan from David Grays Aglink discuss the positives and negatives of the various cover crop treatments included in this trial.
They discuss cool season cover cropping from a weed management perspective but also with regard to some of the practicalities of growing the various treatments during the cool season in south-western Western Australia.
In the case of Ivankovich Farms, water availability is a limiting factor on cover cropping options. However, where water is abundant, the trial indicates some preferred cover crop varieties to maximise weed suppression during the winter fallow. Providing sufficient resources to the cover crop to maximise its performance, will also maximise its weed suppression benefit.
The University of New England is grateful to Peter and Anthony Ivankovich and Grant Swan for their support in producing this video and sharing their story. The team is also grateful to John Cross from David Grays Aglink and Ian Guthridge and Graham Blincow from DPIRD WA for their support of the trial, and Marc Hinderager from AHR and Sam Grubisa from vegetablesWA for their support of a field day at the site in 2019.