nurse crop

American  

noun

1. a crop planted in the same field with another crop, especially to minimize the growth of weeds.

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Etymology

Origin of nurse crop

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

One of the most satisfactory methods of sowing clover seeds along with a nurse crop is to sow the clover with a "seeder attachment;" that is, an attachment for sowing small seeds, which will deposit the same before or behind the grain tubes as may be desired.

From Project Gutenberg

One chief objection to flax as a nurse crop is that it is commonly sown late.

From Project Gutenberg

One of the best rotations in which to sow mammoth clover, as also the medium red, is the following: Sow in a nurse crop of rye, wheat, oats or barley, as the case may be, in order that it may be pastured or cut for hay the following season, and then follow with a crop of corn or potatoes.

From Project Gutenberg

When the seed is sown in the early spring, it should usually be sown quite early, as early, in fact, as the ground is in condition to receive the seed when the nurse crop has been sown the previous autumn.

From Project Gutenberg

When deposited at the same time as spring-sown nurse crops, and with these, the time of sowing will be determined by the most suitable time for sowing the nurse crop.

From Project Gutenberg