b'Shifting back to cover crops, if you can solve an immediate problem, you should get a payback within the growing season. Holding onto your soil and the nutrients pays back right away. Solving a short-term problem should still pay back more money than the money that was spent. It can be tough to see the payback immediately on this as it could take until the next years potato year to see the difference. This is why its so important to use the right species for the job. SS: Why is important to reduce nitrate leaching when selecting a cover crop?Judith Nyiraneza (JN): Its really important when we assess the benefits of cover crop, to look also at how they contribute to reduce nitrate leaching risk because P.E.I. relies mostly on the groundwater for its drinking water. The report of the commission on nitrate in groundwater had many recommendations. Among those recommendations, there was aA crop of volunteer barley growing in potato hills in the fall prior to potato production. mandatory three-year crop rotationPHOTO: SCOTT GILLESPIEsystem. So, it set it this way that it is recommended that a province wideThe benefits associated with this rotationRed clover was not associated with mandatory three crop rotation in fieldswould be to provide a ground cover afterincreased potato yield. Mixing legumes and integrated crop production, with nobarley harvest during fall and winter andwith grasses so that the grass is dominant exemptions be implemented. would minimize the soil disturbance bywould decrease the risk of nitrate leaching P.E.I. has observed stagnant potatoreducing the tillage frequency. In addition,without impacting potential yield. marketable yield over a decade. That wasred clover residues constitute a goodIn a recently published article, attributed to combined factors such ascarbon and nitrogen input. compared red clover, sorghum Sudan disease pressure, drought spells, and soilHowever, red clover has been a host forgrass and forage pearl millet returned degradation. So, in the cropping systems,wireworm and root lesion nematodes. Inhigh biomass, enhanced potato yield, we have limited access to manure andaddition, incorporating red clover in fallreduced the soil nitrate leaching risk and compost, cover crops become importantcontributes to increasing nitrate leachinghave the potential to decrease root lesion to sustain crop production. There areover the fall and winter. Right now, therenematodes. many trials right now in P.E.I. testing aare trials testing a large variety of cover large diversity of cover crops. crops to find alternatives to red clover.SS: What crops have traditionallySS: Are there any cover crops which been used as cover crops in P.E.I.help increase potato yield? and why? JN: Red clover improved certain soil JN: The traditional potato rotation systemhealth-related parameters health fasterFor more information on volunteer potatoes visit in P.E.I. included barley mixed with redthan grasses or brown mustard, but itspudsmart.com/are-cover-crops-worth-the-work-clover in year one, a pure stand of cloveralso increased the soil nitrogen supplya-spud-smart-roundtable-webinar-podcast/ and in year two and potatoes in year three.capacity and the risk of nitrate leaching.watch our latest webinar about it.SPUDSMART.COM Fall 202145'