10/27/06 Green manure crops and spuds

A team of scientists from the University of Idaho is studying green manure crops and how they fit into potato production. Pamela Hutchinson and others from the Aberdeen Research Center are working with the Shoshone Bannock Tribes on Fort Hall Reservation land. They want to see the cost-benefit of crops like mustard which can reduce pest problems for potatoes that follow wheat. HUTCHINSON "So it's more of a challenge to get the green manure crop established and growing. You need about 60 days for it to do a really nice job. Sometimes it's pretty tough to get 60 days after the wheat comes out and before they have time to plant the green manure crop." Using a two year 69 thousand dollar grant researchers are taking before and after samples in the fields. HUTCHINSON "Plow them down in the fall, disk them down in the fall and that releases their biofumigant compounds. When you plant the potatoes the next year that helps to suppress some of the pests that normally attack the potatoes the following year." Hutchinson says green manure crops pay for themselves when compared to 140 to 600 dollars per acre for fumigation costs. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott