"Strategies organic producers employ to manage weeds between plastic mulch beds vary in their efficacy and in important systems-level influences on the cropping system. The goal of this study was to identify tradeoffs of commonly used between-row weed-soil management strategies in organic plasticulture vegetable production. Between-row management strategies evaluated included cultivation, rye residue dead mulch, mowed weeds, and three living mulch species: rye (Secale cereale L.) monoculture, Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) monoculture, and a rye-Dutch white clover (Trifolium repens) mixture. Cultivation and dead mulch provided greater in-season weed control and reduced weed seedbank contributions more than living mulches. Despite physical separation, plants growing between plastic mulch beds showed the potential to compete for in-row resources. However, these results were only observed in bell pepper in a relatively dry year, with yellow summer squash yields unaffected across years and treatments. Plants growing between plastic mulch beds also showed the potential to reduce inorganic nitrogen leaching. Additionally, vegetative covers and rye residue dead mulch increased extracellular enzyme activity compared to cultivation, suggesting potential improvements in nutrient cycling. In a separate cover crop screen to evaluate species suitable as living mulches in plasticulture production, a significant negative correlation between weed and living mulch biomass was observed, with teff producing the most biomass and suppressing in-season weeds more than any other species in the screen."--Page ii.
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