Here is one recent paper.
Anton Doroszenko
CAB International
TI: Winter annual cover crops for the home food garden.
AU: Schonbeck-M; Elder-P; DeGregorio-R
AD: Route 1, Box 35, Check, VA 24072, USA.
SO: Journal-of-Sustainable-Agriculture. 1995, 6: 2-3, 29-53; 40 ref.
AB: Cover crops add organic matter, improve soil fertility, prevent soil
erosion and compaction and suppress weeds, but they can be difficult to
manage on the home garden scale. As incorporation of the entire cover crop
into the soil with garden tools can be problematic, 2 alternative strategies
were explored: (1) clipping and removing above-ground vegetation before
spading; (2) killing winter annual cover crops by mowing after they flower.
Seven winter annual grasses and hairy vetch (Vicia villosa) were evaluated.
Roots + stubble of winter rye were easy to spade in late spring once the top
growth was removed. Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum), field brome
(Bromus arvensis) cv. Slavof Sleipner and Blando brome (B. mollis [B.
hordeaceus]) gave better ground cover than rye but their roots + stubble
were much more difficult to dig in. Rye could be controlled by clipping
close to the ground after it began to shed pollen in late May, whereas
ryegrass, field brome, Blando brome and annual bluegrass (Poa annua) all
regrew. Triticale cv. Trical Jenkins and 5 early cultivars of winter wheat
all shed pollen later than rye (cv. Aroostook), which suggests that they
could not be mow-killed as early in the season. Rye + hairy vetch mowed just
prior to transplanting tomatoes (cv. Earlirouge) in May or early June
provided a moisture-conserving, weed-suppressing mulch through the growing
season. Additional mowing between plants was needed to control rye regrowth,
but a single late-spring cutting to a low (2 inch) stubble height prevented
regrowth of rye + vetch in other studies at the same location. Early-season
tomato yields were lower in mowed than in soil-incorporated rye + vetch
plots, possibly because the mulch cooled the soil and delayed N
mineralization. However, the mulch did not significantly lower total yields
and it saved labour on weeding, conserved soil moisture and possibly reduced
fruit cracking.
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From: Kelly, Debi
To: 'sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu'
Subject: annual brome grass
Date: 15 October 1998 09:05
> I've had someone who is looking for some information on annual brome grass
> used as a cover crop. He knows that not much work has been done with it
> but hopes someone can lead him to some information. He knows someone who
> did work with it in the 1950's and they commented on what it did to the
> soil structure, intensive root system and it plowed like alfalfa after one
> year. But nothing more can be found. Any help is appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> debi kelly
> MAC
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