Florida Growers: Early Revisions and Pictures

Early Revisions

Objectives and Crops
For this project we will be growing a few different crops in order to test the effects of pests on intercropping and monoculture. A trap crop, Buckwheat, or Fagopyrum esculentum, will be planted to distract pests from the main cash crops. Buckwheat is a grain-like seed that produces achene. It is a cool season crop that grows well in low-fertility or acid soil. Brassicas will serve as our cash crops. The two brassicas that will be planted are Brassica Oleracea, kale and Brassica Juncea, mustard greens. The pests present in the two plots will be measured and analyzed to show whether the plot with both Brassicas growing attracted more/less pests than the plot planted with only one type of Brassica.

Brief Description of Experimental Design

In the fifteen by thirty foot plot, we will divide it in half, measuring out two plots of fifteen feet by fifteen feet. Buckwheat will be planted around the perimeter of our plot, serving as a trap crop, to attract and distract pests from the cash crops. On one end of the plot, only mustard greens will be planted as the individual cash crop. This will serve as a conventional agriculture plot that uses monoculture practices with a bordering trap crop. The other portion of the plot will be planted with both Brassica oleracea and Brassica Juncea as intercropped cash crops. Within the two plots, sticky traps will be placed between plants. Each of the 10 rows will have 6 sticky traps. The rows will be numbered and the sticky traps will be lettered based on the crop species. These traps will be checked and replaced once a week and the number of pests on each sticky trap will be recorded in both plots. This process will be repeated for six weeks.

The plants will be watered regularly. Measurements of plant growth/yield will also be measured regularly. We will be fertilizing our plot with certified organic Nature Safe 10-2-8. Based on the nitrogen requirements of our crops we will need 20.66 lb.’s of fertilizer throughout our growing season. We will be spreading 2.5 lb.’s or 2 lb.’s 6 oz. each week over the remaining eight weeks of our growing season.

Plot map