AGRICULTURE REPORT - Cover Crops Are Good for the Soil (and

AGRICULTURE REPORT - Cover Crops Are Good for the Soil (and the Farmer)
By Mario Ritter

Broadcast: Tuesday, May 24, 2005

I'm Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Cover crops are an ancient way to help farmers improve their soil, increase their harvests and, these days, save money on chemicals.

Scientists like Aref Abdul-Baki search for new and better cover crops. Mister Abdul-Baki is with the Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture. He works at the Sustainable Agricultural Systems Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland.

 
 
Mister Abdul-Baki has found some cover crops to resist groundworms that attack the roots of tomatoes.

Sunn hemp¹, cowpea and velvet² bean are good for warm, humid areas. The soil is plowed³ to plant the cover crops during the summer months. In the fall, the cover crops are turned over in the soil, then the tomatoes are planted.

In states with moderate climates, like Maryland and Virginia, the cover crops are planted in the fall to grow during early spring. Mister Abdul-Baki tells us that good cover crops are hairy vetch and rye.

To avoid soil loss, the seeds are planted without the use of plowing⁴. In May, the cover crops are cut and the remains⁵ are left on the surface. The same method can be used for other summer crops like peppers, sweet corn, green beans and some melons.

After the cover crop is cut, the result is a layer of organic material. This will help the new crop grow and suppress unwanted plants. The cover crop provides extra nutrients⁶ to the soil. It also keeps the soil from drying out, and helps prevent the loss of soil.

In hot, dry areas, like in Southern California, cover crops help reduce soil temperatures. They also reduce water loss and erosion. Lana vetch is a good cover crop. It is planted in the fall and breaks down without any assistance. It releases its seeds back into the soil.

Mister Abdul-Baki says farmers who use cover crops no longer need to treat their soil with methyl bromide before they plant tomatoes. Methyl bromide kills many kinds of organisms. But Mister Abdul-Baki notes that the poison also damages the environment and is a health danger. The government restricts the use of methyl bromide. And countries have agreed to a treaty to ban it.

Aref Abdul-Baki says farmers who use cover crops produce as many, or more, tomatoes per hectare as compared to no use of cover crops.

This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by Mario Ritter. Our reports are online at www.unsv.com. I'm Gwen Outen.

1 hemp   

n.大麻；纤维

参考例句：

• The early Chinese built suspension bridges of hemp rope.古代的中国人建造过麻绳悬索桥。
• The blanket was woven from hemp and embroidered with wool.毯子是由亚麻编织，羊毛镶边的。

2 velvet   

n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的

参考例句：

• This material feels like velvet.这料子摸起来像丝绒。
• The new settlers wore the finest silk and velvet clothing.新来的移民穿着最华丽的丝绸和天鹅绒衣服。

3 plowed   

v.耕( plow的过去式和过去分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过

参考例句：

• They plowed nearly 100,000 acres of virgin moorland. 他们犁了将近10万英亩未开垦的高沼地。 来自辞典例句
• He plowed the land and then sowed the seeds. 他先翻土，然后播种。 来自辞典例句

4 plowing   

v.耕( plow的现在分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过

参考例句：

• "There are things more important now than plowing, Sugar. "如今有比耕种更重要的事情要做呀，宝贝儿。 来自飘（部分）
• Since his wife's death, he has been plowing a lonely furrow. 从他妻子死后，他一直过着孤独的生活。 来自辞典例句

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》