Cover crops + roller crimper + strip-tillage have proven a winning combination for a partnership between Mulyan Farms’ Ed Fagan and AHR’s Marc Hinderager from the Soil Wealth ICP project.
Cucumber yield and gross income more than doubled, with many soil and weed control benefits adding up to produce impressive yield and quality results.
In the 7 ha operational trial, the ryecorn cover crop area produced an outstanding cucumber yield, well above farm averages. Direct seeded cucumbers established better and produced more marketable fruit per plant and overall marketable yield per hectare.
For Ed, the standout result was the combination of higher overall yields and higher marketable yields in the ryecorn cover crop areas, where 80% of the crop was marketable, compared to 62% in the fallow area.
You can also hear Ed Fagan talk about how his initial reservations about strip-till and cover crops were dispelled in this video.
