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| Titel |
Keeping soil in the field - runoff and erosion management in asparagus crops |
| VerfasserIn |
Joanna Niziolomski, Robert Simmons, Jane Rickson, Mike Hann |
| Konferenz |
EGU General Assembly 2016
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| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
en
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| Digitales Dokument |
PDF |
| Erschienen |
In: GRA - Volume 18 (2016) |
| Datensatznummer |
250135102
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| Publikation (Nr.) |
 EGU/EGU2016-15916.pdf |
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| Zusammenfassung |
| Row crop production (including potatoes, onions, carrots, asparagus, bulbs and lettuce) is
regarded as one of the most erosive agricultural cropping systems. This is a result of the many
practices involved that increase erosion risk including: fine seedbed preparation, a typically
short growing season where adequate ground cover protects the soil, permanent bare soil
areas between crops, and often intensive harvesting methods that can damage soil
structure and result in soil compaction. Sustained exposure of bare soil coupled
with onsite compaction on slightly sloping land results in soil and water issues in
asparagus production. Asparagus production is a growing British industry covering
> 2000 ha and is worth approximately £30 million yr−1. However, no tried and
tested erosion control measurements currently exist to manage associated problems.
Research has recently been undertaken investigating the effectiveness of erosion
control measures suitable for asparagus production systems. These consisted of
surface applied wheat straw mulch and shallow soil disturbance (< 350 mm) using
several tine configurations: a currently adopted winged tine, a narrow with two
shallow leading tines, and a modified para-plough. These treatments were tested
individually and in combination (straw mulch with each shallow soil disturbance tine
configuration) using triplicated field plots situated on a working asparagus farm in
Herefordshire, UK. Testing was conducted between May and November 2013.
Rainfall-event based runoff and erosion measurements were taken including; runoff
volume, runoff rate and total soil loss. Runoff and soil erosion was observed from all
treatments. However, the surface application of straw mulch alone out performed
each shallow soil disturbance practice. This suggests that runoff and erosion from
asparagus production can be reduced using the simple surface application of straw. |
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