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Watermelon Cover Cropping with Wheat and Barley in Niigata, Japan
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| Overview | Wheat and barley were introduced into watermelon production systems to control weeds and save labor in Japan. |
| Scale | Field, Commercial Farm |
| Location | Muramatsu, Niigata, Japan (37.4oN, 139.1oE) |
| Elevation | 0 to 150 meters |
| Climate | Humid mesothermal climate (Cfa) |
| Agricultural Region | Intensive Subsistence Tillage, Rice dominant (E) |
| Population Density | Over 100 persons / square kilometer |
| Principle Crops | Rice (Oriza sativa L.), Soybean (Glycine max L.), Welsh onion (Allium fistulosum L.), Taro (Colocasia esculenta), Japanese radish (Raphanus sativus L.); Cover Crops: Wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Mulchmugi) and Barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Minorimugi) |
| Domestic Animals | Milk Cattle, Goats |
| Soils | Mountain soils (X3); Volcanic ash soil (SiC) |
| Natural Vegetation | Mixed Broadleaf deciduous and needleleaf evergreen trees (M) |
| Ecoregion | Humid Temperate zone, warm continental province (H3) |
| Basic Principles addressed | Use Renewable Resources, Conserve Resources, Manage Ecological Relationships. |
| Page Author and Date | Hajime Araki, Niigata University, Japan, 1999. |
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In this experimental system, wheat and barley are sown between rows in advance of watermelon cultivation (seeding rate of 40 kg/ha), with mowing of the matured stalks of wheat & barley the next spring. Mature seeds then germinate after mowing and new leaves develop into a living mulch. Watermelons are grown on this straw and living mulch the following year. Watermelons coil their leaves around the straw and new leaves to fix their vines to the ground. Wheat and barley straw and living mulch suppress weed emergence, and clean watermelons are harvested because fruits are produced on top of the organic mulch (straw and living mulch). This system decreases working hours for laying of straw and weeding and consequently leads to labor savings overall. |
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In large-scale watermelon cultivation, it takes much time and intensive labor to cover the ground with rice, wheat or barley straw by hand and the mulch is often blown off by a strong wind. Wheat and barley produces straw and seedlings (from heads of mowed straw) because of the moisture at ground surface. Wheat and barley thus support the growth of watermelon even without producing grain. This cropping system has two merits from the ecological and social point of view. One is weed suppression by organic mulch, and the other is decreasing working hours for laying of straw and weeding. Mowers are needed in large-scale fields because mowing with bush cutters is too labor intensive. Another drawback is that the hard stubble sometimes makes holes in the watermelons. |
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Use Renewable Resources Planting wheat and barley uses renewable resources to control weed growth. Cover cropping recycles on-farm nutrients when biomass is returned to the soil. Conserve Resources Planting wheat and barley living mulch conserves soil moisture while reducing expenditures for off-farm labor needed to lay straw mulch by hand. Manage Ecological Relationships Wheat and barley living mulch reduces weed growth without competing with watermelons, while the cover crop residues are returned to the soil, feeding soil biota. |
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