Development and adoption of no-till and minimum tillage vegetable production systems in the Midwest

This project seeks to change behavior and growing practices related to medium- and large-scale production of vegetables (pumpkin, snap bean, and sweet corn) in the Great Plains. The goal of this project is to demonstrate the use of no-till systems for pumpkin, sweet corn, and snap bean in the Great Plains, and provide this knowledge to growers. The specific objectives of this project are:
• To demonstrate the effectiveness of no-till production systems for pumpkin, sweet corn, and snap bean through a series of demonstration sites at University and NRCS locations.
• To provide vegetable growers with “hands-on” experience growing no-till crops by initiating a mini-grant incentive program for vegetable growers to conduct demonstration trials in Kansas and Missouri.
• To assess the impact of different cover crop species and no-till systems on soil health, yield and profitability of pumpkin, sweet corn, and snap bean.
• To engage growers and others in university/extension with current knowledge of minimum tillage systems and disseminate the results of this project through established and novel extension networks and outlets.