Progress 11/14/13 to 09/30/16
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience will primarily be professionals in agriculture and horticulture and associated businesses that have interest in on-farm production of renewable feedstocks for heat, power, and biofuels. This will include primary producers, ag consulting and services companies, and companies involved in the conversion of woody biomass fuels, such as wood boiler manufacturers, power station fuel managers, and biorefinery feedstock managers. This work is also intended to engage facilities managers of small businesses, municipalities, college and school campuses, and other similarly sized facilities that could benefit from reduced energy costs and renewable energy technology. Outreach activities will include the engagement of extension educators on the Renewable Energy, Efficiency and Conservation Program Work Team and other interested extension educators. This work will also benefit researchers and students involved in the development of willow crops in the US and internationally. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project has employed summer undergraduate students, who have gained experience conducting applied agricultural research in the field, greenhouse, and laboratory. The graduate student overseeing the project is supported by a NIFA grant and has had the opportunity to engage in field, greenhouse, and laboratory research in support of his Ph.D. He has also gained experience in supervising the undergraduate research aides, which has furthered his professional development. He has delivered oral and poster presentations of his project at departmental meetings and at an international conference. A research aide helped to collect data in these research trials, proving an opportunity for experiential learning in an applied agricultural research setting. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The preliminary results of the work have been presented in a poster at the biannual meeting of the Short-Rotation Woody Crops Operations Working Group in July 2014 in Seattle, WA; in an oral presentation at the annual meeting of the Graduate Field of Horticulture at Cornell University; and in a video conference call to participants of the NEWBio USDA NIFA CAP project. Data from the first two years of the cover crop trials were presented on March 10, 2015 in a monthly seminar series hosted by NEWBio, a USDA NIFA CAP project. Webinars are also recorded and available from the NEWBio website and the PSUEnergyExtention You Tube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW_KxNXbv0bn6Aw9W9dqYuA). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: Develop cover crop systems: Task 1.1. Test of Dutch white clover for weed suppression. An entire 2 ha trial of willow was seeded with dwarf white clover, and then treatment blocks were sprayed with clopyralid to kill the clover in half the trial. There was no significant difference in weed abundance by visual survey, but the excellent willow growth in this trial was effectively suppressing most weed growth. Task 1.2. Test of fall-seeded cereals for weed suppression. To test the efficacy of fall seeded cereals in weed management, a field trial was established with rye, triticale, and wheat planted in the fall of 2013, with a control treatment of no fall cover crop. In the spring, the entire trial was treated twice with a roller-crimper then planted with 'Preble'. Each plot was further subdivided and treatments of frost-seeding of dwarf white clover and a banded application of N-P-K fertilizer were applied. Willow growth was extremely low in the cereal treatments, with the rye treatment having significantly greater biomass (73.4 kg ha-1) compared to wheat (43.0 kg ha-1) and triticale (40.1 kg ha-1). The control treatment willow biomass was greatest overall with a mean of 187.1 kg ha-1, but it was only significantly greater (p < 0.10) than the wheat and triticale treatments, not rye. The clover reduced willow biomass, likely through competition, however, clover establishment in the control treatment failed, so no comparison can be made to the other treatments. The fertilizer treatment significantly (p < 0.05) increased willow biomass, but also increased weed biomass. Task 1.3. Test of fall-seeded brassica for weed suppression. We established a field trial in the fall of 2013 with rye, forage turnip, a combination of rye planted in the alleys and forage turnip in the planting zone, and a control with no cover crop. The forage turnip grew in the fall and then winter killed. The entire trial was sprayed with glyphosate in the spring to kill the growing rye cover crop. The field was planted with 'Preble'. The rye provided the best weed suppression. The rye treatment produced the greatest amount of willow biomass, followed by the control treatment (1200 vs 871 kg ha-1). The turnip and combined treatments produced 790 and 647 kg ha-1, respectively. The one-way ANOVA analysis showed no significant differences (p = 0.13) among any of the treatments. A new cover crop trial was established in mid-August, 2015 to test the efficacy of integrated weed suppression techniques including fall-seeded cover crops and banded applications of herbicide. Relatively large (450 m2) research plots were planted with either a cereal rye monoculture, or a mixture of triticale, tillage radish and crimson clover. The radish, triticale, clover mixture treatment produced 599 g m-2 of oven dry biomass, which was significantly (p = 0.002) greater than the rye only treatment that produced 409 g m-2. Weed biomass among the control, mixture and rye treatments was not significant (p = 0.13), and was on average 45 g m-2. In early May, 2016, the mixture had significantly (p = 0.0002) greater biomass with 1321 g m-2, compared with the rye only treatment which produced 942 g m-2. In late May a banded application of glyphosate was applied to the cover crop plots with a boom sprayer. Cover crops were allowed to persist in the alleys. Full coverage spray was applied to the control plots. Liquid fertilizer was applied using the zone builder to one half of each plot. A cover crop mowing split-split-plot treatment also implemented over the fertilizer treatments. The zone builder with fertilizer applicator was run through the plots about 10 days prior to planting willow, which was done using a 4-row commercial planter, using a single cultivar, 'Preble' in early June. There was significant cover crop residue accumulation against the packing wheels of the planter and poor soil packing around the willow cuttings occurred. Densities were well below target, with control plots at 58%, rye at 41%, and mixture at 35% of target density. Average biomass per plant in the control was 5.49 g plant-1, compared to 3.19 g plant-1 in the rye treatment, and 2.51 g plant-1 in the mixture treatment. There did not appear to be a fertilizer effect on per plant biomass between control and fertilizer (3.78 vs 3.68 g plant-1, respectively). Objective 2: Testing fertilizer applications: Task 2.1. Greenhouse trial of fertilizer amendment. We conducted a greenhouse fertilizer study using 10 diverse willow genotypes grown in 12 L pots with commercial potting mix and were treated with only water or with increasing concentrations of complete fertilizer at four rates. After 9 weeks, there was a significant response to fertilizer for growth rate. Foliar and whole plant samples were used to calculate N uptake efficiencies across the 10 genotypes and five fertilizer levels. The foliar samples were used to develop a calibration curve for the SPAD meter. The SPAD readings on individual leaves were able to explain 65% of the total variability in foliar nitrogen content. Task 2.2 Testing applications of N and P in the field: The rye and forage turnip cover crop trial was converted to a fertilizer response field trial. In early June 2015 three fertilizer treatments were randomly applied to the field, which included N fertilizer, N plus P, and balanced N, P and K fertilizer. All nutrients were applied at a rate of 112 kg ha-1 using a broadcast spreader. A control treatment with no fertilizer was also implemented. Mid-season destructive sampling showed that the addition of P significantly increased dry matter biomass, with a slight, but non-significant gain from the inclusion of K. There was no significant difference between the N only and the control treatments. Objective 3: Field trials of fertilizer applications: Task 3.1 Large-scale application of fertilizer in the Loomis Fuel Field. A ~5 ha field trial was amended with fertilizer N and P fertilizer in 2013. Fertilizer treatments were applied to half of the cultivar blocks in March. After two growing seasons, 64 subplots were measured. We were unable to detect any consistent effects of the fertilizer treatment. Task 3.2. Cultivar-specific response to fertilizer amendment in the field. The 2013 Fredonia Amendment Trial was established with 24 genotypes arranged in side-by-side trials that were amended with lime and fertilizer or left unamended. The trial was harvested in December, 2015 two years post-coppice. Overall there was a 47.7% increase in yield between amended and unamended fields. Among diversity groups, Salix purpurea cultivars showed the greatest increase in yield of 75.3%, followed by S. purpurea x S. miyabeana cultivars that had a 64.7% increase. Groups with the lowest overall yields tended to have the lowest increases due to fertilizer. This was a low-quality soil, being low in soil organic matter, high in clay content and poorly drained. Objective 4: Development of management recommendations. Due to the inconsistency of responses in the trials completed, it was not possible to formulate reliable recommendations for field amendment or specific use of cover crops. It is clear that in certain circumstances, probably low field fertility to start with, fertilizer amendment will result in improved yield, but the timing of that application and control of fertilizer runoff is essential for that amendment to be effective. The use of cover crops is highly likely to control erosion, capture nutrient runoff, and improve soil health, but the growth of cover crops must be closely managed, so they do not compete with willow growth. Overproduction of cover crop biomass resulted in poor planting conditions with current equipment, indicating a need for further development of equipment that is capable of planting willow even through high amounts of cover crop residue.
Publications
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Progress 10/01/14 to 09/30/15
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience will primarily be professionals in agriculture and horticulture and associated businesses that have interest in on-farm production of renewable feedstocks for heat, power, and biofuels. This will include primary producers, ag consulting and services companies, and companies involved in the conversion of woody biomass fuels, such as wood boiler manufacturers, power station fuel managers, and biorefinery feedstock managers. This work is also intended to engage facilities managers of small businesses, municipalities, college and school campuses, and other similarly sized facilities that could benefit from reduced energy costs and renewable energy technology. Outreach activities will include the engagement of extension educators on the Renewable Energy, Efficiency and Conservation Program Work Team and other interested extension educators. This work will also benefit researchers and students involved in the development of willow crops in the US and internationally. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A research aide helped to collect data in these research trials, proving an opportunity for experiential learning in an applied agricultural research setting. The graduate student overseeing the project is supported by a NIFA grant and has had the opportunity to engage in field, greenhouse, and laboratory research in support of his Ph.D. He has also gained experience in supervising undergraduate research aides, which has furthered his professional development. He has delivered oral and poster presentations of his project at departmental meetings and at an international conference. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Data from the first two years of the cover crop trials were presented on March 10, 2015 in a Webinar as a part of monthly seminar series hosted by NEWBio, a USDA NIFA CAP project. Webinars are also recorded and available from the NEWBio website and the PSUEnergyExtention You Tube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW_KxNXbv0bn6Aw9W9dqYuA). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Objective 1: Develop cover crop systems: Cover crop establishment and winter annual weed suppression will be assessed in the new 2015 cover crop trial by sampling cover crop and weed biomass in 0.25 square-meter subplots prior to the occurrence of persistent freezing temperatures. Samples will be sorted by cover crop species and total weed biomass, and oven dried samples will be used to calculate dry matter biomass production. Cover crop and weed biomass will be assessed again the following spring. In mid-May of 2016 a zone builder will be modified to deliver herbicide in a band approximately 75 cm wide to suppress cover crops at the time of spring tillage activities. This band will be in the location of the future willow rows and GPS guidance will be used for tillage and willow planting to ensure colocation. Willow planting will follow shortly after tillage. The willow planter will be fitted to deliver a targeted liquid fertilizer band adjacent to the willow rows as a split-plot treatment on one half of each plot. The cover crops in the alleys between willow rows will be allowed to grow for weed control into the growing season. Objective 2: Testing fertilizer applications: Plant height, stem area and partitioning of biomass between main stem and branches will be measured in the field fertilizer trial, prior to harvesting in January 2016. Data analysis from the field trial and the greenhouse fertilizer trial will be completed and manuscripts will be prepared. The split-plot banded fertilizer treatment in the new cover crop trial will be applied and willow and weed growth will be assess late in the growing season.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: Develop cover crop systems: First year willow biomass production was assessed in the rye and forage turnip cover crop trial in early January 2015 by collecting all aboveground biomass from the middle double row. Samples were oven dried, weighed and biomass production was expressed as kg of dry matter per hectare. The rye treatment produced the greatest amount of willow biomass, followed by the control treatment (1200 vs 871 kg ha-1). The turnip and combined treatments produced 790 and 647 kg ha-1, respectively. Despite the relatively large differences observed, the one-way ANOVA analysis showed no significant differences (p = 0.13) among any of the treatments. In this particular trial fall-seeded rye terminated in spring with glyphosate appears to be compatible with willow establishment, and likely conserved soil quality by providing cover over winter. In the second cover crop trial using three fall-seeded cereals, rye, wheat and triticale, first year willow biomass was also assessed in early January 2015 after one growing season. Due to the poor cover crop suppression by the Buffalo Stalk Chopper willow growth was extremely low in the cereal treatments, with the rye treatment having significantly greater biomass (73.4 kg ha-1) compared to wheat (43.0 kg ha-1) and triticale (40.1 kg ha-1). The control treatment willow biomass was greatest overall with a mean of 187.1 kg ha-1, but it was only significantly greater (p < 0.10) than the wheat and triticale treatments, not rye. In this trial the control treatment willow biomass was only one-fifth that of the overall mean of the previous cover crop trial. The split-plot treatment of frost-seeded clover reduced willow biomass, likely through competition, however, clover establishment in the control treatment failed, so no comparison can be made to the other treatments. The fertilizer split-plot treatment significantly (p < 0.05) increased willow biomass, but also increased weed biomass. No pre-emergence herbicide was applied to this trial in the spring. In summer of 2015 the second year willow regrowth was harvested along with weed biomass. Willow dry matter yields were less than the first-year growth, even for the control treatment. Weed biomass was nearly 10-fold greater than willow overall and was four times greater than willow in the control treatment. According to these results, fall-seeded cereals suppressed with a stalk chopper do not appear to be compatible with willow establishment. Lack of use of pre-emergence herbicide in the second year of growth resulted in crop failure, even in the conventional control treatment. A new cover crop trial was established in mid-August to test the efficacy of integrated weed suppression techniques including fall-seeded cover crops and banded applications of herbicide. Relatively large (450 m2) research plots were planted with either a cereal rye monoculture, or a mixture of triticale, tillage radish and crimson clover. Fall-tilled, bare-soil control plots were also established. All cover crop and willow establishment and management will be performed with existing and modified machinery to replicate practices that could be implemented on a commercial scale. Objective 2: Testing fertilizer applications: Since no differences in willow growth were observed among treatments after the first year of growth, the rye and forage turnip cover crop trial was converted to a fertilizer response field trial. In early June 2015 three fertilizer treatments were randomly applied to the field, which included nitrogen fertilizer, nitrogen plus phosphorus, and balanced nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizer. All nutrients were applied at a rate of 112 kg ha-1 using a broadcast spreader. A control treatment with no fertilizer was also implemented. Mid-season destructive sampling showed that the addition of phosphorus significantly increased dry matter biomass, with a slight, but non-significant gain from the inclusion of potassium. There was no significant difference between the nitrogen only and the control treatments. Foliar traits including SPAD, specific leaf area, total nitrogen content and polyamines were measured. Through a collaboration, soil samples were collected for characterization of microbial community composition under the various fertility treatments. Foliar and whole plant samples from the 2014 greenhouse fertilizer experiment were analyzed for total nitrogen via combustion. The whole plant samples will be used to calculate nitrogen uptake efficiencies across the 10 genotypes and five fertilizer levels used in the experiment. The foliar samples were used to develop a calibration curve for the SPAD meter. The SPAD readings on individual leaves were able to explain 65% of the total variability in foliar nitrogen content, confirming the usefulness of the SPAD meter for non-destructively estimating nitrogen status in willow.
Publications
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Progress 11/14/13 to 09/30/14
Outputs
Target Audience: The target audience was primarily professionals in agriculture and horticulture and associated businesses that have interest in on-farm production of renewable feedstocks for heat, power, and biofuels. This included primary producers, ag consulting and services companies, and companies involved in the conversion of woody biomass fuels, such as wood boiler manufacturers, power station fuel managers, and biorefinery feedstock managers. This work has also engaged facilities managers of small businesses, municipalities, college and school campuses, and other similarly sized facilities that could benefit from reduced energy costs and renewable energy technology. Outreach activities have included the engagement of extension educators on the Renewable Energy, Efficiency and Conservation Program Work Team and other interested extension educators. This work has also benefit researchers and students involved in the development of willow crops in the US and internationally. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? This project has employed summer undergraduate students, who have gained experience conducting applied agricultural research in the field, greenhouse, and laboratory. The graduate student overseeing the project is supported by a NIFA grant and has had the opportunity to engage in field, greenhouse, and laboratory research in support of his Ph.D. He has also gained experience in supervising the undergraduate research aides, which has furthered his professional development. He has delivered oral and poster presentations of his project at departmental meetings and at an international conference. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The preliminary results of the work have been presented in a poster at the biannual meeting of the Short-Rotation Woody Crops Operations Working Group in July 2014 in Seattle, WA; in an oral presentation at the annual meeting of the Graduate Field of Horticulture at Cornell University; and in a video conference call to participants of the NEWBio USDA NIFA CAP project. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Objective 1: Develop cover crop systems: The willow, weed, and cover crop biomass from two cover crop trials will be dried and weighed, and those yield/growth results will be analyzed to assess the efficacy of fall-seeded cover crops in weed suppression. Additional subplot treatments with clover and fertilizer will also be assessed. Those field trials will be allowed to resprout in coppice regrowth in the spring of 2015, and the first-year post-coppice growth will be assessed as a further measure of the impact of cover crop systems. A new cover crop trial will be planned, drawing on the results from the first trials. This trial will most likely be planted on three different sites to examine the influence of differing soils and weather conditions. Fall-seeded cover crops will be established at the appropriate planting time. Objective 2: Testing fertilizer applications: Foliar extracts will be prepared from the greenhouse fertilizer experiment and N accumulation will be analyzed together with growth data and SPAD meter readings. These results will be used to design a new experiment to further test the specific effects of fertilizer application in the field. The yield in subplots of the large field trial with fertilized and unfertilized blocks will be measured. Another application of fertilizer will be made in the amended blocks in spring 2015.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: Develop cover crop systems: An established field trial was used to study the efficacy of dwarf white clover on weed suppression in shrub willow crops. An entire 2 ha trial of willow was seeded with dwarf white clover, and then treatment blocks were sprayed with clopyralid (Stinger, Dow Agro) to kill the clover in half the trial. There was no significant difference in weed abundance by visual survey, but the excellent willow growth in this trial was effectively suppressing most weed growth. To test the efficacy of fall seeded cereals in weed management, a field trial was established with rye, triticale, and wheat planted in the fall of 2013, with a control treatment of no fall cover crop. The field had been plowed with a zone builder in double-row spacing. In the spring, the entire trial was treated twice with a roller-crimper (Buffalo stalk-chopper), but this treatment was only partially effective in killing the rye (the tallest crop) and largely ineffective in killing the less developed triticale and wheat. Thus, those crops continued to grow and formed new tillers in some plants. The trial was planted with the willow cultivar, ‘Preble’, from cuttings using a Frobbesta planter, followed by hand planting to fill gaps. The control plot was sprayed with flumioxazin (SureGuard, Valent). Each plot was further subdivided and two additional treatments applied to subplots - frost-seeding of dwarf white clover to one-third and a banded application of N-P-K fertilizer in the planting zone to one-third of each plot. Cover crop biomass, weed biomass, and willow biomass was measured at the end of the growing season. Foliar samples of willow were also collected for N analysis. To test the efficacy of fall-seeded Brassica or rye in combination with pre-emergence herbicide, we established a field trial in the fall of 2013 with rye, forage turnip, a combination of rye planted in the alleys and forage turnip in the planting zone, and a control with no cover crop. The field had been plowed with a zone builder in double-row spacing. The forage turnip grew in the fall and then winter killed. The entire trial was sprayed with glyphosate in the spring to kill the growing rye cover crop before boot stage. The field was planted with the willow cultivar, ‘Preble’, from cuttings using a Frobbesta planter, and then was sprayed with flumioxazin (SureGuard, Valent) pre-emergence herbicide. The rye provided the best weed suppression by May 2014. Weed and willow biomass was measured at the end of the growing season. Objective 2: Testing fertilizer applications: In addition to the banded fertilizer treatment in combination with cereal cover crops mentioned above, we conducted a greenhouse fertilizer study using 10 diverse willow genotypes. Plants were grown in 12 L pots with commercial potting mix and were treated with only water or with increasing concentrations of complete fertilizer at four rates. Stem growth and leaf N levels were monitored during the course of the experiment and leaf and stem tissue was collected and weighed after 9 weeks. There was a significant response to fertilizer for growth rate. Foliar nitrogen has not yet been analyzed. A ~5 ha field trial was amended with fertilizer N and P fertilizer in 2013. The growth in 64 subplots was measured, half of which were fertilized and half unfertilized. Tension lysimeters were installed in each subplot to allow for sampling of soil water to assess N levels. Once the results of the above field trials are analyzed, we will design an additional cover crop experiment to meet objective 1 and an additional fertilizer experiment to meet objective 3, so that we may formulate specific cover cropping and fertilizer management practice recommendations.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Stoof, C.R., Richards, B.K., Woodbury, P., Fabio, E.S., Brumbach, A., Cherney, J., Das, S., Geohring, L., Hornesky, J., Mayton, H., Mason, C., Ruestow, G., Smart, L.B., Volk, T.A., Steenhuis, T. (2014) Untapped potential: Opportunities and challenges for sustainable bioenergy production from marginal lands in New York and the Northeast USA. BioEnerg. Res. DOI: 10.1007/s12155-014-9515-8.
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