Two cherry growers in Oregon are finding several benefits to using straw as mulch down the tree rows, from improved water usage to improved soil health. Jennifer Moore-Kucera, research associate at Oregon State University, is collecting data in the two grower trials, comparing soil health below wheat and alfalfa straw mulch placed over the tree rows, with soil health in tree rows kept clean with an herbicide strip. She reported that differences between the two treatments are showing up within the first few years of the research. Although soil organic matter has not changed within the first two years, she […]