The use of broiler litter as a source of plant nutrients for row crops is becoming more common. While spring application of manure provided the best agronomic response in most instances, manures are often applied to the soils in the fall. However, cover crops, such as rye grass, have been promoted as a means of maximizing the efficient use of available N to subsequent crops in agricultural systems, potentially enhancing profitability through reduced inorganic fertilizer N requirement.
Accumulated soil organic carbon is an important factor in quality and productivity of soil, and maintaining or increasing soil organic carbon is an important goal of current crop and soil management. The current interest in removing crop residue to serve as a fuel source and the ongoing concern about the use of fertilizer, especially nitrogen, has increased the interest in research that addresses the effects of cropping system, residue removal, and nitrogen fertilizer rates on soil organic carbon.
The purpose of this study, conducted by researchers from the Univ. of Illinois, was to reexamine existing soil organic carbon (SOC) data from the Morrow Plots, including the use of regression to assess changes in SOC with rotation, management, and nitrogen (N) fertilizer use over time.
An expansion of soybean production into areas where soybean has seldom, if ever, been grown presents a steep learning curve
for growers. This is especially true if the area of expansion includes soils having high pH values and large amounts of calcium and/or magnesium carbonate—soil conditions that promote iron deficiency.
That swine manure sprayed on to fields adds valuable nutrients to the soil is well known. But what is not known is whether all that manure is bringing harmful bacteria with it. A new study looks at the levels of nutrients and bacteria in soils of fields that have been sprayed with manure for fifteen years or more. The research team tested soils inside and outside fields of five farms on twenty different soils types. Their results are reported in the September-October 2010 Journal of Environmental Quality.
Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) in soybeans has been appearing this year in the Corn Belt and reports indicate that it appears it is widespread. Heavy rains and late-summer flooding is thought to be at least somewhat to blame for the widespread SDS pressures.
While scientists have conducted numerous studies on production of biomass from biofuel crops, such as switchgrass, no one has yet compiled this information to evaluate the response of biomass yield to soils, climate, and crop management across the United States.
A team of researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Dartmouth College published just such a study in the July-August 2010 Agronomy Journal. The researchers used peer-reviewed publications to evaluate switchgrass yield as it relates to site location, plot size, stand age, harvest frequency, fertilizer application, climate, and land quality. Switchgrass is one type of crop under consideration for use as a feedstock for advanced biofuels.
Mycotoxins are produced by fungi growing on food commodities. Mycotoxins can become an issue for livestock producers and corn growers when environmental conditions during the growing season are conducive to mold growth. During wet and cool weather, delayed planting, or crop development to the point where kernel moisture is high late into the fall, corn ear molds can be common.
A one-time tillage has no adverse effects on yield or soil properties on no-till land, according to field research conducted at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
On July 1, 2010, Steve Dlugosz, a Certified Crop Adviser and Lead Agronomist, Harvestland Cooperative presented testimony on behalf of the International Certified Crop Adviser (ICCA) Program and the American Society of Agronomy (ASA) to the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy and Research in Washington, D.C. The committee was reviewing the administration and delivery of USDA conservation programs.
Bringing the CCA program to South Asia is the result of collaboration with the American Society of Agronomy, an international scientific society based in Madison, WI, and the Cereal System Initiative for South Asia (CSISA). The CSISA is led by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and three other centers with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Bank, during the first three years of the program.
The use of broiler litter as a source of plant nutrients for row crops is becoming more common. While spring application of manure provided the best agronomic response in most instances, manures are often applied to the soils in the fall. However, cover crops, such as rye grass, have been promoted as a means of maximizing the efficient use of available N to subsequent crops in agricultural systems, potentially enhancing profitability through reduced inorganic fertilizer N requirement.
Accumulated soil organic carbon is an important factor in quality and productivity of soil, and maintaining or increasing soil organic carbon is an important goal of current crop and soil management. The current interest in removing crop residue to serve as a fuel source and the ongoing concern about the use of fertilizer, especially nitrogen, has increased the interest in research that addresses the effects of cropping system, residue removal, and nitrogen fertilizer rates on soil organic carbon.
An expansion of soybean production into areas where soybean has seldom, if ever, been grown presents a steep learning curve
That swine manure sprayed on to fields adds valuable nutrients to the soil is well known. But what is not known is whether all that manure is bringing harmful bacteria with it.
Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) in soybeans has been appearing this year in the Corn Belt and reports indicate that it appears it is widespread. Heavy rains and late-summer flooding is thought to be at least somewhat to blame for the widespread SDS pressures.
While scientists have conducted numerous studies on production of biomass from biofuel crops, such as switchgrass, no one has yet compiled this information to evaluate the response of biomass yield to soils, climate, and crop management across the United States.
A one-time tillage has no adverse effects on yield or soil properties on no-till land, according to field research conducted at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
On July 1, 2010, Steve Dlugosz, a Certified Crop Adviser and Lead Agronomist, Harvestland Cooperative presented testimony on behalf of the International Certified Crop Adviser (ICCA) Program and the American Society of Agronomy (ASA) to the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy and Research in Washington, D.C. The committee was reviewing the administration and delivery of USDA conservation programs.
