Organic farming practices have demonstrated a variety of benefits including improvements to biodiversity and ecosystem health resulting from reduced reliance on synthetic inputs. However, to control weeds in the absence of synthetic herbicides, organic farmers often rely on tillage, which in some systems can increase soil erosion. A recent study explored how a red clover living mulch, and how it’s managed, could help farmers maintain productivity growing corn in the absence of traditional cultivation practices.

Living mulches grow alongside commodity crops, protecting soil, suppressing weeds, and supporting biodiversity. However, they can also compete with crops for resources like water, nutrients, and light. Researchers tested several strategies for managing that competition during the 2021 and 2022 growing seasons at the University of Wisconsin’s Arlington Agriculture Research Station. They compared mechanical undercutting before planting (blades pulled just beneath the soil surface to slice plant roots without turning soil), flaming immediately after planting (using propane burners to create intense heat to manage weeds), and inter-row roller crimping (using a heavy rolling drum to crush and crimp plant stems). 

Mechanical undercutting produced the strongest overall results, yielding 44% more corn per hectare compared to plots where corn was planted directly into undisturbed clover. Flaming also increased corn yield across treatments, yielding 18% more than plots that were not flamed. 

Though overall corn yields remained lower than typical monoculture organic corn at the research station, the findings demonstrate that strategically managing a living mulch can improve performance while retaining many of the soil protecting benefits of continuous plant cover. It’s important to note that while undercutting and flaming offer promising organically compatible tools, their effectiveness is dependent on weather, soil conditions, and seasonal timing. Continued research could help farmers build reduced tillage systems that protect soil while producing reliable crops.

This research highlights both the promise and the challenge of incorporating reduced tillage practices into organic production, and from a systems perspective, points to creative ways of balancing soil health, weed management, and crop productivity. Although trade-offs remain, the potential gains in conservation and resilience suggest that reduced tillage systems can play a key role in advancing the regenerative principles at the heart of organic agriculture.

Photos by Jack Blueberry and Katherine Volkovski on Unsplash