Progress 09/01/23 to 08/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:Organic vegetable producers/farmers stakeholders in southern Arizona; potentially, regenerative farms; Extension; Academia: faculty, graduate students, staff, post-docs with affiliated interests; private sector; government-state and federal; the public. Changes/Problems:Grape pomace was found to be uneconomical as a soil amendment tin the project for several reasons. First, wheat is an agronomic crop, compared to vegetable crops targeted in the initial project, making it difficult and time-consuming to apply over large areas, and required a large amount of input to cover the planting area. Second, because of the great distance between Oatman Flats (our new cooperator) and sources of pomace either in northern or southern Arizona. This treatment was therefore abandoned (envisioned by the original PI, who lived near winegrape vineyards in Yavapai Co. and arranged for the materials to be transported to Gilbert, AZ farm, initial cooperating farm). Oatman Flats Farm/Ranch had two wells at the outset of the project (Yr-2). The pump for one of these wells broke and the water distribution pipelines were damaged by flood waters, leaving the farm with one well. Experiments were completed for the 2023 cover crop and wheat crop (winter 2023-spring 2024) seasons, however, the 2024 cover crop stand was extremely poor because well water was unavailable and summer rains provided less than one inch of precipitation. Since the pandemic, it has been difficult to identify skilled workers/scientists/students interested in working on this project. Fortunately, half-way through this year, the M.S. student and Ph.D. candidate (molecular biologists, Research Technician) were hired to work on the project. The departure of two of the initial PI's who were soil scientists left the project without the necessary expertise. We are fortunate to have Dr. Debankur Sanyal, Soil Health Specialist, Dept. of Environmental Sciences, has agreed to join the project as a collaborator. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Training: Mr. Amir Khusru (M.S. student, UA Agric. Economics) who joined the team as a statistician is learning about plant-microbial/nutrient dynamics associated with yield. Ms. Maryum Munir, (Ph.D. candidate, Plant Pathology-Microbiology), who joined the Brown lab (Plant Sciences) as a molecular biologist is learning how to isolate nucleic acids from soil samples and prepare soil for characterization. She is learning how to analyze and interpret the physical and molecular data produced in the project. Professional development: Dr. Dinusha Maheepala, Ph.D., Plant Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics, is learning project management and coordination of the ressearch team, has developed new protocols, constructed databases, and written/optimized scripts for data analysis; he is learning new approaches and algorithms to enable microbial community analysis. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Members of the farming community and other interested parties were able to attend the workshop held at the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension in Maricopa County, on May 2nd, 2024. These attendees received a thorough introduction to the benefits of using organic, soil amendments, and had an opportunity to discuss how the preliminary data from the project may be applicable to organic farmers. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Yield data from wheat 2025 crop (annually) Wheat grain protein analysis from 2025 crop (annuall) Cover crops biomass: the cover-crop is expected to be planted after the wheat harvest (summer 2025), which will allow biomass data to be taken this year. Algae amendments will be applied to the 2024-2025 wheat crop. Because the cover crop was not established, this soil benefit was not realized. These treatments are anticipated in 2025 growing season. Soil analysis per treatment/plot will be conducted (Dec 2024 and May 2025): Nutrient analysis. Physical and chemical properties analysis. Microbiome analyses (i.e., archaeal, bacterial). Pursue cost-effective approaches for analyzing the soil-phylosphere virome to include soil-organismal associated and phyllosphere-associated viruses. Though technically challenging, the project hopes to make some inroads into these approaches to enhance the understanding of the relationships between the interacting archaea, bacteria, and virus communities associated with soil-plant exudates.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Elaborated Goal (Yr-2 rescoping): In the project re-scoping, the goal is to improve soil fertility, soil health, water retention of soils, yields, quality, plant health, farm profitability, and to reduce or completely replace the costly natural chemicals or those that may have adverse effects on the environment, to reduce N and P leaching into the watershed, to provide an alternative to synthetic elemental sulfur and sulfuric acids in the organic production systems, by using algae (Chlorella spp.) and cover-cropping (50 grass-sorghum mix:50 broadleaf) as an organic soil amendment in semi-arid croplands in the USA and worldwide. Note: This goal replaced the initial goal of reducing Verde Valley wineries by-products (grape pomace (GP)) as environmental waste by 100% in Arizona and instead promote it as soil and plant health enhancement alternative in semi-arid croplands in the USA. Elaborated/Adapted Objectives (Yr-2 rescoping): As the result of project re-scoping, the objectives addressed are: To assess the effects of algae plus cover-crop and cover-crop only treatments on soil health (pH, salinity, nutrient availability, organic matter, aggregate stability, water-holding capacity, plant-available water content, and microbial respiration). To assess the effects of algae plus cover-crop and cover-crop only treatments on the plant rhizosphere microbial (i.e., bacterial and archaean) community diversity and population structure. To compare the economic viability and profitability of algae plus cover-crop and cover-crop only treatments, focusing on cost, carbon credit, and crop yield. To promote the use of organic amendments [sheep manure/grazing farm-wide, algae products, and cover crop after the commercial crop is harvested], as sustainable, regenerative agriculture soil amendment practices using extension programs and outreach with field demonstrations and field days, conference presentations, and publications. Soil Treatments: Algae + cover-crop and cover-crop only treatments were applied to wheat crop. Algae was the choice for organic amendment. Data collected for analysis of the organic amendments effects: 1. Yield for Sonoran wheat plots (commercial product) 2. Wheat grain for protein analyses. 3. Soil analysis per treatment/plot: Soil physical and chemical properties Soil nutrients Microbiome community diversity and abundance (archaea, bacteria and virome). 4. Results of data analysis, correlations, and trends produced for the study at Oatman Flats Farm (Organic and regenerative practices) (Appendix II is available): Soil nutrients Soil physical and chemical properties Soil water nutrients Cover-crop biomass Wheat grain weight Wheat grain protein content Soil bacterial and archaean diversity Impacts: According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) census data, certified organic farms in Arizona stayed identical in 2012 and 2017. Still, sales increased from $54,503,000 to $97,956,000, respectively (80% increase in sales), indicating high demands for organic products by Arizonans. While misconception is an issue about organic certification pricing with limited knowledge among farmers, in 2012 and 2017, 33% and 43% of the organic producers reported production as the main challenge. Arizona soils are predominantly calcareous (high above 7.5) with deficient organic matter, affecting soil nutrient cycling and availability within these irrigated desert soils, especially during the organic transition with limited alternatives for alkaline soil pH, fertility, and plant health management. Combining organic amendments such as algae and cover-crops is anticipated to fill at least some of the need for alternative organic amendments to improve soil health and harvest and lessen the use of inorganic fertilizers that contribute to cost, salt accumulation, and run-off in water. Algae may cost less than traditional fertilizers and become more cost-effective to culture on site. The prices vary substantially with the specific product/algae type, formulation, and supplier. Once applied to soil, algae decompose readily, providing a rich nutrient source for microbial life that enhance plant-available soil nutrients and reduce the potential for plant disease. The benefits of algal amendments are not well documented but there is much optimism about their use as organic amendments to improve soil structure and nourish soil-associated eukaryotes, invertebrates, and prokaryotic microbial communities. Numerous cover-crop seed mixes are widely available. Planting cover crops (dicot-monocot mix) after the wheat harvest in arid fields, such as those that typify Oatman Flats ranch, with minimal water supply, and once established, provided space for the microbiome community to thrive and a refuge for beneficial insects such as ladybugs, predators, and parasitoids, and had the effect of reducing soil erosion and the appearances of improved structure (easier to dig, more moisture retention), potentially enabling crop roots reach the depths needed for nutrient and water uptake. Improvements to available phosphorus and soil microbial communities that improve plant-available nitrogen content are already noticeable in the data (please see Appendix II for further details). This is the second year to treatment applications at the participating farm, which grows Heirloom Sonoran whitefly wheat (Oatman Flats Ranch, Gila Bend, AZ). Grain yield and protein content of grain data are available for the current year and should be collected for at least one more year before robust conclusions can be drawn with respect to the effectiveness of the algae and cover-crop organic soil amendments. The cost of purchasing/hauling and applying grape pomace to Oatman Flats farm was evaluated in the context of the new participating farm (Gila Bend, AZ) (replaced original partner in Gilbert AZ) that pulled out of the project due to pandemic-related constraints). The distance, cost of truck rental, fuel, and time-consuming compositing made this treatment untenable for an agronomic crop such as wheat. Algal amendments were therefore selected as more tractable option together with cover crop, and manure provided by sheep that graze on the property (wheat stubble, Bermuda grass (weedy; previous recommended practice implemented for erosion control) and the mix monocot-dicot cover crop. Other economic benefits have not been evaluated given this is the first year for which data are available with respect to wheat yield/quality, soil characteristic's post-treatment, and the soil/microbial community profiles.
Publications
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Economics of Grape Pomace, Poultry Manure and Horse Manure as Soil Amendments." Masters thesis, The University of Arizona.
https://www.proquest.com/openview/b9b55c38f1a1f58057ec42245aaccd43/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y
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Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:Organic vegetable producers and farmers, Maricopa/Pima County vicinities Extension personnel Students, staff, and post-docs/professionals in the labs (Plant Sciences, Agric. Economics) Changes/Problems:Our collaborators at Agritopia Farm in Gilbert Arizona have become overwhelmed (post-CoVID associated problems, difficult to hire help, extreme summer temperatures and drought conditions under which a quality experimental plot can be established and maintained) and have requested to leave the project, regrettably. Further, one co-PI, Dr. J. Blankenship (soil sciences) has stepped off the project due to personal/family considerations during and post-coVID. We propose to move the research to a different location and have identified an alternate organic (and regenerative agriculture) farm, Oatman Flats (near Gila Bend), that farms wheat/cover crop rotation and algal amendments to improve soil and plant health. The manager Dr. Yadi Wang is excited about establishing a fruitful collaboration and is a trustworthy collaborator and an excellent soil physicist/chemist/farmer. In addition, Dr. Debankur Sanyal (UA Soil Scientist, Extension, UA Maricopa Agric Center) will join the project as Collaborator in lieu of this expertise in soil sciences expert & organic farming. We propose a one no-cost extension next year to permit 2 years of data to be collected (Aug 2023-Aug 31, 2025). There are sufficient funds remaining to conduct the proposed study, particularly given the slow start at Agritopia due to covid-related issues on that affected the UA team as well as the Agritopia partner (restricted campus/lab access and hiring during 2020-2022. The proposed re-scoped workplan for the cropping system and analyses are briefly summarized below. Cropping System: Soil and plant health -organic practices wheat/cover crop plus algae soil amendment with our without sheep manure Soil analyses Standard-plus parameters Microbiome analysis-soil/root exudate region (Bacteria; Archaebacteria-extremophiles PACBIO 16S v1-9 region) Water analysis In-ground collection w sensor/collector, instead of characteristic sampling of irrigation water to uncover the water composition when interacting with soil; Traditional chemistry analysis (Phx laboratory) compared to more detailed and concise parameters obtained using the Henne method (outsource to Nebraska lab). Phx lab does not conduct Henne analysis. Plant sample analysis Above ground - petiole analysis -in plantavs soil Above ground: crown - wheat plant microbiome (if cost permits) - nutritional value Biomass - transects for cover crop and wheat Soil Amendments Algal amendment to fortify bacterial community. Cover crop 50 grass-sorghum mix:50 broadleaf Sheep manure Note: The Agritopia plan considered manure amendments and composted grape pomace in vegetable crops. Pomace is not a good option for agronomic crops and sheep manure is already a component of the farming practice. Even if desireable and sufficiently plentiful, pomace is only affordable when produced on the farm (cost of hauling pomace from Wilcox, the nearest sources, is prohibitive). What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Post-doctoral Associate received one year of training in plant sciences/soil sciences/microbiome analysis June 2022-2023 before leaving for permanent position in the chemical industry. M.S. graduate student is receiving training in agriculture economics. Post-doc optimized microbiome analysis and trained laboratory technician in soil extraction, DNA isolation, and preparation for sequencing. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Participating farm, on which results of improved crop performance from application of soil amendments can be scaled to other fields on rest of farm. The vineyards from which the grape pomace is sourced get relief from managing the pomace as waste. Other farmers, especially certified organic farms, in determining the best manure to use for amending soils. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?PLANS recorded for Agritopia until the Farm Manager notified us Agritopia could not continue to collaborate because they are overwhelmed due to personnel shortage, high summer-fall heat conditions, and request for our team to help far more than we are able to do. Plant and measure yield and quality differences for crops planted this fall and next spring. In addition, investigate how soil sampling data overlays with yield and quality responses observed. Add more data to a similar multiple regression model used above to quantify the yield differences between soil treatments depending on the % mix of grape pomace, horse manure, poultry manure, and whether composted or not. Evaluate the multi-year costs and benefits associated with the different soil treatments with more yield and quality data. Additional workshops and field visits are planned that will give famers an opportunity to visit the research field and observe the experiments, as well as have discussions and seminars on the topic that are important for soil health managements. Publications or bulletins with information and results from this research will be produced and disseminated as more data is collected ana analyzed which will add to the knowledge and literature available on soil health and management. Please see the next section regarding problems and the proposed re-scoping of the project to work with an organic, regenerative farm Oatman Flats (near Gila Bend) to employ similar but revised practices/amendments, and innovative soil, rhizosphere, and water analysis. A zoom call was held with the Program Directors (late July) to discuss the proposed revised scope. Details will follow in the next section. The team would like in advance to request a one-year no-cost extension to facilitate the collection of field data through August 2025 (2023-2025) and finalize publications. No modifications to the budget are requested. One co-PI, Dr. J. Blankenship (soil sciences) has stepped off the project due to personal/family considerations during and post-coVID. Dr. Debankur (UA Maricopa Agric Center) will step in as Collaborator and soil sciences expert & organic farming expert. Work has already been initiated to sample and analyze soil rhizosphere and water to establish baseline values. The cover crop and amendments have been established as the seasonal regenerative practice to precede planting the wheat crop, late fall-early winter. A memo: Request for changes will be submitted shortly to UA Sponsored Projects-Vice President for Research for approval, and forwarded to USDA-NIFA Program Managers.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Obj. 1. Maturity and harvest data indicated non-uniformity of field performance beyond effect of treatments, requiring re-location of plots. A composite soil sample was collected for each treatment across replications and mineral and nutrient analysis were carried out. Results showed divergence for treatments from baseline. Comparisons across treatments and heatmaps using normalized data were produced, indicating a decrease in soil pH for most treatments compared to the control. Completed growing season of cabbage crop (fall, winter) in the new (re-located) plot and collected data. Post-cabbage (fall, winter) harvest, spaghetti squash #1 was planted (early April); harvest data were collected, and treatments compared; soil samples were analyzed for chemical indicators. Spaghetti squash crop #2 was planted late May 2023; record-high temperatures prevented normal growth; crops were abandoned Aug 2023. Composting pomace and application of soil treatments were planned for September cropping cycle (#2, relocated plot). Conclusions: Preliminary analysis indicated that grape pomace has potential to reduce soil pH when applied to high pH soils; significant differences exist among treatment effects, but conclusive inferences cannot be drawn from a single season of data. More data from multiple seasons and years are needed to draw accurate conclusions from which recommendations can be based for managing soil health using grape pomace and manure. Impacts: Demonstrated difference in effects of different organic soil amendments on crop production/health. Preliminary results indicated significant difference in yield from plots with different treatments, with composted grape pomace treatment producing significantly higher yield (total cabbage weight), compared to the controls; Soil test results have also indicated a substantial decrease in soil pH after just one growing season. Reduction in soil pH is among the primary objectives of this research that seeks to exploit the low pH levels in grape pomace as a soil amendment in organic crop systems. Obj. 2. The effects of grape pomace and manures on soil microbial diversity and population to ascertain the concomitant effect of soil health for improved production in a certified organic production system. Samples were collected from cabbage root, shoots and rhizosphere soils for analyses, including microbial composition. Preliminary sequencing results revealed an overwhelming proportion of mitochondrial and chloroplast DNA that interferred with characterization of microbial composition based on 16S rRNA gene sequences. A protocol was designed and optimized to include peptide nucleic acid (PNA) clamps to prevent amplification of mitochondrial and chloroplast DNA, while targeting 16S rDNA of the bacterial/archaeabacterial community. Results showed plastid 16S rRNA sequences (reads) were nearly entirely eliminated, facilitating optimal coverage of true Bacteria and Archaebacteria 16S rDNA sequences (OTUs). Conclusions: Soil analyses aided in interpreting crop responses to some extent. The optimized PNA Clamp method proved effective for removing interferring plastid 16S rDNA sequences. Impacts: Competence and proficiency in handling and analysis of parameters of microbiome assays has been developed in our lab group. A protocol and pipeline to analyze soil and plant microbiome data is in place for future experiments. Obj. 3. Horse manure is a commonly used soil amendment in AZ small and limited-resource operations because horse owners haul at no charge to nearby farms in need. With horse manure use, organic matter increases but EC and phosphorous levels increase to potentially detrimental levels; thus proposed amendments have potential to mitigate some of these adverse impacts. Cabbage yield (lbs.) and a quality measure of size (cm) were recorded for 11 soil treatments and negative control for February 2023 harvest. A heat map of marketable, unmarketable, and total yield (lbs) for each soil treatment was carried out for the random design with three replicates per treatment. To determine if statistically significant differences occurred between composting and other test materials, a multiple regression analysis was conducted using the equation: ?????? = ??0 + ??1DC + ??2GP +??3HM + ??4PM ?????? = Yield or weight in lbs of cabbage (marketable & unmarketable) weighed by treatment (11) and replication (3) DC = Dummy for Composted (1 if composted treatment, 0 otherwise) GP = Percent of Grape Pomace in Treatment HM = Percent of Horse Manure in Treatment PM = Percent of Poultry Manure in Treatment While results are from one crop and year, the highest yielding treatments were the untreated control and grape pomace replicates. Treatments that received only poultry or horse manure, composted or solarized had statistically lower yields (5% significance) compared to grape pomace or no treatment. Composting was insignificant relative to solarized/dried pomace. Several factors related to uneven drip irrigation confounded quantification of economic value of pomace treatments, compared to no-treatment controls. Because time is required for soil treatments to influence the soil chracteristics, economic conclusions cannot be drawn until additional results of yield,quality, and water holding capacity are available. Conclusions: Continued collection of yield and quality measures of vegetable crops grown with different soil treatments are needed to evaluate longer term differences in economic returns among treatments; soil water holding capacity will be added to the soil measurements taken determine how much water may be saved from different soil treatments for different plots and points in time. Impacts: Although yields were higher for the control of no soil amendment and grape pomace than horse manure, in particular, more crops and years are needed to confirm this result. Sourcing pomace is costly compared to the horse manure that is delivered free to the farm. free. The most economically profitable solution is to not apply any amendments based on this first year of results. The economic returns will be determined for different soil amendments in the subsequent season to quantify how the different soil amendments of grape pomace, horse manure, and poultry manure affect fertility, yield, and profitability of high value organic produce crops. 4. Research results from this experiment and lessons learned along the way will be beneficial to a wider community of farmers, both certified organic and non-organic producers, in the efforts to manage soil health. The goal is to sensitize and disseminate information regarding grape pomace and manures as soil amendments to manage soil health. A workshop was organized and facilitated at Agritopia farm premises on May 8th, 2023, attended by >30 growers interested in soil health and management in organic cropping systems. Presentations were given by speakers from the University of Arizona including Drs. Russell Tronstad, Herbert Sserunkuma, and Joseph Blankinship. The Farm Manager and PI's led the field tour and the manager led the farmer-to-farmer discussion session. Two scientific articles reporting supporting data on use of soil pomace from studies carried out prior to and after project initiation, were published in a peer reviewed scientific journals. Conclusions: There is great interest from communities to learn about research and new findings on soil health and management; Workshops and seminars are effective ways to engage farmers and disseminate research information; Farmers have an interest in knowledge regarding soil health management, most of whom rely on information from fellow farmers or practices used traditionally in their communities. Impacts: Attendees expressed appreciation for the program information, availability of resources from presenters and Farm manager, and were eager to learn of new opportunities for funding/collaborations that could benefit them and their operations.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Mpanga, I. Neumann, G., Brown, J.K., Blankinship, J., Tronstad, R. and Odowu, J.O. 2023. Grape pomaces potential on semi-arid soil health enhance performance of maize, wheat, and grape crops. J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci. 2023; 1-10. doi:10.1002/jpln.202200232.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Mpanga, I. K., Sserunkuma, H., Tronstad, R., Pierce, M., & Brown, J. K. (2022). Soil Health Assessment of Three Semi-Arid Soil Textures in an Arizona Vineyard Irrigated with Reclaimed Municipal Water. Water, 14(18), Article 18. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14182922.
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Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:Small farms, producer thatmarket locally and throughpublic farmers market, and limited resource producerss Changes/Problems:In the first planting, seeding was not uniform and drip irrigation lines were not attended to regularly, resulting in an uneven stand. This prevented meaningful yield data from being taken. All the other data collections proposed, however, were obtained and analyses are either completed or underway for the first crop, spinach. To address the issue of nonuniform plant populations, a more level plot of ground has been identified so that the drip irrigation water doesn't pool up and flood some low areas -- resulting in nonuniform stand populations. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?One post-doc is training in soil sciences to conduct hands-on soil and water analysis lab, and in plant sciences lab / to learn molecular techniques and methods (DNA isolation, PCR amplification, cloning, gel electrophoresis, sterile techniqe, other) required for microbiome analysis. She has participated in lab meetings and field visits, is coordinating the research at the field site, and has carried out literature review relevant to the project objectives. An M.S. student is being trained in Agriculture Economics and has completed most of her course work in the first two semesters. She has also participated in lab meetings and field visits, and carried outliterature review relevant to the project objectives. An M.S. student has arrived to the microbiology lab partner, Fall semester 2022 and will be involved in the microbiome/virome objective. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Four in-person meetings have been held between our team and the farm manager, and results have been discussed, as well as modifications to procedures for more optimal, uniform crop stands and irrigation in the summer crop, which spaghetti squash. At harvest though the stand was more uniform than spinach (Spring 2022), the decision was made to relocate the experimental plot to the middle of another field, re-sample the soil after leveling, and plant cabbage transplants as the fall crop. Drip irrigation + amendments as planned will be set after transplanting the first week of October. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The spaghetti squash has been planted and bi-weekly visits to the farm are planned to help oversee the crop and assist with weed control and other maintenance, as needed. Sampling will be carried out at the end of the season for plant nutrients, yield, and soil analysis. Samples from spinach and squash crops will be processed for microbiome analysis, and soil samples will be prepared for microbial analysis. Preparations will be made to plant the fall crop, which will be transplanted cabbage, followed by green beans (Spring 2023).. Amendments including manure and grape pomace will be procurred to begin composting in October for the 2023 season. At least one manuscript reporting preliminary data for GP experiments carried out in field and greenhouse settings (the project was getting underway in 2021), will be submitted for review in a peer reviewed journal.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Materials for solarizing or composting grape pomace were assembled; composting was carried out for grape pomace, chicken manure, and cow manure during Oct-Dec 2021. Experimental plots were established in January 2022 (spinach) with eleven different treatments, including no fertlizer control; random design, 3 replicates each. At the end of the cropping season, spinach plants were sampled and prepared for nutrient analysis; a subset of leaves were frozen for microbiome analysis. At the end of the cropping season, soil was collected and analyzed for pH, nitrogen, and other elements nutrients and frozen for at the microbiome analysis. Given the experimental nature of grape pomace (first time on this site), it was important to learn that foliar nutrients in spinach leaves (P, Ca, Fe, B, Cu, and Mn) were not significantly affected by soil amendment addition. Composted poultry manure addition would benefit crop quality by increasing plant nutrient uptake. Solarized grape pomace can be used as an organic soil amendment for soil pH and fertility management in arid regions. Additional crops, cropping cycles, and replicated studies are needed to determine if long term benefits will be achieved and how the treatments influence the microbial community/virome and plant health interactions. Some yield data were collected, although problems in stand consistency of crop make the yield and resulting economic evaluations suspect. To address the inconsistency of establishing each crop, a more level plot of land has been identified to make comparisons among different treatments much more reliable and meaningful to the economic viabiity and profitability of different soil treatments. The fall plot (re-located to middle of the field and leveled) will be transplanted to the cabbage crop, with the same treatments as in the initial workplan (pomace, manures, etc).
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Soil health management in arid environments. Presentations on soil health were given by the post-doc (Dr. P. Sharma) at two Beginning Farmers workshops.
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