Fall and spring broccoli yields and weed control under no-till and conventional tillage with overseeded legume living mulches

Experiments were conducted with 'BigSur' broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica Plenck) at two sites in fall of 1993 and at two sites in the spring of 1994 on a Hayter loam in southwestern Virginia. Objectives were to determine the tillage main-plot (CT = conventional tillage, and NT = no-tillage) and weed-control subplot (C = no overseeding or preemergent herbicide; HB = oxyfluorfen; RC = red clover (Trifolium pratense L.); WC = Dutch white clover (Trifolium repens L.); and HV = hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) effects on broccoli yield and weed suppression. At all sites, marketable broccoli yield was equal or higher in NT than CT and was unaffected by overseeded legume living mulches. Overseeded legumes suppressed weeds as well as the HB in three of the four sites. These data show that the NT systems used in these experiments can suppress weeds and produce high broccoli yields and that overseeded legume living mulches can be effectively established after transplanting to suppress weeds without reducing broccoli yield.