Queensland farmers' interest in green manure crops growing

摘要

The interest in Green Manure Crops in the Emerald Irrigation Area has increased over the past three seasons. The principal reason is that most of the area is 'land locked', meaning there is more water than land. This leaves limited opportunity for crop rotation. In some cases, a back-to-back cotton regime has led to stagnating and declining yields. The green manure crop used most widely has been Namoi Woolly Pod Vetch. Dr Ian Rochester (CSIRO Cotton CRC, Narrabri) has done a lot of work with a number of legume crops and found Woolly Pod Vetch to be most appropriate because: It has a good ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen; and Given good conditions it can produce large amounts of dry matter. Over the past seasons, a number of growers have approached green manure crops in different ways, and from these experiences, some general rules of thumb have been developed.