Tillage Radish cover crop granted U.S. Plant Variety Protection pending status


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Tillage Radish cover crop granted U.S. Plant Variety Protection pending status

Monday, 09 July 2012 11:03

070912_radish Cover Crop Solutions, LLC, has announced that its flagship cover crop, Tillage Radish – officially known as Variety CCS-779 – has been awarded U.S. Plant Variety Protection #201200292.

Tillage Radish is now under the U.S. Plant Variety Protection pending statute and unauthorized propagation is strictly prohibited.

This distinction indicates that Tillage Radish is a unique variety.

David Weaver, company CEO, states, "The significance of Tillage Radish PVP status is that it demonstrates Cover Crop Solutions' serious commitment to delivering a dependable high quality radish with superior genetics to the cover crop industry to address the broader topic of soil health, which we believe is the future of viable agriculture on a global scale."

The plant is a tuber with unique genetics, featuring a single aggressive taproot that reaches depths of 30 inches and beyond, penetrating compacted soil layers common in highly productive fields. It also helps draw nutrients into the upper regions of the soil profile where cash crops can use them the next season.

Planted in late summer or early fall, Tillage Radish helps minimize water run off, nutrient leaching and soil erosion.

In controlled replicated field trials, Tillage Radish showed a yield increase of 11 percent for corn and 10 percent for soybeans compared to controls.

Tillage Radish seed is added to fall planted winter wheat, and has shown yield increases from seven to 12 bushels per acre.

"Cash crops respond dramatically to healthier soil conditions," explains Steve Groff, who helped develop the product at his Cedar Meadow Farm in Holtwood, Pennsylvania, working in conjunction with Dr. Ray Weil, University of Maryland.

"We've been no-till farming for over 20 years. Our crops require less fertilizer and our yields are very strong. We know first hand that where the soil is alive with beneficial fungi and earthworms, and has great structure, cash crops will be especially profitable." FG

—From Cover Crop Solutions, LLC, news release