Optimizing No-Till Vegetable Production Systems for Organic Growers

Organic farmers in Kentucky face a "perfect storm" when it comes to pest control; soils in much of the state are fertile, promoting prolific weed growth, and hot, humid summers promote insect and disease outbreaks. These pressures on crop plant production are not acting independently, but rather exist in the context of a system; where multiple rounds of weeds, insects and diseases are interacting with each other and their environment. A systems approach acknowledges that managing for one of these pests will likely affect others, and that the efficacy of control techniques must be viewed in this light. In this work, we propose to develop and evaluate a no-till production system for organic sweet corn and winter squash using a systems approach that integrates weed management with insect and insect-vectored disease control techniques. An economic analysis will track the associated costs of each system in the short term, and help establish a data set to track costs and benefits of organic farming systems in the long-term.