Long-term Evaluation of Cover Crop and Strip Tillage on Tomato Yield, Nematode Populations, and Foliar Diseases
Year: 1997
Type: article
Abstract: A long-term experiment in the same site was planted to evaluate potential yield, nematode, and disease problems with tomatoes ( Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) in a strip-till system. Treatments consisted of conventional tillage (CT) and strip tillage (ST), rye ( Secale cereale L.), wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.), and perennial ryegrass ( Lolium perenne L.) cover crops and a 2-year rye–tomato rotation. Results of the first 5 years indicate a decrease in tomato yield over time for both tillage treatments and cover crops. Tomato yields were lower following wheat and perennial ryegrass than rye. Strip-tillage reduced yield compared to conventional tillage in only 1 year out of 6. Yield increased overall for treatments in 1992, with highest yield in the rye–tomato rotation. Bacterial speck/spot symptoms on foliage, although minor, were significantly greater in ST than in CT plots during the last 3 years. No major consistent trends in incidence and severity of bacterial and fungal diseases and of disorders of fruit were evident during the 5-year period, and neither fruit yield nor quality were significantly affected by these factors. Root-knot nematodes ( Meloidogyne hapla Chitwood) were numerically less numerous in the rye–tomato rotation than in other treatments; both root-knot and root lesion nematodes [ Pratylenchus penetrans (Cobb)] tended to be less numerous under CT than under ST. Tomatoes grown under reduced tillage appear more sensitive to plant parasitic nematodes and preceding cover crops than in conventional tillage.
Source: HortScience
Institution: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Language: English
Subfield: Soil Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2588959779