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From "White Clover (Trifolium repens) Control and Flower Head Suppression
in Apple Orchards" by Andrew W. MacRae, Wayne E. Mitchen. David W. Monks,
and Michael L. Parker, Weed Technology, Volume 19, Issue 2, May 2005:
"White clover is a weed in apple orchards that competes with the crop; also,
flowers of this weed are unwanted attractants of honey bees at times when
insecticides, which are harmful to these pollinators, are being applied."
Do you have a source for the statement that "the foundation of organic
farming is largely nonorganic"?
WF
-----Original Message-----
From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca [mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca]
On Behalf Of David & Alison Webster
Sent: Sunday, June 24, 2007 8:46 PM
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Subject: Re: [NatureNS] bees and industrial white clover
Wild Flora wrote:
>The only harm to bees that I'm aware of is when flowering clover attracts
>them to an area where pesticides are going to be used. This is a recognized
>problem in nonorganic apple orchards, where white clover is often regarded
>as a weed.
>
Hi Flora & All, June 24, 2007
I worked for about 29 years in orchard soil management, including
orchard ground cover management, and don't recall hearing the notion of
White Clover being regarded as a weed.
This is now all very long ago and far away but, I am sure that White
Clover was an ingredient of one if not two of the two seed mixes that we
(I) recommended for use when establishing sod in orchards.
On a matter related to organic farming, it is widely accepted that
heat energy flows, other things being equal, from warmer to cooler
bodies [e.g. with density very unequal, heat can flow from the colder
body to the hotter, i.e. one would freeze instantly in some outer layers
of the upper atmosphere that have very high temperatures but widely
spaced molecules].
It is equally true, but less widely recognized, that nutrients tend
to flow from more fertile to less fertile soils (again with the other
things being equal condition). With the exception of some favourable
alluvial, loess and dykeland soils, the foundation of organic farming is
largely nonorganic, i.e. enabled by previous or current fertilizer use
within the watershed (dust shed, reach of birds, pollen, seeds, insects
and other vectors of nutrient dispersal) and this foundation will be
subject to gradual depletion.
Hopefully some of the fad setters will wake up before we regress to
the good old days of recurrent famine and 'Ein ta saw, ein ta gnaw and
ein ta gie tha laird withaw'.
Yours truly, Dave Webster, Kentville
>
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