Progress 09/01/23 to 08/31/24

Outputs
Target Audience:The project targeted a diverse range of stakeholders within the organic agriculture sector to maximize the impact and relevance of its research and outreach activities. Producers were engaged through outreach initiatives such as field days, newsletters, and direct communication, providing them with practical insights into organic farming practices. Researchers benefited from the dissemination of findings at major conferences, including the American Society of Agronomy annual meeting in San Antonio, TX, as well as several regional conferences. Post-doctoral research associates, graduate students, and undergraduate students gained hands-on experience in leading field experiments, data collection, and data analysis activities. Classroom lectures further extended the project's educational reach to a broader student audience. The general public isengaged through radio talks, raising awareness about organic agriculture practices. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project has provided numerous professional development opportunities. Two graduate research assistants were hired - one lead the agronomy field experiment at College Station, TX, and to coordinate the work across all locations and another to lead the breeding research work and coordinate it. Additional graduate students are funded at Kansas State and Clemson to conduct additional research related to this project. To date, the TAMU agronomy student presented the first-year project results at the American Society of Agronomy annual meeting in San Antonio, TX. Two undergraduate students also received training in field experiment implementation and data collection. At the Bushland location, two postdoctoral research associates and two undergraduate student workers worked in the project during the growing season. The two undergraduate students received training in field experiment implementation, weeds management and fertilization, and data collection. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results have been disseminated through conference presentations, field days, and various outreach activities. Findings from the College Station location were presented at the American Society of Agronomy annual meeting in San Antonio, TX. Mr. Whitney actively engaged with organic producers through multiple channels, including newsletters, field day presentations, and direct communication. These efforts have helped to share project outcomes with stakeholders, foster discussions about sustainable agricultural practices, and encourage the adoption of research findings by the farming community. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue the activities as proposed in the project.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The project generated extensive data from the field experiments, encompassing both soil and plant parameters. Key plant data collected include measurements such as plant height, weed biomass, and grain yield. These results are systematically organized and stored in a dedicated database, which serves as a central repository for project findings. This database is maintained through Texas A&M's Teams service, ensuring easy accessibility and efficient collaboration among researchers and stakeholders. For Plant Breeding, two sets of projects were initiated. The first tests were for the evaluation of existing sorghum hybrids and their suitability in organic systems. A set of 20 sorghum hybrids, previously tested in conventional systems were grown in three locations (Florence SC, College Station TX and Kearney CA) in a conventional and an organic production system. At this report, the TX trials have been harvested; the others will be harvested in October. Initial observations indicated that, as expected, yields will be higher in conventional production and that both abiotic and biotic stresses reduce yields in organic system. The second project is focused on selection for organic production environments. For this project, a set of F2 breeding populations were grown in four different environments under both conventional and organic production systems. The environments were Florence SC, College Station TX, Hays KS and Kearney CA. In each environment, the populations were grown in both conventional and organic management. At maturity, desirable genotypes were selected in each population for breeding advancement. These lines will be grown in Year 2 and further selected. The objective of this work is to determine the relative need for specific selection in organic environments improves productivity in such environment and to assess the relative selection efficiency in the diverse testing environments. For Agronomy, field experiments were established at all project locations to investigate two crop rotations: forage sorghum-maize with and without cover crops, and grain sorghum-cotton with and without cover crops. The experiments began with the planting of cash crops in 2024 at all locations. At the College Station location, grain sorghum yielded an average of 3,560 kg ha?¹, while forage sorghum produced 28.9 metric tons ha?¹ of aboveground dry biomass. Maize yielded 2,165 kg ha?¹. Following the harvest of cash crops in Fall 2024, cover crops consisting of Austrian winter pea and oats (in a 70:30 ratio) were planted. At Bushland, field plots were established in late May. Grain sorghum and forage sorghum were well established with good stands, but some plots of cotton and corn faced poor stand issues, necessitating replanting in early July. Weed control posed a significant challenge but was managed through manual weeding and mowing. Late-season moisture supported cotton maturity, although harvest was delayed until early December. Grain sorghum yields ranged from 1,524 to 3,048 kg ha?¹, while forage silage yields ranged from 23 to 54 tons/ac (at 65% moisture). Cover crops (Austrian winter pea and oats in a 70:30 ratio) were planted after cotton harvest in mid-December 2024. The field experiment at Keyes, OK, was set up on a commercial certified organic farm and successfully established in its first year. Both grain and forage sorghum achieved good stands at 55,000 seeds/ac. Above-average seasonal rains in the region supported early crop establishment, reducing the need for irrigation. However, these rains also promoted weed germination and hindered cultivation due to prolonged wet soil conditions. Weed pressure surpassed the growth of grain sorghum plants. Grain sorghum yielded 590 kg ha?¹, while sorghum silage yielded 13 metric tons ha?¹. A portion of the sorghum silage was allowed to complete its lifecycle, producing 2,321 kg ha?¹ in grain. Soil samples were collected for initial moisture and baseline soil properties at planting across all locations. Post-harvest soil sampling has been completed at College Station and Bushland, while at Keyes, sampling is scheduled for early 2025. State Organic Extension Specialist Mr. Whitney participated in several outreach events, reaching approximately 1,550 people through field days and presentations. A radio talk show expanded the audience significantly, reaching an estimated 20,000 listeners. Further outreach and educational activities are planned for Year 2 of the project.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Campbell, N., Rajan, N., & Rooney, W. L. (2024) Investigating Organic Management Practices for Sustainable Cultivation of Grain and Forage Sorghum, Maize, and Cotton [Abstract]. ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX. https://scisoc.confex.com/scisoc/2024am/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/159781