Cover Crops and Rotational Crops Useful in Orchard Site Preparation

Information on Apple IPM Practices for Specific Pests

Cover or Rotation Crop	Organic Matter	Nematode Suppression	Weed Suppression	Areas of Concern
Sudan grass	Yes	Yes	Yes	When mature, tough to plow down.
Buckwheat	Yes	No	Yes	Mow or plow down before seed production.
Oilseed rape & other mustards	Yes	Only if tilled under green	Yes	Only certain varieties suppress nematodes and/or other pathogens.
Winter rye	Yes	No	Yes	Plow down or kill before it seeds.
Turfgrass	Yes	No	Yes	Preplant establishment can be useful.
Clovers, vetches, other legumes	Yes	No	Yes	Good for green manure N source, plow down before it produces seeds.
Corn	No	No	Yes	Herbicide carryover could injure trees.