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Cover Crops for Sustainable Agriculture



http://www.idrc.ca/cover_crop/index_e.html
-- 
Lawrence F. London, Jr.  Venaura Farm
http://metalab.unc.edu/intergarden
/permaculture /intergarden/orgfarm /ecolandtech
lflondon@mindspring.com  london@metalab.unc.edu
Title: Cover Crops for Sustainable Agriculture
 
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Cover Crops for Sustainable Agriculture

Global Image Map
Indigenous Strategies for Intensification of shifting Cultivation in
Southeast AsiaCover Crops in
West AfricaGreen Manure-Cover Crop Systems for Smallholders in Tropical and
Subtropical RegionsCover crops in Hillside
Agriculture

Research Highlights 
Cover crop definition 
Online books 
Photos 
Acknowledgements 
Key sources 
Contact 

This site contains research on cover crops for sustainable agriculture developed or published by the Exploration of Cover Crops for Sustainable Agriculture, with support from IDRC's program initiatives MINGA (Alternative Approaches to Natural Resource Management in Latin America and the Caribbean), People, Land and Water (PLAW), and Community-based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) in cooperation with various other agencies. This site provides empirical evidence of the contribution of cover crops to sustainable agriculture. 

Research Highlights

  • Innovation in agriculture must be needs driven, not technology driven. Sustained and widespread use of cover crops (and perhaps any other soil improving practice using organic inputs) will only occur if the biomass (seeds, leaves, vines) can also be used in food and forage systems. Research should focus on this challenge
  • Cover crops provide significant benefits to soil including nutrients, nutrient cycling, weed control, soil protection and soil improvement. These benefits vary mainly in light of management practices and climate affecting the quantity and timing of biomass produced. 
  • Weed invasion (e.g. Imperata cylindrica) caused by shorter fallow periods has significantly increased farm labour costs, especially in West Africa. Cover crops are an effective, low cost and environmentally sensitive means of controlling these weeds
  • Spontaneous adoption of cover crops by large numbers of small-holders has occurred in several regions. Farmers adopt cover crops when the opportunity costs of land are low, returns to labour are declining due to weed invasion, inexpensive seed is readily available, and relative prices of inputs such as fertilizers are high. 
  • Farmers have led the process of innovation with cover crops,resulting in feasible and adoptable technologies. Scientists can speed up this process by building on farmer knowledge and practice. 

Cover crops and green manures

H. David Thurston writes: "Considerable confusion occurs relative to the use of the terms cover crops and green manures, as they are used in different ways by different authors. The terms are often used interchangeably. Traditionally the term "green manures" has referred to plants which are turned under or incorporated into the soil while green, or soon after flowering, in order to enrich the soil. In recent years however, the term has been used more loosely, and green manure may sometimes refer to plants or plant vegetation which may be applied as a mulch to the soil, either slashed and fresh or after the plant has dried out. 

As long ago as 1927 Pieters, in his comprehensive treatment of green manures, stated that "Green manuring is the practice of enriching the soil by turning under undecomposed plant material (except crop residues) either in place or brought from a distance." He further stated "A cover crop is one planted for the purpose of covering and protecting the soil." The Soil Science Society of America (1987) defined green manure as plant material incorporated into the soil while green or at maturity, for soil improvement. 

Cover crops are any crops grown to produce soil cover, regardless of whether they are later incorporated. They are used to cover and protect the soil surface, although they may be turned under as green manures. Further, the term cover crop also refers to crops grown between orchard trees or on fields between cropping seasons to protect the land from leaching and erosion (Martin 1975). Diver and Sullivan (1992) wrote: 'Any field or forage crop grown to provide soil cover is a 'cover crop.' Since a crop grown as a cover crop may later be soil-incorporated as a green manure, the two practices are often referred to interchangeably.'" 

Source: H. David Thurston, http://ppathw3.cals.cornell.edu/mba_project/gmcc/home.html 

Acknowledgements

The following organizations have provided financial and technical support for the research reported on this site. 

International Development Research Centre (IDRC)  

International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) 

The Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA)  

International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) 

Centro Internacional de Información Sobre Cultivos de Cobertura (CIDICCO) 

Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE) and the English version 

Association of Advisors for a Sustainable, Ecological and Humane Agriculture (COSECHA) 

Cornell University 

Rockefeller Foundation 
 
 

Online books

The IDRC Focus Collection contains full-text, online books. By providing these texts online, IDRC aims to ensure that research findings are disseminated rapidly and efficiently, to achieve maximum impact from ongoing development research. 

Cover Crops in Hillside Agriculture: Farmer Innovation with Mucuna  

Cover Crops in West Africa: Contributing to Sustainable Agriculture 

Indigenous Strategies for Intensification of Shifting Cultivation in Southeast Asia 

Green Manure - Cover Crop Systems for Smallholders in Tropical and Subtropical Regions 

Photo archives

Please have a look at photographs showing the use of cover crops by farmers in various regions. 
 

Key sources

To the World - the IDRC Library's comprehensive list of Internet sites relating to international development. 

Cornell University 

Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development (CIIFAD) 

The International Institute for Rural Reconstruction (IIRR)  

The Center for New Crops & Plant Products, at Purdue University 

University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP) Cover Crop Resource Page  

Cover-Crop Handbook. This is a searchable database. 

Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy Global Food Security Resources  

Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA 

La'akea Permaculture Gardens, a twenty five acre permaculture demonstration farm, was established in 1991 on the island of Hawaii. Permaculture and Sustainable Agriculture Related Links 

The Agromisa Foundation is a Dutch NGO that aims to strengthen the socioeconomic position of the underprivileged rural population in developing countries. The Foundation actively promotes small-scale sustainable agriculture making optimal use of local resources. 

The World Sustainable Agriculture Association 

The Sustainable Earth Electronic Library (SEEL) is a digital library devoted to the collection of publications that educate people on ways to preserve and restore our natural environment. Plants and sustainable agriculture selections 
 
Rodale Institute 

International Ag-Sieve Newsletter 

International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) 

Center for Cover Crops Information and Seed Exchange in Africa 

Contact 

Daniel Buckles 
Program Officer 
IDRC 
PO Box 8500 
Ottawa, ON 
Canada, K1G 3H9 
Tel: (613) 236-6163 ext. 2358 
E-mail: dbuckles@idrc.ca 
 
Copyright 1998 © International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada 
pub@idrc.ca | October 31, 1998
 

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