Cover Crop and Compost in Vegetable Cultivation

Dear Colleagues,

Cover crops and compost have been evaluated as biological tools for the establishment of a sustainable agriculture systems.

Many various sources of organic materials, from manures to agricultural by-products, are being converted into soil amendments through the composting process. When row organic matter is added to the soil, it has stabilized considerably through decomposition and humification, and can contribute most effectively to the soil fertility-building process. 

Cover cropping, where a plant is grown specifically to produce plant matter for incorporation as a green manure into the soil, provides an important source of organic matter. Cover crop plants are usually grown in rotation with a crop or during a time of the year that the crops can not be grown. When legumes are used as cover crops, either alone or in combination with non-legume species, the quality of the biomass can be greatly improved. The resultant biomass can be incorporated into the soil or left on the surface as a protective mulch until it decomposes. Incorporated cover crops have shown some impact and benefit in soil structure and fertility and have shown an allelopathy effect.

Recently, some advanced researchers have been conducted: an analysis of cover crop function through molecular technology and an evaluation of the release and absorbance of GHG in the crop with compost or cover crops.

This Special Issue of Horticulturae will provide a current overview of the most significant research carried out on the vegetable cultivation systems with cover crops and compost. You are warmly invited to submit your work to this Special Issue, which will focus on the following aspects: new materials for cover crops and compost; the impact and benefit to soil properties; cropping systems and production; the reduction of the negative effects of global warming; elements dynamics and function in soil; and sustainability assessment.

Prof. Dr. Hajime Araki
Prof. Dr. Masakazu Komatsuzaki
Dr. Rafael Alexandre Muchanga
Guest Editors

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• biomass
• decomposition
• carbon
• nitrogen
• soil properties and nutrition
• field environment
• bio-diversity
• microorganism
• sustainability
• field practice