Watch a webinar this next Thursday, July 27th at 10:00 a.m. Dr. Sam Wortman, Assistant Professor, Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln will present a webinar on “ Bio-based weed management tools for specialty crops.” Sam will discuss some of the research he has conducted with cover crops and other methods of weed control in organic specialty cropping systems. This meeting will be recorded. Here is the link to the Zoom Meeting and also the meeting ID # https://nebraskaextension.zoom.us/j/730760379 Meeting ID: 730 760 379
Dr. Wortman conducted research at the University of Illinois with this weed blaster. His research started in the greenhouse where he used grit to blast weeds.From the greenhouse, research moved to outside plots. Dr. Wortman evaluated the effectiveness on weed control in garden crops. The machine above was used to blast weeds. Hand weeding is still a method of weed control in organic production. This can be expensive and time consuming as well. In organic production there are several methods that can be used for weed control. The combination of several management strategies for weed control is the best path to success. Black plastic has been used for several years as a reliable method of weed control.
A large scale mechanical blaster is being used for weed control by this farmer.Many farmers are using mixtures of cover crops in their cropping systems. While being much more expensive, will it be cost effective to use a mix? Dr. Wortman will discuss his research on cover crops in the webinar.
A mix of 18 cover crops is being evaluated.
Mustard produced the most biomass in the spring monoculture and spring mix.
In the summer, sudan grass produced excellent biomass in a monoculture and in a mix as well.
This is an excellent opportunity to learn about bio-based weed control methods in organic specialty cropping systems. Let people know about this webinar that may be interested in learning more about this topic. This Zoom meeting will be recorded.
saremansagnews 