30 BULLETIN 614, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
MULCH CROP. 
The term “mulch crop” in this connection refers to the practice 
of growing alfalfa, clover, and vetch in the orchard for hay or pasture. 
Of the 120 orchardists from whom records were taken in the Yakima 
Valley, 45, or 374 per cent, had sown their orchards to one of these 
shade or mulch crops. Alfalfa, however, is used most commonly. 
Two rather distinctive methods of handling the mulch crop are 
practiced in the orchards of the valley. Some men cut and use the 
mulch crops for hay; others utilize the orchards for pasture. Of the 
64 orchards in the North Yakima district, 21 have some mulch crop 
in their orchards; 19 of these use the mulch crop for hay, and 2 use 
it for pasture. Of the 24 orchardists in the Zillah district who use a 
mulch crop, 14 use the mulch for hay, 9 for pasture, and 1 leaves it 
on the ground. As alfalfa is the principal mulch crop grown by or- 
chardists from whom records were obtained, this discussion will be 
confined entirely to the methods commonly practiced in the manage- 
ment of the orchards which were in this mulch crop. 
In both districts where alfalfa is used for hay, the practice is to 
do some cultural work in the orchards. This is not necessarily done 
every year. A few of the orchardists make an annual practice of 
thoroughly disking the alfalfa as early as possible in the spring. 
This cuts the crowns and causes the plants to spread, producing new 
growth. An annual cultivation in the mulch-crop orchards is not 
common in the valley, only four orchardists in each district following 
this plan. The others allow it to remain in the orchard from two to 
four years. The orchard is then plowed, worked, and reseeded. 
Mulch-crop management is practically the same for both districts. 
(See Tables XXIV and XXYV.) 
The annual cultivation charge per acre of all orchards in the valley 
under clean-cultural management is 15.92 per cent of the total gross 
labor cost up to harvesting time, whereas in’ orchards under mulch- 
crop management it is only 6.06 per cent. In order to find the annual 
charge per acre on the orchards where cultivations are made only once 
in two to four years, the labor put on these orchards during the year of 
cultivation is prorated over the years when no cultivation is made. 
For example, if an orchard is plowed and cultivated once in four years, 
the annual charge per acre for labor will be one-fourth of the total 
labor done during the year of cultivation. Where all records are 
considered, regardless of the method of management of the soil, 
approximately 80 per cent of the total annual cultivation is made 
in both districts before the first irrigation. 
Considering all mulch-crop records in the valley, whatever method 
of management is used, the annual charge per acre is 8.41 man-hours 
and 15.10 horse-hours, or a cost of $4.37 per acre, for cultivation. 
