season extension
TRANSCRIPT
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Season Extension
Vaughn Hammond
Extension Educator
University of Nebraska –Lincoln
Kimmel Education & Research Center
402-873-3166
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Cultural Practices
Modify microclimates without the use
of structures
May require long term planning
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Site Selection
Choose a higher site than lower site
Cold air drops settling in lower areas
Lower areas tend to have less air movement
reducing the mixing of colder and warmer
air
Southern exposure
Warms the soil temperature earlier
Soil type
Heavier soils such as clay and loam tend to
hold heat better than sandy, lighter soils
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Cultural Practices –cont.
Irrigation
Moist soil holds heat better than dry soil
Overhead sprinklers can be used for frost
protection
Smudge pots and wind machines
Smoke acts as a blanket keeping warmer air
near the surface
Wind machines blend differing air temps
Windbreaks
Creates a micro climate
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Cultural Practices—cont.
Cultivar selection
Days to maturity
Staggering varieties to take advantage of days to maturity
Germination temp
Some varieties germinate at specific temps
Shade – cooling effect – lettuce
Creates a microclimate
30-50% shade can reduce leaf temp 10 degrees
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Cultural Practices --- cont.
Using transplants
Provides for earlier harvest
Aid in competition with weeds
Allows for later harvests when using
succession planting
Multiple Cropping
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Plasticulture
Plasticulture is used to describe an integrated
system that includes—but is not limited to—plastic
film mulches, drip irrigation tape, row covers, low
tunnels, and high tunnels.
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Benefits
Earlier crop production (7 to 21 days earlier)
Higher yields per acre (2 to 3 times higher)
Cleaner, higher-quality produce
More efficient use of water resources
More efficient use of fertilizers
Reduced soil and wind erosion (though erosion may increase in un-mulched paths between rows)
Potential decrease in disease
Better management of certain insect pests
Fewer weeds
Reduced soil compaction and elimination of root pruning
The opportunity for efficient double or triple cropping (Lamont, 1996)
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Disadvantage
Disposal
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Plastic Mulches
Muskmelons, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers,
squash, eggplant, watermelons, sweet corn
Early and later season production
Water conservation
Weed control
Cleaner vegetables
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Biodegradable Mulches
Advantages similar to plastic mulch but
biodegradable
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Floating Row Covers
Applied directly over the crop
Protects against cold temps
Acts as shade
Excludes insects
Reduces insect vectored disease
Varied weights for use.
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Low Tunnels
Many of the same advantages of floating row covers
Allows for growth of taller plants such as peppers
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Cold Frames & Cloches
More permanent or reusable structure
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Extension is a Division of the Institute of Agriculture
and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska–
Lincoln cooperating with the Counties and the United
States Department of Agriculture.
University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension educational
programs abide with the nondiscrimination policies of
the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and the United
States Department of Agriculture.