From llengnic@asrr.arsusda.govWed Mar 8 12:02:57 1995 Date: Wed, 8 Mar 1995 09:53:22 -0500 (EST) From: llengnic@asrr.arsusda.gov To: sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu Subject: BARC Sustainable Ag. News The Sustainable Agriculture Program at the Beltsville Agriculture Research Center, Beltsville, Maryland, publishes an informal newsletter that reports on sustainable agriculture research and demonstration activities at the center. The newsletter is distributed primarily to center researchers, as well as to off-site cooperators in the program. Staff from the National Agricultural Library's Alternative Farming Systems Information Center suggested that the newsletter might be of interest to SANNETers. This post includes the first newletter (from Sept. 1993) which gives a background on the BARC programs, and the most recent issue (Feb. 1995). In the future, the BARC Sustainable Agriculture News will be posted as published. Any questions, commments, suggestions or encouraging words are appreciated and can be sent via email to Laura Lengnick llengnic@asrr.arsusda.gov If you have a specific question about a project, please call the project coordinator. Phone numbers are listed in the body of the newsletter. The area code for Beltsville is 301. ------------------------------------------- Sustainable Agriculture News A Roundup of Sustainable Agriculture Activities at BARC September 1993 This is the first issue of the Sustainable Agriculture News, an occasional newsletter reporting on sustainable agriculture activities at BARC. The News is compiled by Laura Lengnick, Soil Microbial Systems Laboratory. Sustainable Agriculture at BARC The effort to develop a sustainable agriculture program at BARC was formally initiated with the naming of the Task Force on Sustainable Agriculture Research at Beltsville in 1990. The Task Force was charged with delineating opportunities for BARC to become more involved in research on sustainable agriculture. This group (chaired by Don Bills, PQDI) put out a report detailing 27 specific proposals for new research programs in sustainable agriculture. Besides identifying new research opportunities, the Task Force concluded that BARC is an ideal location for the demonstration of sustainable agriculture practices, because of its international standing as a research institution and its proximity to federal policy makers. As a result of the Task Force's work, in 1992 the Sustainable Agriculture Project Coordinating Committee (co-chaired by Don Bills, PQDI and Jim Anderson, WSI) was appointed to coordinate plans for research and demonstration sites in agronomy (field crops), horticulture, and waste utilization. The field crops demonstration site was established in the Fall of 1992 on 17 acres at the South Farm. It features treatments that compare conventional practices with those that employ minimum cultivation, reduced application of pesticides, and substitution of animal manure and legumes for chemical fertilizers. Data on economic costs, soil and plant characteristics and crop yields will be collected for each system. John Teasdale, Weed Science Lab, is coordinating this project. The field crops research site was established in early 1993 on 40 acres at the corner of Edmonston and Beaver Dam Roads on BARC-East. This project will study the short- and long-term effects of sustainable and conventional production practices on biological, environmental, and economic aspects of field crop production in the Middle Atlantic states. The project involves three major cropping systems: sustainable with animals, sustainable cash grain, and conventional cash grain. Cooperating scientists will compare soil quality, pest management, plant growth and profitability in the three systems. This project includes an initial two-year period of site characterization. During this phase of the project, soil and crop variability will be assessed using conventional methods, remote sensing and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) technology. Laura Lengnick, Soil Microbial Systems Lab, is coordinating this project. The horticultural sustainable agriculture program aims to develop systems that reduce the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, find substitutes for the use of plastic mulches, decrease erosion, improve soil quality, and incorporate germplasm compatible with sustainability. The research emphasizes profitability, protection of the environment, and the safety and quality of consumer products. Aref Abdul-Bakki, Vegetable Lab, is coordinating this project. Finally, preliminary planning of a new waste management initiative is underway. Plans have been developed for research in and demonstration of the use of rural, urban, domestic, and industrial wastes (as mixed waste composts) in sustainable agriculture systems to enhance soil quality and as an alternative to other organic amendments. This research will focus on eliminating waste disposal problems while benefitting agriculture. Pat Millner, Soil Microbial Systems Lab, is coordinating this project. Project Updates This section includes an update of recent activities in the BARC sustainable agriculture projects and general plans for the near future. Any questions about project activities or opportunities for collaboration should be directed to the project coordinators. Field Crops Demonstration This project demonstrates management practices for reduction of tillage, fertilizer, and pesticide inputs in contrast with conventional practices. Animal manures and legumes are substituted for fertilizers and cultivation or cover crops are substituted for herbicides. Tillage treatments include no-till, minimum-till and plow-till. Treatments are applied to a two year corn-barley-soybean rotation on 1/3 acre plots with 4 replications. Corn was planted on May 27 and a good stand was established in most plots. The drought in June and July left the corn stunted at tasselling but August rains will assure harvestable grain this fall. Barley was harvested on June 25. The highest yield of 65 bu/A (close to the Maryland state average) was achieved in the plow-till/commercial fertilizer treatment. All no-till treatments and all reduced input treatments yielded approximately half that of the best treatment. No-till soybeans were planted into barley stubble of the conventional treatments on July 8. An acceptable stand was established in the no-till (low barley yields) plots but there was very poor establishment in the plow-till (high barley yields) plots. Apparently there was only sufficient soil moisture for one good crop in this droughty year. Red clover was overseeded into the reduced input barley plots in April. A good stand of clover was established in most plots and will be harvested for hay this month. Weed bank samples were taken prior to planting corn. These data will be used to monitor weed populations over years as well as to determine weed control requirements. Call John Teasdale, Weed Science Laboratory (504-5504), if you have any questions or comments about this project. Waste Utilization Demonstration Six potential sites for the waste utilization demonstration project were inspected at BARC during July and August. Composite soil samples were taken and analyzed for micronutrients to determine if deficiencies or excesses were present. Discussions of the types of wastes and the application rates to be used in the demonstration are underway. The present design is one repetition of 5 to 8 wastes or waste mixtures applied at low and moderate rates. It is expected that the demonstration site will be established with the planting of a 1993 fall crop. Call Larry Sikora, Soil Microbial Systems Lab (504-9384), if you have any questions or comments about this project. Horticultural Crops Research Under the horticultural program, alternative production practices that reduce off- farm chemical inputs (herbicides, pesticides, plastic mulches, and synthetic fertilizers) through the use of cover crop mulches are being developed. There are a number of ongoing projects in the sustainable horticulture program: (1) Winter annual mulches- hairy vetch, crimson clover, and red clover, alone or in combination with rye, are being compared with plastic mulches and bare soil in a fresh-market tomato production system. A comparison of no-till and conventional till is also being conducted with selected treatments. The annual mulch treatments receive one-half of the N input of the other treatments. Yield, fruit quality, earliness, and production costs will be assessed; (2) N response of tomatoes under winter annual mulches- fertilizer N requirements of fresh-market tomatoes under vetch and black plastic mulches are being compared in replicated plots with 4 N application levels (0, 50, 100, 150 lb. N/acre); (3) Use of winter annual mulches in fresh-market vegetable production-a variety of annual mulches are compared with plastic mulches and bare soil in fresh market production of peppers, eggplants, strawberries, and processing tomatoes. Yield will be measured; (4) Sweet corn production under different systems- Sweet corn is being grown under five production systems differing in tillage and nutrient source: no-till hairy vetch mulch (0 N addition), no-till crimson clover mulch (0 N addition), no-till dying red clover mulch (0 N addition), organic (red clover + 15 tons manure plowed down), and a tilled, conventional system (commercial fertilizer, 125 lb N/acre). Field establishment, earliness, yield, and product quality will be assessed. The Vegetable and Fruit Labs are also cooperating in experiments to test the use of cover crop mulches in the production of strawberries and the establishment of blueberries and apples. Call Aref Abdul-Bakki, Vegetable Lab (504-5057), if you have any questions or comments about these projects. Field Crops Research The Field Crops research project is in the first few months of a two-year uniformity trial. During this period, experimental treatments will be finalized, data will be collected from three uniformity crops (silage corn-barley-soybeans), a detailed characterization of the site will be carried out using remote sensing and soil survey methods, site characteristics will be compiled in an information GIS data base, and the data base will be used to locate homogeneous blocks on the 40 acre site. Experimental plots are scheduled to be established in the spring of 1995. Characterization of the research site got underway in early June with the completion of soil survey sampling and planting of no-till corn for silage. The drought severely impacted corn growth in June and July and created marked variation in corn growth throughout the 40 acre site. Near infrared aerial photography was acquired during this period as a record of drought-induced site variability. With the early August rain, corn development resumed, and silage will likely be harvested late this month. Yield estimates will be made from located samples taken on a 25 m grid ( 350 sample points), as well as from each 0.5 ha subsection of the field. A no-till barley crop will be planted following silage harvest. Initial soil sampling to 90 cm (subdivided by horizon) on the 25 m grid is scheduled in Nov./Dec. Standard chemical analyses will be performed on soil (CEC, pH, P, K, Mg, base saturation, %C, total N, texture) and plant samples (macro-nutrient content). GIS efforts will concentrate on creating a database with the yield and soils data collected from the site, and the digitizing of soil survey maps, historical aerial photography, and the infrared aerial photography acquired in April, June, and September of this year. Planning of the major cropping systems to be established at the Field Crops site is underway. Finalization of the experimental design is scheduled for early next year. Call Laura Lengnick, Soil Microbial Systems Lab (4-9214) if you have any questions or comments about this project. Sustainable Ag. Bulletin Board *The BARC Information Office has published a flyer, available to those taking tours of the station, on the sustainable agriculture projects here at BARC. *J.D. Anderson, WSL, won the Field Crops Demonstration Barley Harvest Estimation Contest by a landslide. His estimates deviated from the true yield by an average of 5 bu/A. Other contestants deviated by an average of 9 to 15 bu/A. *ASA Special Publication #54, Mycorrhizae in Sustainable Agriculture, is an up-to- date discussion of the state of mycorrhizae knowledge, and the potential for the u of mycorrhizae in sustainable agriculture systems. -------------------------------------- Sustainable Agriculture News A Roundup of Sustainable Agriculture Activities at BARC February 1995 This News is an informal, occasional publication produced to inform area researchers about sustainable agriculture programs at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Beltsville, MD. The newsletter is compiled by Laura Lengnick, Soil Microbial Systems Laboratory. Sustainable Agriculture at BARC The Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) is the site of several new and on-going field research and demonstration projects in sustainable agriculture. Coordinated by a committee consisting of Don Bills, Natural Resources Institute, Jim Anderson, Weed Science Laboratory, and Tim Badger, Farm Operations Branch, research and demonstration projects are underway in the areas of agronomy (field crops), horticulture, and waste utilization. The field crops demonstration features reduced-tillage treatments that compare conventional practices with those that employ cover crops, reduced application of pesticides, and substitution of animal manure and legumes for chemical fertilizers. The waste utilization project demonstrates the use of rural, urban, domestic, and industrial wastes (as mixed waste composts) in sustainable agriculture systems. The horticultural production program aims to develop systems that reduce the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, find substitutes for the use of plastic mulches, decrease erosion, improve soil quality, and incorporate germplasm compatible with sustainability. The field crops research project will study the short- and long-term effects of sustainable and conventional production practices on biological, environmental, and economic aspects of field crop production in the Middle Atlantic states. The BARC sustainable agriculture projects offer an opportunity to conduct research in a systems-oriented, multidisciplinary, field-scale research environment. BARC scientists are encouraged to consider how their research may be enhanced by cooperation in one or more of the sustainable programs. Project Updates This section includes an update of recent activities in the BARC sustainable agriculture projects and general plans for the near future. Any questions about project activities should be directed to the project coordinators. Ben Coffman has been named Field Manager of the sustainable agriculture projects. Ben is a research agronomist with experience developing field crop weed management systems that emphasize reduced tillage and herbicide inputs. As Field Manager, Ben will be responsible for coordinating field operations and research activities at the BARC sustainable agriculture sites. Field Crops Demonstration An excellent growing season resulted in record corn yields on this site and throughout Beltsville. The highest yield of 188 bu/A was obtained with a no-tillage system with corn preceded by hairy vetch and reduced fertilizer and herbicide inputs. The standard no-tillage system was not significantly different at 180 bu/A. The organic system with manure and red clover substituted for fertilizer and cultivation substituted for herbicides produced 155 bu/A. Corn yields in this system were limited by weed competition and poor crop establishment. Competition from weeds also appeared to reduce yields in the crownvetch living mulch system, which produced 143 bu/A. A map of soil types at the site is now available. This map should aid in the interpretation of treatment differences by providing information about soil variability. The Systems Research Laboratory is providing an economic analysis of the different cropping systems. The Weed Science Laboratory is analyzing weed population dynamics. There is a need for analysis of nutrient cycling and soil quality in these plots, as well as a cooperator with an interest in quantifying environmental consequences, such as soil erosion and pesticide and nutrient losses, either through direct measurement on site or modeling. Call John Teasdale, Weed Science Laboratory (504-5504), if you have any questions or comments about this project. Waste Utilization Demonstration In the spring of 1994, two sets of plots were established on the South Farm to test the effects of organic and inorganic wastes amendments on corn yield and quality. Cattle and poultry manure were compared to sewage sludge compost, crab waste compost, municipal refuse compost, municipal refuse plus manure compost, yard waste compost, and BARC farm compost containing plant residues and manure. A second set of plots were amended with inorganic wastes such as cement residues, mineral fines from construction aggregate production in Maryland, New York and Georgia, and bottom ash from a coal burning power plant. The individual plots were split with 90 Kg N per ha added to half the organic plots and 60 t of yard waste compost per ha added to half the inorganic plots. One plot contained fertilizer alone, split with 90 and 134 Kg N per ha, and two plots were left unamended. Of the organic amendments, sewage sludge compost produced the highest corn grain yield of about 200 bu/A followed by poultry manure, BARC farm compost, manure plus municipal refuse compost, cattle manure, yard wastes compost, crab waste compost and municipal refuse compost which yielded only 80 bu/A. The yields for the 94 and 134 Kg N per ha fertilizer plots were about the same at 200 bu/A. The unamended plot yielded 80 bu/A. The addition of N fertilizer increased the yields of the municipal refuse compost by 90% and crab waste compost by 33%. The yields from the remaining organic wastes amendments were increased by 20% or less with the addition of the N fertilizer. Corn from the municipal refuse plots exhibited N deficiency early in the season and the final yield was equal to the no amendment treatment. With the additional of N or when the refuse was mixed with cattle manure and composted, N deficiency was not evident and the final yields were near that of the complete fertilizer. Of the inorganic amendments, cement residue produced the highest corn grain yield of 111 bu/A. The lowest yield was 80 bu/A for Maryland basaltic mineral fines. The addition of yard waste compost increased yields 33% for New York glacial outwash mineral fines and less than 5% for the basaltic mineral fines. In this first year of the study, the data must be considered preliminary because the plots are not yet replicated. The data suggest a yield benefit in blending fertilizer with organic waste or a combining inorganic and organic waste as a method to utilize wastes that alone are incomplete fertilizers. Wheat was planted on the plots this fall and will be followed by soybeans next summer. Call Larry Sikora, Soil Microbial Systems Lab (504-9384), if you have any questions or comments about this project. Horticultural Production Research In the fourth consecutive year of field testing on fresh-market tomato production, the yields in the hairy vetch mulch system were 40% greater than the conventional polyethylene mulch system and the production costs were about $800 less per ha. Likewise, the second year of testing a number of processing tomato varieties gave similar results. The benefits of using the hairy vetch mulching system were further confirmed by on-farm research by two private farmers collaborating with the Sustainable Agriculture Research program here at BARC. The Starkey's farm in Galena, MD compared a hairy vetch-rye mulch combination with their conventional farming practice using polyethylene mulch. The vetch- rye mulch out produced the polyethylene by increasing yields by 65%, improving fruit quality, and extending the harvest season. Farmer- researcher Norma Wilson obtained similar results at the Butterfly Hill Products Farm in Lovettsville, VA. Comparing a hairy vetch mulch to a polyethylene mulch in tomatoes under organic management, the hairy vetch mulch increased yields by 21%, reduced disease pressure late in the season, and extended the harvest season by 4 weeks. During the 1995 growing season, research will focus on whether any additional N will be needed by tomatoes grown in the vetch mulch. Tests of the vetch mulch system will be expanded to cover other major vegetables including sweet corn, peppers, snap beans, muskmelons and egg plants. Studies will also be initiated to assess differences in stress imposed by pathogens on tomatoes grown under different cultural practices with the objective of reducing pesticide applications during the growing season. Details on how to use the hairy vetch mulch system in tomato production have recently been released by ARS in the ten-page farmers' bulletin (FB-2279) "Sustainable Production of Fresh-Market Tomatoes with Organic Mulches." Call Aref Abdul-Baki, Vegetable Lab (504-5057), if you have any questions or comments about these projects. Field Crops Research Characterization work is proceeding well at the project site along Beaver Dam and Edmonston Roads. The Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data base has been constructed and preliminary analyses for site planning is underway. During the past 18 months researchers from the University of Maryland and several BARC Labs (RSRL, BPDL, NL, WSL) have cooperated in the effort to build a GIS data base to support comprehensive geostatistical analyses of spatial variation in soil characteristics and crop productivity. Soil pedological and chemical properties have been characterized by sampling to a 1 m depth on a 50 by 75 m grid (50 points) and to a 45 cm depth on a 25 m square grid (300 points). Spatial variation in crop productivity was investigated by collecting crop growth and development data in uniformity trial crops on a 25 m square grid (240 points). The first two of three planned uniformity crops (corn/winter wheat/soybean) were unsuccessful as a result of severe climatic conditions in the summer of 1993 and winter of 1994. No-till corn was planted in May 1994. Ideal weather conditions during the growing season produced record yields and a unique data set describing variation in crop productivity across the site. Other data have also been acquired during the characterization period: color infrared aerial photography of the crop canopy during the 1993 and 1994 growing seasons; a digital elevation model of the site; and, black and white aerial photography of previous land use on the site during the period of 1930 to 1960. Planning of the systems to be included in the experiment got underway with the meeting of a Farmer/Extension planning group in August 1994. This group proposed 9 potential cropping systems to be considered as treatments for the project. Development of experimental treatments will continue with input from BARC cooperators and a meeting this February of BARC scientists interested in discussing design options. During 1995, project plans are to complete the baseline characterization work, finalize the experimental design, and continue to actively seek cooperators in the Field Crops-Research project. Cooperators are especially needed this year to complete the baseline characterization of soil physical and biological characteristics. This year will be the last opportunity for collecting "time zero" data because research plots are scheduled to be established at the site in the spring of 1996. Any BARC scientist with an interest in cooperating in the baseline characterization and/or systems planning is encouraged to contact Laura by February 10. Call Laura Lengnick, Soil Microbial Systems Lab (504-8327) if you have any questions or comments about this project. Sustainable Ag. Bulletin Board *Get Connected! Anybody with a computer account on ASRR can join the Sustainable Agriculture Network's (SAN) electronic conference. This international newsgroup shares information and ideas regarding sustainable agriculture. Current issues/events impacting sustainable agriculture are debated among the many researchers, administrators, farmers, public policy makers, consumers and others posting to the newsgroup. To subscribe to SAN, send the message "subscribe sanet-mg" to almanac@ces.ncsu.edu. ----------------------------------------------------