Recipient Organization
MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
BOZEMAN,MT 59717
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The world's population is expected to reach 10 billion by 2050, and farmers will need to increase food production on agricultural lands that will also face increased demand for other uses. This puts direct pressure on farmers to simultaneously increase production and reduce the ecological impacts of agriculture on an increasingly precious land base. Incorporating cover crops, applying organic soil amendments, and enhancing the diversity and function of soil microorganisms are practices that can increase soil health and overall sustainability, but at the same time have proven challenging to implement in dryland agricultural systems. Our project seeks to evaluate crop rotations and organic amendments and to document the effects of these organic practices on soil health and fertility. Our research addresses the rising interest in sustainable practices among producers and consumers alike, by focusing on the specifics of meeting crop nutrition needs with sustainable inputs. The objectives of the proposed work are to measure crop productivity and plant uptake of nutrients from organic sources in response to different crop rotations and organic nutrient inputs. Our multidisciplinary research team will utilize field and greenhouse studies in conjunction with molecular methods to measure nutrient partitioning and describe the soil microbial community to measure crop productivity in response to integration of multiple organic nutrient sources and management practices. These results will help organic growers optimize nutrient management sustainably while improving productivity and soil health.
Animal Health Component
90%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
10%
Applied
90%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Thelong-term goalof this research is to enhance the productivity of organic crop farming in the northern Great Plains (NGP) by evaluating the integration of multiple nutrient management strategies, which will include crop rotations that contain cover crops and perennials, and addition of organic amendments and inoculants.The overall goal of this work is to understand the linkages between key soil processes involved in nutrient cycling and crop response to integration of multiple nutrient management practices which will include crop rotations that integrate cover crops, organic amendments, and inoculants. This work will also assess the soil health effects of these inputs and management practices.Specific objectives to accomplish these goals are:Evaluate agronomic performance of crop sequences supplemented with organic N amendments and inoculants.Evaluate soil health effects of crop sequences supplemented with organic amendments and inoculants.Measure N partitioning in plants, soil, and the microbial community in response to organic amendments and inoculants.Share knowledge with organic farming stakeholders on the efficacy of integrated nutrient management practices on crop productivity and soil health.
Project Methods
Field studies will be performed to evaluate the combined effects of crop sequence, organic amendments, and inoculants on crop productivity. The field studies will compare crop yield components, soil physical and chemical characteristics, and microbial community response in both annual and perennial crops. Studies will be established at the MSU Central Ag Research Center (CARC) and on a portion of Quinn Farm & Ranch which will soon be under the direction of the non-profit Quinn Organic Regenerative Research Institute (QORRI), Big Sandy, MT. A split plot design will be used with the crop sequence as the main plot and organic amendments and inoculant will be randomly assigned in the split. Amendments will be applied to the wheat, flax, and safflower phases of the crop sequence. Main plots will measure 6m x 5m with split plots measuring 1.5m x 5m within the main plots. All phases of the crop sequences will be represented each year of the study. Cover crops were selected based on input from organic growers and members of the Montana Organic Association (MOA). Cover crops will consist of a 9-species cool season polyculture with barley, emmer, oats, pea, lentil, red clover, yellow mustard, radish, and turnip. Cover crops will be grazed with sheep and terminated in the fall by disking.To determine the efficacy of different organic amendments and the contribution of microbial nutrient cycling to nutrient use efficiency, greenhouse studies will be established with different ratios of fertilizer and organic amendments. Studies will be performed with a conventional control (urea fertilizer) and a variety of organic nutrient sources. All treatments are approved for use in organic agriculture and were selected based on input from organic growers in the region. A preliminary experiment will be performed with 4 reps and additional product rates along with 3 rates of RP fertilizer and plant biomass will be measured at 6 weeks. The purpose of this preliminary experiment is to ensure that the selected product rates and experimental timeframe produce sufficient crop biomass.Subsequentgreenhouse studieswill be performed with a subset of treatments used in year 1. Stable isotope probing will be used to track N from organic amendments and quantify the N pool in the soil, plant roots, plant above ground biomass, and microbial community. Treatments will consist of 10 atom %15N labeled urea (conventional fertilizer control), 10 atom %15N labeled algal amino acids, and a15N green manure. Labeled green manure will be prepared by growing field pea, sweet clover, and forage barley in sand culture with a modified Hogland nutrient solution. Once plants are established, labeling will be performed by addition of 98 atom %15N labeled ammonium nitrate, calcium nitrate, and potassium nitrate in a modified Hoagland solution. Samples of the15N enriched biomass will be submitted to the UC Davis Stable Isotope Facility to quantify the label concentration and the dried biomass will be stored at -20°C until application. Field pea, sweet clover, and forage barley biomass will be applied in subsequent greenhouse experiments at equal mass ratios at a rate equivalent to 2.5 tons/acre. Due to the expense of the15N reagents, an identical trial experiment will be performed with unlabeled substrate to validate the experimental design prior to performing the labeling experiment.To ensure that project goals are met according to the goals and timeline, project evaluations will be conducted through monthly meetings. These meetings will address questions related to the project progress. What challenges were encountered? How were they addressed? Were the activities developed according to the project's schedule? Were activities implemented with fidelity? Summative evaluation will focus on assessing the extent to which, and under what conditions, the project achieved its outcomes and addressed NIFA priorities. Annual meetings with the Montana Organic Advisory and Education Council (OEAC) and CARC advisory board will assess questions related to project outcomes. The purpose of these evaluations is to provide ongoing feedback on project implementation and measure the extent to which objectives are achieved. Did the project outcomes impact organic agricultural practices, and Extension education? Did the project outcomes contribute to potential economic benefits of organic agricultural production?