Abstract:

Cover crops have a variety of benefits, but have not been widely adopted on farms in Turkey. They can reduce erosion and be advantageous in vineyards where the ground between alleyways is bare. Research conducted between 2015-2016 sought to evaluate cover crop establishment in vineyards when planted in the fall (Experiment I), when planted in the spring (Experiment II), and when broadcast and incorporated (Experiment III). Cover crops planted were field peas, oats, barley, perennial ryegrass, white clover, sainfoin, brome, and mixes of pea/oat, pea/barley, ryegrass/clover and sainfoin/brome. Establishment was evaluated on biomass (dry matter) and percent canopy ground cover measured using digital media analysis. Impact of cover crops on soil moisture was measured through gravimetric methods. Field peas alone and mixed with grasses consistently had the highest percent ground cover and biomass regardless of planting date or method. The brome/sainfoin mix had the highest percent canopy cover when planted in the fall, but when planted in the spring, the sainfoin cover crop planted alone had the highest percent canopy cover and biomass. There was little effect of cover crops on soil moisture.

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