Field Boarders and Beneficial Habitat Research
go.ncsu.edu/readext?277083
en Español / em Português
El inglés es el idioma de control de esta página. En la medida en que haya algún conflicto entre la traducción al inglés y la traducción, el inglés prevalece.
Al hacer clic en el enlace de traducción se activa un servicio de traducción gratuito para convertir la página al español. Al igual que con cualquier traducción por Internet, la conversión no es sensible al contexto y puede que no traduzca el texto en su significado original. NC State Extension no garantiza la exactitud del texto traducido. Por favor, tenga en cuenta que algunas aplicaciones y/o servicios pueden no funcionar como se espera cuando se traducen.
Português
Inglês é o idioma de controle desta página. Na medida que haja algum conflito entre o texto original em Inglês e a tradução, o Inglês prevalece.
Ao clicar no link de tradução, um serviço gratuito de tradução será ativado para converter a página para o Português. Como em qualquer tradução pela internet, a conversão não é sensivel ao contexto e pode não ocorrer a tradução para o significado orginal. O serviço de Extensão da Carolina do Norte (NC State Extension) não garante a exatidão do texto traduzido. Por favor, observe que algumas funções ou serviços podem não funcionar como esperado após a tradução.
English
English is the controlling language of this page. To the extent there is any conflict between the English text and the translation, English controls.
Clicking on the translation link activates a free translation service to convert the page to Spanish. As with any Internet translation, the conversion is not context-sensitive and may not translate the text to its original meaning. NC State Extension does not guarantee the accuracy of the translated text. Please note that some applications and/or services may not function as expected when translated.
Collapse ▲by: Aaron Fox and Dr. Chris Reberg-Horton
The USDA began Conservation Program 33 (CP33), Habitat Buffers for Upland Birds, in 2004 to address the national decline of northern bobwhite quail numbers. Similar to other Conservation Reserve Programs (CRP), Conservation Program 33 pays landowners around $80 per-acre per-year over the length of a 10-15 year contract to take marginal lands out of production to provide habitat for quail and other wildlife.
Instead of letting field borders go fallow and grow weeds it may be better, both for weed management as well as for insect pest management, to sow native prairie flowers and perennial grasses into the areas around your crop fields. Having a diversity of flower species that bloom during different times of the year can provide the needed food for beneficial insects. Perennial bunch grasses can provide suitable shelter for a number of beneficial organisms. These plants are much less problematic than the crop weeds that grow in fallow areas. Establishing these flowers and grasses is as easy as scattering their seed, no equipment is required, and the only management they need is a fire burning every few years.
The Organic Cropping Systems lab in the Crop Science Department is researching how these flowers and grasses affect weeds, and especially how they affect weed seed predators.
Many research projects have shown that weed seed predators such as crickets, beetles and even mice can prevent a lot of seeds from becoming new weeds. However, little to no research has shown how to increase the number of weed seed predators on a farm. Aaron Fox, the graduate student working on this project, is investigating whether planting these native prairie flowers and bunch grasses can provide enough beneficial habitats for weed seed predators to have an impact on the weed populations in crop fields.
The USDA will be increasing the number of acres for CP33 by 100,000 to a total of 350,000 acres this year. There will be a general sign-up for this and other Conservation Reserve Programs later this summer, the first since 2006. The dates for the sign-up have not yet been set, but if you are interested in CP33 or other CRP programs contact your local Farm Service Agency (FSA) to see if you are eligible and to find out when the sign-up will start (to find your local FSA office click on your county at http://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app . For information regarding land and producer eligibility requirements, contract lengths, cost-share provisions and other information go to http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/ and click on the conservation section of the webpage.