A REDUCED-TILLAGE TOOLBOX: ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES FOR INTEGRATING COVER CROPS AND REDUCED TILLAGE IN AN ORGANIC FEED AND FORAGE SYSTEM

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: OTHER GRANTS
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1003757
• Grant No.: 2014-51300-22231
• Cumulative Award Amt.: $1,999,760.00
• Proposal No.: 2014-05377
• Project Start Date: Sep 1, 2014
• Project End Date: Aug 31, 2019
• Grant Year: 2014
• Program Code: [113.A]- Organic Agriculture Research & Extension Initiative

Project Director
Barbercheck, M. E.

Recipient Organization
PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
408 Old Main
UNIVERSITY PARK,PA 16802-1505

Performing Department
Entomology

Non Technical Summary
Our long-term goal is to develop organic cover crop-based, reduced-tillage annual cropping systems that overcome production constraints associated with abundant cover crop residue and narrow planting windows. Research station and complementary experiments on three organic farms will address production constraints by integrating our existing approach, no-till planting of cash crops into rolled cover crop mulch, with three alternatives: relay planting of cover crops into standing row crops using inter-seeder technology; no-till drill-seeding cover crops into a cereal grain in late winter; and manure injection using subsurface banding technology, enabling no-till cash crop management. These strategies may lengthen cover crop and cash crop growth windows, and provide nutrient management flexibility (incorporation of cover crops, manure timing and placement) for maximizing crop yields, while reducing tillage frequency and intensity. This information will be integrated into a concept-driven, decision support tool beta-version available online and in print to help growers manage crops, cover crops, soil fertility, and pests in organic cover crop-based, reduced tillage cropping systems. Outreach programs and materials will be developed and delivered to a broad audience by the project team and farmer cooperators through a variety of means, including interactions with two organic crop grower networks, and establishment of a third. Effectiveness of all extension products and activities will be evaluated. This project addresses the development and improvement of organic production; potential economic benefits of organic production; advanced on-farm research; and optimal conservation and environmental outcomes from organically produced products.

Animal Health Component

80%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

10%

Applied

80%

Developmental

10%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
205	1599	1070	100%

Knowledge Area
205 - Plant Management Systems;

Subject Of Investigation
1599 - Grain crops, general/other;

Field Of Science
1070 - Ecology;

Keywords

cover crops

insects

inter-seeder

nutrient cycles

organic crops

reduced tillage

weeds

Goals / Objectives
Our project objectives are to evaluate the agronomic, economic and environmental benefits and costs of alternative approaches to reducing tillage and incorporating overwintering cover crops in an organic feed and forage system. The alternative approaches will be tested in four systems that differ in cover crop species, cover crop termination and establishment methods, fertility management, and cash crop season length. To accomplish our project objective, we will integrate on-station and on-farm research with extension programming, which will facilitate the development of a decision support tool.Our specific objectives are to:Research Objective (O1a): Compare the effects of four approaches to reducing tillage and incorporating overwintering cover crops into annual feed and forage systems on a suite of grower-identified priorities, including: 1) weed suppression, 2) insect pest regulation, 3) nutrient supply and retention, 4) soil quality, 5) crop productivity, and 6) short-term profitability.Research Objective (O1b): Determine how the interaction between cover crop management (species, establishment and termination methods) and associated soil fertility management (timing and method of manure application) among the four systems affect nutrient cycling processes, including: 1) nutrient retention by and supply from cover crops, 2) nutrient uptake by cash crops, and 3) potential nutrient losses to the environment. We will use field measurements and modeling to evaluate these interactions.Research Objective 2 (O2): Determine on-farm performance and management constraints of using overwintering cover crops through farmer participatory research that includes one or more reduced-tillage approaches (rolled cover crop termination, inter-seeded, or frost drill-seeded cover crop establishment) utilized in on-station (O1a & O1b) research.Extension Objective 3 (O3): Foster co-learning in regional organic grain producers' networks to support education of growers and other agricultural professionals about the benefits and challenges of organic cover crop-based, reduced tillage systems and facilitate grower experimentation with reduced tillage and cover crop management practices through the use of: 1) field-based education events (O2), 2) workshops for farmers and other agricultural professionals, and 3) extension products (e.g., newsletter articles, fact sheets, brochures, and webinars).Extension Objective 4 (O4): Develop a decision support tool to support decision-making about tillage reduction and cover crop management based on farmer-prioritized goals (fertility management with manure and cover crops, weed management, insect management) within reduced-tillage organic cropping systems that accounts for site-specific factors, including: 1) nutrient requirements of the cash crop, 2) magnitude and timing of nutrient supply by cover crops, 3) weed abundance thresholds, 4) insect pest forecasts and 5) crop rotation constraints.

Project Methods
Our approach includes four interconnected activities: experiment station research at PSU, on-farm research at three organic farms, extension outreach through producer networks and at other venues, and development of a decision support tool.Experiment Station Research: We will establish a randomized complete block design experiment with four replications in which four cropping system treatments that utilize various cover crops and reduced tillage strategies will be embedded in a corn-soybean-wheat rotation. We will utilize a full-entry experimental design to account for crop legacy and annual weather effects.Cropping System Treatments: Our cropping system treatments represent four approaches for reducing tillage in a crop rotation that utilizes cover crops. No-till planting and primary tillage treatments are a function of the different cover crop management strategies chosen for the proposed cropping systems, which are summarized below: System 1 (S1): Corn grown for silage and soybean are no-till planted into a rolled hairy vetch-triticale mixture and cereal rye, respectively. The system will have 3 primary inversion tillage events and 4 supplemental tillage events for weed control using a high-residue cultivator over the 3-yr rotation. Cover crops will be rolled twice, approximately 1 wk apart to ensure adequate termination. Shallow high residue inter-row cultivation, which minimally disturbs the soil and leaves cover crop residue on the surface, will supplement weed control provided by the cover crop mulch. System 2 (S2): This system introduces an annual ryegrass-forage radish (Lolium multiflorum-Raphanus sativus) cover crop inter-seeded into corn grown for grain; an alternative approach to growing cereal rye before soybean. Hairy vetch-triticale will be terminated with a moldboard plow, which allows for earlier corn establishment (about 2 weeks) compared to roll-killed hairy vetch.System 3 (S3): This system introduces a red clover-timothy (Trifolium pratense-Phleum pratense) cover crop mixture before corn grown for silage, which will be no-till drill seeded into wheat in late winter (frost-seed) and terminated by tillage the following spring before planting corn. Soybeans will be no-till planted into a rolled cereal rye cover crop.System 4 (S4): This system combines the two new alternative approaches (S2, S3) for reducing tillage: 1) inter-seeding annual ryegrass-forage radish into standing corn to enable corn grain production and to lengthen the cover crop growing season before soybeans, and 2) no-till drill seeding red clover- timothy into wheat in early spring (frost-seed) to lengthen the growing season before corn. IOn-Farm Research: Each farmer will select one cropping system from the on-station research, and devise a second cropping system based on their interests that utilizes either roller-crimper, inter-seeding or frost-seed drilling approaches for reducing tillage.Decision Support Tool (DST) Development: To help farmers evaluate management options and tradeoffs among tillage practices, cover crop management, nutrient management, and weed and insect pest management, as well as their interconnectivity, we will assemble a beta-version of a web-based decision support tool (DST) tailored to organic systems: Cycles-OT (Cycles-Organic Tool). This tool will permit growers, land managers, and service providers to evaluate their options through a simple, intuitive, user-friendly interface.

Progress 09/01/14 to 08/31/19

Outputs
Target Audience:Farmers, Agricultural professionals, scientists, undergraduate and graduate students Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Barbercheck, M., Gruver, J. Pest and weed management strategies for the transitioning producer. ASA-CSSA-SSSA Webinar and Podcast Series. 19 March 2019. 175 attendees. Barbercheck, M. 2019. Cover Crop Identity, Not Diversity, & Agroecosystem Characteristics Affect the Occurrence of a Beneficial Soil Fungus Northeast Cover Crop Council Annual Meeting, State College, PA, Nov. 15, 2019. 50 participants Barbercheck. 2019. Managing soil health on urban farms. Homewood Historical Farm. Pittsburgh, PA. 13 July 2019. 35 attendees, 3 African American, 3 youth, 20 women. Barbercheck, M. 2019. Organic 101. A growing Opportunity for PA Farmers. Allegheny Co. Crops Day. Meadville, PA. 21 March 2019. 20 attendees, 2 women Barbercheck, M., H. Karsten. 2019. AGECO 144 Principles and Practices of Organic Agriculture. Fall semester 2019. 3 credits. 25 students. Barbercheck, M. (organizer), Regan, K., Baraibar, B., Hoover, R. 2018. Kazakhstan Farmer tourof organic research sites at Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center. 25 attendees. 17 September 2018. Borelli, K. 2019. Organic Grain Grower's Panel Moderator, Boyd Station, LLC, Farmer Appreciation Day. August 8, 2019 200 participants Borelli, K. 2019. Let's talk about Marketing Organic Grain, Grower's Panel. Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) Annual Conference, Lancaster, PA. 9 February 2009. 20 participants Bosak, L. 2019. Organic transition. PASA Farming for the Future Conference, 9 Feb. 2019. 3-hr workshop. 30 attendees. Busch. A., Hartman, D. 2019. Organic Grain Marketing and Handling Twilight Meeting. Pawling Station, Selinsgrove PA. 18 September 2019. 100 participants. Gugino, B. 2019. Managing plant disease in organic systems. Guest lecture. Sept. 18, 2019. AGECO 144 Principles and Practices of Organic Agriculture. Fall semester. 3 credits. 25 students. Hoover, R. 2019. Interseeding cover crops in organic corn. Lecture in Agro 425, Field Crop Management. University Park, PA. 25 students. 3 credits. Hoover, R. 2019. Improving Cover Crop Performance when Interseeding into "Big Corn". Northeast Cover Crop Council Annual Meeting, State College, PA, Nov. 15, 2019. 35 participants. Hoover, R. 2019. Organic field management, Argentinean Cover Crops Clinic field day. Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center, Rock Springs, PA. June 11,2019 (15 participants) Isbell, S., G. Roth. 2018. Interseeding cover crops in corn in the northeast. "Maleza en Foco" Argentinian Cover Crops field tour. Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center, Rock Springs, PA. Jaenicke, T. 2019. Organic markets. Nov. 20. AGECO 144 Principles and Practices of Organic Agriculture. Fall semester. 3 credits. 25 students. Kemanian, A., Leonard, L. 2019. Professional Development Workshop on using CYCLES agroecosystem management model. 15 attendees. University Park, PA Mazzone, T. 2019. Equipment for organic weed management. Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center. 16 October. Rock Springs, PA. AGECO 144 Principles and Practices of Organic Agriculture. Fall semester. 3 credits. 25 students. Miller, Joe. 2019. Organic dairy production and marketing. Guest lecture. Nov. 13, 2019. AGECO 144 Principles and Practices of Organic Agriculture. Fall semester. 3 credits. 25 students. Patterson, P. 2019. Grains for organic poultry production. Guest lecture. AGECO 144 Principles and Practices of Organic Agriculture. 18 November 2019. Fall semester. 3 credits. 25 students. Regan, K. 2019. "Effects of Reduced Tillage on Beneficial Arthropods." Soil Health Workshop, Empire Farm Days, Seneca Falls, NY. August 2019. Regan, K. 2018. "Who's in a corn field?" Invited speaker for Science Brew, geared toward the general public and hosted monthly by the Penn State Science Policy Society, Bellefonte, PA. October 2018. Regan, K. "Insect Management in a Reduced-Tillage Organic Systems Experiment." ROSE Field Tour for visiting Khazak farmers and agricultural consultants, Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center, Rock Springs, PA. September 2018. Sensenig, L. 2019. Organic grain marketing. Guest lecture. AGECO 144 Principles and Practices of Organic Agriculture. Fall semester. 6 November 2019. 3 credits. 25 students. Smyre, A. 2018. Organic Grains, Guest lecture, AGECO 144: Principles and Practices in Organic Agriculture. Organic Ag Class. 30 participants. Nov. 7, 2018. Wallace, J., Hoover, R., Smyer, A., Esbenshade, W., Barbercheck, M. (co-organizer). Managing Organic Feed Grain Crops for Soil Health: Reduced-Tillage and Cover Crops. PASA Farming for the Future Conference, 9 Feb. 2019. 3-hr workshop. 30 attendees. Wallace J, R Champagne, W Curran (2019) Management tradeoffs in full- and no-till organic soybean production. Hunt Valley, MD. Proceedings of Northeastern Plant, Pest and Soils Conference. 09 Jan 19 Wallace, J. (December 19, 2018). "Balancing tradeoffs between soil health and weed management goals," Western NY Soil Health Alliance Annual Conference, Western NY Soil Health Alliance, Batavia NY, 80 in attendance, Invited. Regional. Wallace, J. (December 19, 2018). "Interseeding cover crops: finding the right fit and managing tradeoffs," Western NY Soil Health Alliance Annual Conference, Western NY Soil Health Alliance, Batavia NY, 80 in attendance, Invited. Regional. Wallace J (2019) Introduction to Penn State's Reduced-tillage Organic Systems Experiment. Argentinian delegation hosted by Rodale Institute. 11 Jun 19 Wallace J, Peachy E (2019) Benefits of intercropping in organic systems. NRCS Conservation Webinar Series.http://www.conservationwebinars.net/webinars/benefits-of-intercropping-in-organic-systems/[166 registered] Wallace (2019) Integrating multiple weed management tactics in reduced-tillage organic systems. 2019 Organic Grain Winter Conference -- OGRAIN. Madison WI. 26 Jan 19. [200 participants] Wallace J (2019) Emerging trends in organic weed control. Boyd Station, Danville PA, 08 Aug 19 [80 participants] Wallace J (2019) Facilitation of organic weed control discussion. Susquehanna Organic Grower Network Winter Study Circle. New Columbia PA. 22 Feb 19. Barbercheck, M. (panelist with J. Wallace, K. Borrelli, J. Cook). 2020. Organic Crop Production Q & A. Virtual Ag Progress Days Session. 34 attendees. 11 August 2020. Barbercheck, M. (organizer and presenter) 2020. Organic Research Flash Talks & Discussion Session. PASA Farming for the Future Conference, 8 Feb. 2020. 80-min workshop. Lancaster, PA Barbercheck, M. 2020. Pest Management Strategies for the Transitioning Producer (Invited). American Society of Agronomy "Managing through the Organic Transition in Grain Crop Production webinar series. https://www.agronomy.org/education/classroom/classes/658 Barbercheck, M. 2020. Fantastic endophytic fungi: What they are, what they do, and how to conserve them. (Invited). Conservation Tillage Conference. March 4, 2020. Ohio Northern University. Ada, Ohio How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Through presentations at extension and ourtreach events, conferences, seminars, and workshops. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The project is completed.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We have completed the field experiment and are now planning the new directions for continuing to optimize practices to reduce tillage and incorporate cover crops into organic agronomic cropping systems, while maximizing yields. We have submitted and published manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals and extension articles and materials.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Baraibar, B.; D. A. Mortensen, M. Hunter, M. E. Barbercheck, J. P. Kaye, D. Finney, W. Curran, J. Bunchek, C. White. 2018. Growing degree days and cover crop identity explain weed biomass in cover crops. Agronomy for Sustainable Development 38: 65. First Online: 08 November 2018 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13593-018-0543-1
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Bell, T., K.L. Hockett, R.I. Alcal�-Brise�o, M. Barbercheck, G. A. Beattie, M.A. Bruns, J. Carlson, T. Chung, A. Collins, B. Emmett, P. Esker, K. A. Garrett, L. Glenna, B. Gugino, M. del mar Jimenez-Gasco, L. Kinkel, J. Kovac, K. Kowalski, G. Kuldau, J. Leveau, J. Myrick, K. Peter, A. Shade, N. Stopnisek, X. Tan, A. T. Welty, K. Wickings, E. Yergeau. 2019. Manipulating Wild and Tamed Phytobiomes: Challenges and Opportunities. Published Online: 9 May 2019. https://doi.org/10.1094/PBIOMES-01-19-0006-W
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Curran, W.S, R.J. Hoover, S.B. Mirsky, G.W. Roth, M.R. Ryan, V.J. Ackroyd, J.M Wallace, M.A. Dempsey and C.J. Pelzer. 2018. Evaluation of cover crops interseeded into corn (Zea mays L.) across the Mid-Atlantic region. Agron. J. 110:435-443.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Hunter, M.C., M. E. Schipanski, M. H. Burgess, J. C. LaChance, B. A. Bradley, M. E. Barbercheck, J. P. Kaye, D. A. Mortensen. 2019. Cover Crop Mixture Effects on Maize, Soybean, and Wheat Yield in Rotation. Agric. Environ. Lett. 4:180051 (2019) doi:10.2134/ael2018.10.0051
• Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Kemanian, A. Cycles. Agroecosystem Management Model. https://www.cycles-model.psu.edu/Cycles/CyclesModel.html
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Pisani-Gareau, T., Voortman, C., Barbercheck, M. 2019. Carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) differentially respond to soil management practices in feed and forage systems in transition to organic management. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems (First View, published online 13 August 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742170519000255
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Neher, D.A.; Barbercheck, M.E. Soil microarthropods and soil health: Intersection of decomposition and pest suppression. Preprints 2019, 2019110093 (doi: 10.20944/preprints201911.0093.v1).
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Rivers, A., Mullen, C., Barbercheck, M. 2018. Cover crop species and management influence predatory arthropods and predation in an organically-managed, reduced-tillage cropping system. Environmental Entomology 47: 340-355. https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvx149
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Wallace, J.M., C.L. Keene, W. Curran, S. Mirsky, M.R. Ryan, and M.J. VanGessel. 2018. Integrated weed management strategies in cover crop-based, organic rotational no-till corn and soybean in the Mid-Atlantic region. Weed Sci. 66:94-108. https://doi.org/10.1017/wsc.2017.53
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Regan, K. H. July 2019. Arthropod Response to Cover Crop-Based Reduced-Tillage Organic Cropping Systems. PhD Dissertation in Entomolo9gy. College of Agricultural Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University.
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Champagne, Rebecca J. 2017. Alternatives for reducing tillage in an organic grain/silage production system: Implications for weed management. MS Thesis in Agronomy. College of Agricultural Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Baraibar, B.; White, C. M.; Hunter, M.C.; Finney, D. M.; Barbercheck, M. E.; Kaye, J. P.; Curran, W. S.; Bunchek, J.; Mortensen, D. A. 2021. Weeds in Cover Crops: Context and Management Considerations. Agriculture 11, no. 3: 193. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11030193
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Champagne, R., Wallace, J., Curran, W., & Baraibar, B. (2021). Agronomic and economic tradeoffs between alternative cover crop and organic soybean sequences. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 36(1), 17-25. doi:10.1017/S1742170519000437
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Cloutier, M., E. Murrell; M. Barbercheck; J. Kaye; D. Finney; I. Garcia-Gonzalez; M. A Bruns. 2020. Fungal community shifts in soils with varied cover crop treatments and edaphic properties. Scientific Reports 10: 6198. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-63173-7
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Hinds, J., Barbercheck, M.E. 2020. Diversified floral provisioning enhances performance of the generalist predator, Orius insidiosus (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae), Biological Control 149: Article 104313 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2020.104313
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Jabbour, R., C. Francis, M. Barbercheck, K. S. Ullman. 2020. Organic Agriculture Teaching and Learning in 2025: A Futuring Workshop to Guide Transformation of the Learning Landscape. NACTA Journal 64:183-187
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Morris AH, Isbell SA, Saha D, and Kaye JP. Mitigating nitrogen pollution with undersown legume-grass cover crop mixtures in winter cereals. J. Environ. Qual. doi: 10.1002/jeq2.20193
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Rowen, E., Regan, K., Barbercheck, M., Tooker, J. 2020. Is Tillage Beneficial or Detrimental for Insect and Slug Management? A Meta-Analysis. Agric. Ecosyst. Environment 294: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2020.106849
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2019 Citation: Saha, D., JP Kaye, A. Bhowmik, MA Bruns, JM Wallace and AR Kemanian. Organic fertility inputs to grain and silage systems synergistically increase nitrous oxide emissions via denitrification (submitted to Ecological Applications).
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Wallace, J., Isbell, S., Hoover, R., Barbercheck, M., Kaye, J., & Curran, W. 2020. Drill and broadcast establishment methods influence interseeded cover crop performance in organic corn. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 1-9. doi:10.1017/S174217052000006X
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2019 Citation: Barbercheck, M. 2019. Ecology of a multifunctional fungus, Metarhizium robertsii, in organic cropping systems. Invited seminar. Dept. of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology, Penn State University. Sept. 30, 2019.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2019 Citation: Jabbour, R., Francis, C., Barbercheck, M., Ullman, K, Organic Agriculture Teaching and Learning in 2025: An Exercise in Visioning. (poster) June 18-21, 2019. University of Southern Idaho, Twin Falls, ID
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2019 Citation: Regan, K. 2019. Arthropod Communities within a Reduced-Tillage Organic Systems Experiment Entomology Department, New Jersey Agricultural Research Station, Rutgers University, Bridgeton, NJ. February 2019
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2019 Citation: Regan, K. 2019. Arthropod Communities within a Reduced-Tillage Organic Systems Experiment Entomology Department, Cornell AgriTech, Geneva, NY. January 2019
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2018 Citation: Regan, K. C. Voortman, and M. Barbercheck. November 2018. Effects of Reduced-Tillage Organic Cropping Systems on Arthropod Predators Student Paper Competition, Entomological Society of America, Vancouver, BC.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2019 Citation: Wallace J, R Champagne, W Curran (2019) Management tradeoffs in full- and no-till organic soybean production. Hunt Valley, MD. Proceedings of Northeastern Plant, Pest and Soils Conference. 09 Jan 19
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Barbercheck, M. 2018. Management of Stored Grain Pests in Organic Systems. Field Crop News, Nov. 1, 2018.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Borrelli, K. 2019. Organic Crop Integrity  How are Certified Crops Protected. https://extension.psu.edu/organic-crop-integrity-how-are-certified-crops-protected-from-fraud
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Borrelli, K. 2019. Opportunities for marketing organic grains. https://issuu.com/paorganic/docs/spring_2019_organic_matters/4
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Cornelisse, S., Borrelli, K., Baraibar, B., Barbercheck, M. 2019. Organic Grain Crop Enterprise Budgets. https://extension.psu.edu/organic-grain-crop-enterprise-budgets
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Wallace, J., Barbercheck, M.E., Hoover, R., Baraibar, B., Keene, C., Curran, W. 2019. Terminating Cover Crops With a Roller Crimper in Organic Grain Rotations. https://extension.psu.edu/terminating-cover-crops-with-a-roller-crimper-in-organic-grain-rotations
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Wallace, J., Barbercheck, M.E., Hoover, R., Baraibar, B., Champagne, R., Curran, W. 2019.2019. Soil Building Practices in Organic Annual Grain Systems. https://extension.psu.edu/soil-building-practices-in-organic-annual-grain-systems
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2021 Citation: Wallace, J.M., M. Barbercheck, W. S. Curran, C. L. Keene, S. B. Mirsky, C. Voortman, A. Rivers, M. R. Ryan and M. VanGessel. Cover crop-based, rotational no-till (CCORNT) management tactics influence corn and soybean performance in transition to organic within Mid-Atlantic. Submitted to Agronomy J. 10 Feb. 2021. Ms ID # AJ-2021-02-0125-A
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Isbell SA, Bradley BA, Morris AH, Wallace JM, Kaye JP. Nitrogen dynamics in grain cropping systems integrating multiple ecologically based management strategies. Ecosphere doi: 10.1002/jeq2.20193
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Regan, K. H., C.A. Voortman, J. Wallace, M. E. Barbercheck. 2020. Prevalence of Early and Late Season Pest Damage to Corn in Cover Crop-Based Reduced-Tillage Organic Systems. Environ. Entomol. 49(4):865-875. DOI: 10.1093/ee/nvaa071
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Rivers, A., Voortman, C., Barbercheck, M. 2020. cover crops support predator activity with variable effects on crop damage during transition to organic management. Biological Control 151: 104377. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2020.104377

Progress 09/01/17 to 08/31/18

Outputs
Target Audience:Farmers, Agricultural Scientist, Agricultural Professionals Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project team organized or participated in 17 Extension, outreach, and educational events. The project team delivered17 project-related research presentations at scientific and professional meetings and conferences. We held a project advisory board meeting for information-sharing among collaborating farmers, PIs, graduate and undergraduate students,technical support staff, extension educators, and representatives from organic and sustainable agriculture NGOs. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have disseminated project results through an annual advisory board meeting, extesnion and outreach presentations, presentations at scientific meetings, and in academic courses. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The field data collection supported by this project has been completed.. We are analyzing data and preparing manuscripts for publication in scientific journals, and for extesnion activities and publications.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We completed the final field season of the project in 2017 and based on our results are now planning the new directions for continuing to optimize practices to reduce tillage and incorporate cover crops into organic agronomic cropping systems, while maximizing yields. We are currently analyzing data for publication in peer-reviewed journals and extension articles and materials. Our measures included various soil properties, weed suppression, cover crop biomass, cash crop population and yield, arthropod abundance and diversity, nitrous oxide emissions, and potential for N leaching. Weeds, yield, and economics: In 2017, total late summer weed biomass was 2720 (± 401), 339 (± 14), 712 (± 395) , and 544 (± 168) kg/ha in Systems 1, 2,3, and 4, respectively. In reduced tillage systems 1 and 3, corn silage yields were 37,760 (± 829) and 33,682 (± 1299) kg/ha. In Systems 2 and 4, corn grain yields were 10,031 (± 221) and 10,296 (± 773) kg/ha. In the 2017 corn phase of the rotation, net returns were $1,143.85, $1,658.47, $1,805.83, and $2,774.10/ha, respectively. In the soybean phase of the rotation, late summer pre-harvest weed biomass was 944 (± 130), 251 (± 126), 1062 (± 225), and 110 (± 28) kg/ha in Systems 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. In 2017, soybean yields were 2653 (± 148), 3363 (± 58), 2445 b(± 171), and 3463 (± 91) kg/ha in Systems 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Net returns/ha in 2017 for soybean were $1181.90, $1282.46, $1091.64, and $1366.00 for Systems 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Foxtail species comprising at least 40% of the germinable weed seedbank the seedbank. Other common species included purslane speedwell, yellow woodsorrel, Eastern black nightshade, common lambsquarters, and redroot pigweed. Seedbank trends showed that seed density decreased after the spelt phase. No-till corn and soybean systems tended to have lower seed density relative to tilled systems, but this was dependent on successful in-season weed control. Interseeding a cover crop in corn helped to reduce returns to the seedbank, with seed density being lower than corn systems which did not employ interseeding. Arthropod Pests and Predators. Damage to crops was similar across all four systems and relatively low. Slugs consistently caused the damage on the highest number of plants. The three-year average was approximately 65% of plants experiencing some feeding from these pests. Damage to corn from chewing insects was significantly higher in System 1 (corn no-till planted into rolled hairy vetch/triticale) than in the other three systems, in which cash crops were established using tillage. These results indicate that tillage may help control chewing pests early in the season. In late-season (late August - early September), Fall armyworm damage was very low in all systems in all three years. Corn earworm and European corn borer varied in prevalence by year, with the greatest damage from corn earworm in 2016. Interseeded cover crops did not increase damage from any of these late season pests. Overall, predation on sentinel prey was similar among the four cropping systems and higher in the standing corn than in the cover crops prior to termination. Preliminary results indicate that overall, predator populations are similar in the four cropping systems. Spiders were reduced tillage treatments while staphylinid beetles were more abundant in tilled treatments. In 2017, we added video surveillance of insects and we are processing video footage taken from the sentinel predation. Nitrous oxide emissions. Measurements in N20 emissions in 2016 and 2017 revealed N2O emission were prone to being very high following liquid dairy manure and legume-rich cover crop incorporation prior to corn planting. This occurred in tilled systems 2, 3, and 4. We measured average total corn-phase N2O emission of 11 kg per ha of N (or 5.1 Mg CO2 equivalent), which would more than offset 100% of a topsoil C storage rate 300 kg per ha per yr of C (or 1.1 Mg CO2 equivalent). Legume cover crop biomass plays a critical role in controlling N2O emissions from the corn-phase of the rotation. The N2O emissions increased when total legume biomass from red clover or hairy vetch exceeded 2 Mg per ha, especially under wet soil conditions after a rain. In an experiment where cover crop aboveground biomass in small plot was removed, cumulative N2O emissions were reduced by 60% at a cost of 11% reduction in corn grain yield in 2017. Temporal and spatial isolation of manure application and cover crop termination also offer options to mitigate N2O emissions. N leaching potential. Tilled corn had greater summer soil N availability than no-till corn systems, potentially increasing the leachable soil N pool but benefiting yields. N leaching was greater in interseeded systems than in non-interseeded systems. Winter-killed cover crops contributed to greater N leaching in spring due to asynchrony of soil N availability and plant uptake. Online tool: An online tool, based on the model "Cycles," to simulate different management practice systems has been developed and is currently under testing. We are currently scheduling training events to introduce the tool to agricultural professionals for directive feedback for improvements in the visual interface. The tool is hosted on PSU-based server and will be publicly deployed after refinement.

Publications

• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Schmidt, E., K. Regan, and M. Barbercheck. 2017. Seedcorn Maggot as a Pest of Corn and Other Large-Seeded Crops. Updated Fact Sheet. http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/seedcorn-maggot-as-a-pest-of-corn-and-other-large-seeded-crops
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Keene, C.L., W.S. Curran, J.M. Wallace, M.R. Ryan, S.B. Mirksy, M.J. VanGessel, M.E. Barbercheck. 2017. Cover crop termination is critical in organic rotational no-till systems. Agron J. 109: 272-282.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Rivers, A., Mullen, C., Barbercheck, M. 2018. Cover crop species and management influence predatory arthropods and predation in an organically-managed, reduced-tillage cropping system. Environmental Entomology 47: 340-355. https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvx149
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Wallace, J.M., A. Williams, J.A. Liebert, V.J. Ackroyd, R.A. Vann, W.S. Curran, C.L. Keene, M.J. VanGessel, M.R. Ryan, and S.B. Mirksy. 2017. Organic rotational no-till corn and soybean production systems in the mid-Atlantic United States. Agriculture 7(4): 34; doi:10.3390/agriculture7040034
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Wallace, J.M., C.L. Keene, W. Curran, S. Mirsky, M.R. Ryan, and M.J. VanGessel. 2018. Integrated weed management strategies in cover crop-based, organic rotational no-till corn and soybean in the Mid-Atlantic region. Weed Sci. 66:94-108. https://doi.org/10.1017/wsc.2017.53
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Submitted Year Published: 2018 Citation: Morris, A. S. Isbell, D. Saha, J. Kaye (submitted) Mitigating nitrogen pollution with under-sown legume-grass cover crop mixtures in winter cereals. Submitted to Agricultural Systems
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Barbercheck, M. 2018. Restructuring plant-associated arthropod composition. Workshop on "Manipulating phytobiomes: challenges and opportunities," Wild and Tamed Phytobiomes:21st Penn State Plant Biology Symposium, June 19-22, 2018. University Park, PA. (Invited oral presentation)
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2017 Citation: Champagne, Rebecca J. 2017. Alternatives for reducing tillage in an organic grain/silage production system: Implications for weed management. MS Thesis in Agronomy. College of Agricultural Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Curran, W.S, R.J. Hoover, S.B. Mirsky, G.W. Roth, M.R. Ryan, V.J. Ackroyd, J.M Wallace, M.A. Dempsey and C.J. Pelzer. 2018. Evaluation of cover crops interseeded into corn (Zea mays L.) across the Mid-Atlantic region. Agron. J. 110:435-443.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Barbercheck, M. 2018. Effects of cover crops on invertebrate pests and their natural enemies in conservation tillage systems. 2018 North Central Branch ESA Meeting, March 18-21, 2018, Madison, WI. Invited Symposium (Influence of Cover Crops on Crop Insect Management)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Champagne, R.J., W.S. Curran, and J.M. Wallace. 2017. Successes and Challenges of Reducing Tillage in Organic Annual Row Crop Production. Agronomy Society Annual Meeting, October 22-25, 2017. Tampa, FL
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Champagne, R.J. 2017. Alternative for Reducing Tillage in an Organic Grain/Silage System: Implications for Weed Management. Department of Plant Science Seminar, November 2017. University Park, PA.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Champagne, R., W. Curran, J.M. Wallace, and T.R. Mazzone. 2018. Comparison of two green manure cover crops and varying tillage timing for managing weeds in an organic corn production system. Proceedings Northeast Plant, Pest, and Soils Conference. 2:67. Philadelphia. PA. January 3  6, 2018.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Curran, B. 2017. Cover crop interseeding, an opportunity to expand cover crop adoption across the Northeast. Northeast Cover Crop Council Conference, Ithaca, NY, Nov. 8, 2017. 175 people.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Curran, W., J. Wallace. 2017. Cover crops, herbicides, and dealing with herbicide resistant weeds. SARE National Conference on Cover Crops and Soil Health. Dec. 7  8, 2017. Indianapolis, IN.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Isbell, S., Kaye, J., Morris, A. 2018. Interseeding cover crops: Nitrogen supply and retention in a reduced tillage organic systems experiment. Sustainable Cropping Systems. March 2018. Symposium, Penn State University, PA.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Regan, K., C. Mullen, M. Barbercheck. February 2018. Insect Response to Organic Cover Crop-Based Reduced Tillage Cropping Systems. Poster Presentation. Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture Annual Conference, State College, PA. 9 February 2018.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Isbell, S., Kaye, J., Morris, A.2017. Interseeding cover crops: Nitrogen supply and retention in a reduced tillage organic systems experiment. Northeast Cover Crops Council Annual Meeting, Nov. 8, 2017. Ithaca, NY.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Isbell, S., Kaye, J., Morris, A. 2017. Interseeding cover crops: Nitrogen supply and retention in a reduced tillage organic systems experiment. Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, Portland, OR
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Regan, K., C. Mullen, M. Barbercheck. 2017. Arthropod Response to Cover Crop-Based Reduced Tillage Organic Cropping Systems. Student Paper Competition, Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting, Denver, CO. Nov. 5  9, 2017.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Regan, K., C. Mullen, and M. Barbercheck. 2018. Effects of Organic Reduced-Tillage Cropping Systems on Epigeal Predators. Student Paper Competition, Eastern Branch of the Entomological Society of America, Annapolis, MD. 17-19 March 2018.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2018 Citation: Regan, K. 2018. Arthropod Response to Cover Crop-Based Organic Cropping Systems. Invited seminar. Plant-Insect Group Seminar Series, Entomology Department, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. 14 April 2018.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Regan, K. C. Mullen, and M. Barbercheck. 2018. Insect Response to Organic Cover Crop-Based Reduced Tillage Cropping Systems. Poster Presentation, Penn State University Life Science Symposium, State College, PA. 18 May 2018.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Youngerman, C.Z., A. DiTommaso, J. Losey, W. Curran, S.B. Mirsky, and M. Ryan. 2018. Effects of corn planting density on interseeded cover crops and weed seed predation. Proceedings Northeast Plant, Pest, and Soils Conf. 2:52. Philadelphia. PA. January 3  6, 2018.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Youngerman, C.Z., A. DiTommaso, J. Losey, W. Curran, S.B. Mirsky, and M. Ryan. 2018. Effects of cover crops on weed seed predation in corn. Proceedings Weed Sci. Soc. Am. 57:137. Arlington, VA, January29  Feb. 1, 2018.
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2018 Citation: Barbercheck, M., Regan, K., Baraibar, B. 2018. Kazakhstan Farmer tour of organic research sites at Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center. 25 attendees. 17 September 2018.
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2018 Citation: Barbercheck, M. 2018. Organic Agriculture: A growing opportunity for Pennsylvania farmers. Farm Bureau Commodity Committee Meeting. Camp Hill, PA. 10 July 2018. 35 people.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2018 Citation: Barbercheck, M. 2018. Soil health and pest management. Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention. Hershey, PA. 31 January 2018. 200 people.
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2018 Citation: Bosak, L. 2018. Organic Field Crop Growers Study Circle. Penn State Extension Office, Dauphin County, PA. 30 March 2018. 15 attendees.
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2018 Citation: Busch, A. 2018. Organic Field Crop Twilight Meeting. Banner Farm. 30 August 2018. 20-30 attendees
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2018 Citation: Busch, A. 2018. Organic Field Crop Twilight Meeting. Boyd Station. 11 September 2018. 20-30 attendees
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2017 Citation: Curran, B. 2017. Opportunities for IWM in reduced tillage organic cropping systems. IWM Field Day, USDA ARS, Beltsville, MD, Nov. 2, 2017. 50 people.
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2017 Citation: Curran, B. 2017. Cover crop interseeding and other tools for cover crop management. USDA NRCS Big Flats Field Day, Nov. 9, 2017. 100 people.
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2017 Citation: Curran, B. 2017. Cover crop management in organic and conventional systems. Cumberland Valley Planter Clinic, Shippensburg PA, Dec. 13, 2017 200 people.
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2017 Citation: Hoover, R. 2017. Reducing Tillage in Organic Grain Production Systems. Growing PA Organic Farms Conference. Dec 13, 2017. Harrisburg, PA. 27 in attendance.
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2017 Citation: Hoover, R. 2017. ROSE Research Update. PA Certified Organic Annual Meeting. December 12, 2017. Spring Mills, PA.
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2018 Citation: Isbell, S., G. Roth. 2018. Interseeding cover crops in corn in the northeast. Maleza en Foco Argentinean Cover Crops Clinic field day. Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center, Rock Springs, PA.
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2018 Citation: Regan, K. 2018. Insect Management in a Reduced-Tillage Organic Systems Experiment. Field Tour for visiting Khazak farmers and agricultural consultants, Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center, Rock Springs, PA. 17 September 2018.
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2018 Citation: Regan, K. 2018. Whos in a corn field? Rock Springs Annual Orientation to the Research Farm. Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center. Rock Springs, PA. 24 May 2018.
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2018 Citation: Regan, K. 2018. Whos in a corn field? Invited speaker for Science Brew, Penn State Science Policy Society, Bellefonte, PA. 21 July 2018.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Barbercheck, M. 2018. Management of Stored Grain Pests in Organic Systems. Field Crop News, Nov. 1, 2018.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Barbercheck, M. 2018. Boyd Station Serves Growing Market for Processed Organic Soybeans. Field Crop News 20 September 2018.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Barbercheck, M. 2018. Successful Transition to Organic at Banner Farm. Field Crop News. 6 Sept. 2018.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Barbercheck, M. New fact sheet on stored grain pest management. Field Crop News. May 2, 2018.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Barbercheck, M. 2018. Thinking about planting? Try avoiding seedcorn maggot. Field Crop News. April 4, 2018
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Barbercheck, M. 2018. Management of Stored Grain Pests in Organic Systems. PSU Extension Fact Sheet https://extension.psu.edu/management-of-stored-grain-pests-in-organic-systems

Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/17

Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audience includes farmers, Extension educators and other agricultural professionals, and scientists. we co-facilitated and participated in field days at the on-station research site and at on-farm research sites. We hosted an on-station tour of the research-station site for visiting organic grain growers and agricultural professionals from Argentina. The field tour focused on discussion of alternative methods for integrating cover crops and reducing tillage in organic grain systems. We hosted an on-station field day to introduce our project and concepts to the PSU Field Crop and Forages Extension Team (FCFT). PSU-FCFET is comprised of faculty and county extension agronomy educators. On-farm grower network meetings focused on exchanging ideas about cover crop integration and reduced-tillage methods on organic farms with diverse stakeholders, including: 1) organic grain and vegetable producers, 2) NRCS professionals, 3) Soil & Water Conservation District professionals, 4) organic industry professionals (fertilizer and organic poultry production), and 5) other interested members of the public. Changes/Problems:There have been no major changes to the experimental approach. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Presentations at scientific meetings Champagne, R.J., W.S. Curran, J.M. Wallace. (2017). Successes and challenges of reducing tillage in organic annual row crop production. American Society of Agronomy Annual Meeting, October 22-25, 2017, Tampa, Fl. (oral) Champagne, R.J., W.S. Curran, J.M Wallace, T.R. Mazzone. (2017). Comparison of two green manure cover crops and varying tillage timing for managing weeds in an organic corn production system. Penn State Sustainable Cropping Systems Symposium, March 31, 2017, University Park, PA. (poster) Champagne, R.J., W.S. Curran, J.M Wallace, T.R. Mazzone. (2017). Comparison of two green manure cover crops and varying tillage timing for managing weeds in an organic corn production system. Northeast Plant, Pest, and Soil Conference, January 3-6, 2017, Philadelphia, PA. (oral). Hinds, J., Barbercheck, M.E., Hagler, J. (2017). Impacts of cover crop diversification on attraction, dispersal, and pest suppression by generalist predators. Newport, RI. Invited Speaker for Mark Recapture Symposium, Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America, Eastern Branch, Newport RI, March 17 - 21, 2017. Hinds, J., Barbercheck, M. (2017). Impacts of cover crop diversification on attraction, dispersal, and pest suppression by generalist predators. USDA Arid Land Agricultural Research Center. Maricopa, AZ. Isbell, S., Kaye, J., Morris, A. (2017). Interseeding cover crops: Nitrogen supply and retention in a reduced tillage organic systems experiment. Ecology Society of America Annual Meeting. Portland, OR. Isbell, S., Kaye, J., Morris, A. (2017). Interseeding cover crops: Nitrogen supply and retention in a reduced tillage organic systems experiment. Sustainable cropping systems symposium, Penn State University Isbell, S., Kaye, J., Morris, A. (2017). Interseeding cover crops: Nitrogen supply and retention in a reduced tillage organic systems experiment. Gamma Sigma Delta Research Expo, Penn State University Regan, K., C Mullen, M. Barbercheck. (2017). Arthropod response to organic cover crop-based reduced-tillage cropping systems. Entomological Society of America Eastern Branch Meeting, March 18 - 21, 2017, Newport, Rhode Island Regan, K., C. Mullen, and M. Barbercheck (2017). Arthropod response to organic cover crop-based Reduced-Tillage Cropping Systems 7th Annual PSU Sustainable Cropping Systems Symposium, PSU, Penn State University, University Park, PA, 31 March 2017 Karly Regan, Christina Mullen and Mary Barbercheck, 2017. Arthropod Response to Organic Cover Crop-Based Reduced-Tillage Cropping Systems. Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America. Graduate Student Oral Competition. Annual Meeting of the ESA. Denver. CO How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Extension and outreach activities and materials related to the project. Full citation (e.g., dates, location included for activities). Barbercheck, M. (2017). Organic 101: Opportunities and challenges for PA crop producers. PSU Extesnion Agronomy Team webinar. 8 Dec. 2017. Barbercheck, M., Borrelli, K. (2017). Organic research and extension review. Agronomy Extension Team In-Service Workshop. 15 Nov. 2017. Howard, PA Barbercheck, M., Regan, K.., Murrell, E. (2017). Crop Management and Soil Health: Is Your Soil Alive? Agronomy Team Diagnostic Clinic workshop, Russell E Larson Research and Education Center, Rock Springs, PA Barbercheck, M., K Regan (2017). Pest and beneficial insects and Soil Health Workshop. The Student Farm at Penn State, University Park, PA Barbercheck, M. (2017) No pesticides? No problem! Insect management in organic crops. 2017 Mid-Atlantic Crop Management School. Ocean City MD. Barbercheck, M. (2017). Fungal Endophytes: Fungi that Facilitate Farming. Penn State Extension Sustainable Agriculture Webinar Series on Cropping Strategies for Managing Soil Health. 56 attendees. Barbercheck,M., J. Hinds, A. Rivers, C. Mullen. (2017). Effects of cover crops on insect pests and their natural enemies. Northeast Cover Crops Council Annual Meeting, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, Nov. 8, 2017. (Invited oral presentation) Barbercheck,M., I. Ahmad, B. Flonc, M. Jimenez-Gasco, D. Luthe, Christina Mullen. (2017). Going underground: The role of a multifunctional fungus in organic cropping systems. Northeast Cover Crops Council Annual Meeting, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, Nov. 8, 2017. (Poster presentation) Barbercheck, M.,I.Ahmed, M. Jimenez-Gasco, D.Luthe. (2017).Going underground: Conserving Insect-Pathogenic Fungi for Biological Control?.3rd Annual NEIPMC Online Conference, 23 October 2017 (5-minute flash talk). Barbercheck, M.,I.Ahmed, M. Jimenez-Gasco, D.Luthe. (2017).Going underground: Conserving Insect-Pathogenic Fungi for Biological Control?.NEIPMC Annual Advisory Council Meeting, 31 October 2017 (invited 30-minutepresentation) Currran, W., W. Esbenshade (2017). Managing Cover Crops with reduced tillage for soil health. PASA conference. Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, University Park, PA. 57 attendees. Hoover, R. (2017). Planting Green and Soil Health field day: June 22, 2017 Myers Family Farm, Spring Mills, PA. 80 attendees. Hoover, R. (2017). Field and Forage Crop Extension team summer in-service; June 27, 2017: 24 attendees. Hoover, R. (2017). Cropping Systems Field Day: October 6, 2016 Field day at Charvin Farms, Mifflin, PA (Elvin Ranck and family); 48 attendees ROSE Team. (2017) An Overview of the Reduced-Tillage Organic Systems Experiment. Field day organized for agricultural delegation for Argentinian delegation and Rodale Institute.Russell E. Larsen Agricultural Research Center, Rock Springs, PA ROSE Team (2017) Reduced-Tillage Organic Systems Experiment. Project Advisory Board Meeting. Pine Grove Mills, PA. Schmidt, E., K Regan, M Barbercheck (2017) Seedcorn Maggot as a Pest of Corn and Other Large-Seeded Crops. Updated Fact Sheet. http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/seedcorn-maggot-as-a-pest-of-corn-and-other-large-seeded-crops Wallace, J.(2017). Extending the cover crop growing season: weed management opportunities and challenges. Northeast Cover Crop Council Conference. Ithaca NY. Wallace, J.(2017). Best management practices for interseeding cover crops into field corn. Albion, NY. Soil Health Workshop. Orleans and Genesee Soil Water Conservation District. August 22, 2017. [70 attendees]. Wallace, J.(2017). Best management practices for interseeding cover crops into field corn. Aurora, NY. Soil Health Workshop. Cayuga and Tompkins Soil Water Conservation District. August 23, 2017. [70 attendees]. Wallace, J.(2017). Cover crop interseeding field walk and overview. USDA-NRCS Soil Health Field Day. Schoharie NY. October 12, 2017. [100 attendees] 2016 Champagne, R.J., W.S. Curran, J.M. Wallace, T.R. Mazzone. (2016).Alternatives for reducing tillage in organic annual grain systems: implications for weed management. International Weed Science Congress, June 19-25, 2016, Prague, Czech Republic. (oral) Champagne, R.J., W.S. Curran, C.L. Keene, J.M. Wallace, T.R. Mazzone. (2016). Alternatives for reducing tillage in organic annual grain systems: implications for weed management. Penn State Sustainable Cropping Systems Symposium, March 2016, University Park, PA. (poster) Champagne, R.J., W.S. Curran, C.L. Keene, J.M. Wallace, T.R. Mazzone. (2016). Alternatives for reducing tillage in organic annual grain systems: implications for weed management.Northeast Plant, Pest, and Soil Conference, January 3-7, 2016, Philadelphia, PA. (poster) Curran, W.S. (2016). Exploring cover crop establishment and termination timing for increased cash crop performance. Pacific Northwest Direct Seed Cropping Systems Conference, Kennewick, WA. 30 attendees. January 12, 2016. Curran, W.S. (2016).Interseeding cover crops in corn and soybean. Webinar, 50 + people. Broadcast via Adobe Connect on April 11, 2016. http://extension.psu.edu/plants/sustainable/courses/cover-crop-innovations-webinar-series/webinars/interseeding-cover-crops-in-corn-and-soybean). Curran, W.S., D. Mortensen (2016). Weed management in organic cropping systems.USDA-NRCS Science and Technology Training Library. http://www.conservationwebinars.net/webinars/weed-management-in-organic-cropping-systems?searchterm=organic+weed+mana. ROSE Team (2016). Cover crop mixtures and insect-parasitic fungi in organic cropping systems. Organic Cropping Systems Field Day. 6 October 2016. Charvin Farm, Mifflin, PA 47 attendees ROSE Team (2016). USAID East Africa Delegation. Cover crops, reduced tillage, and soil health in organic cropping systems. Russell E. Larsen Research Center, Rock Springs, PA. Wallace, J.,W. Curran, R. Hoover, S. Isbell (2016). Performance of interseeded cover crop mixtures in organic grain corn. Phoenix, AZ: Proceedings of Agronomy Society of America. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue with the research station experiment into 2018. We will continue to interact with the participating grower learning networks to disseminate results of the research. We will hold a project advisory board meeting in February 2018 to receive directive feedback on teh project and disseminate results. We will participate in outreach and extesnion events, and publish a project newsletter.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Throughout the growing season, we collected data to evaluate effects of the four organic reduced tillage systems. Our measures included various soil properties, weed suppression, cover crop biomass, cash crop population and yield, arthropod abundance and diversity, nitrous oxide emissions, and potential for N leaching. In 2017, in the corn phase of the rotation 2017 crop year the no-till corn system (S1) produced 5528 ± 191kg/ha spring cover crop biomass, while Systems 2, 3, and, 4 produced 3642 ± 271, 4184 ± 253, and 3335 ± 636 kg/ha, respectively. Total late summer weed biomass was 2720 ± 401, 339 ± 14, 712 ± 395, and 544 ± 168 kg/ha, respectively. In reduced tillage systems 1 and 3, corn silage yields were 37,760 ± 829 and 33,682 ± 1299 kg/ha. In Systems 2 and 4, corn grain yields were 10,031± 221 and 10,296± 773 kg/ha. In the 2017 corn phase of the rotation, net returns were $1,143.85, $1,658.47, $1,805.83, and $2,774.10/ha, respectively. In the soybean phase of the rotation, late summer pre-harvest weed biomass was 944± 130, 251± 126, 1062 ± 225, and 110 ± 28 kg/ha in Systems 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Cereal rye biomass in the spring was 6219 ± 338, 478 ± 200, 6313 ± 346, and 662 ± 287 kg/ha in Systems 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. In 2017, soybean yields were 2653 ± 148, 3363 ± 58, 2445 ± 171, and 3463 ± 91 kg/ha in Systems 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Net returns/ha in 2017 for soybean were $1181.90, $1282.46, $1091.64, and $1366.00/ha for Systems 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Foxtail species dominated the seedbank in all three cash crops (corn, soybean, spelt), comprising at least 40% of the germinable seedbank. Other prevalent species included purslane speedwell, yellow woodsorrel, Eastern black nightshade, common lambsquarters, and redroot pigweed. Seedbank trends showed that seed density increased after the corn and soybean phases, but decreased after the spelt phase. No-till corn and soybean systems tended to have lower seed density relative to tilled systems, but this was dependent on successful in-season weed control. Interseeding a cover crop in corn helped to reduce returns to the seedbank, with seed density being lower than corn systems which did not employ interseeding. Data for early season damage, pitfall trapping, pheromone trapping, emergence trapping, and fall armyworm for 2017 are being processed. In 2016, predation rate increased as the season progressed with the highest predation occurring at the sampling in August (mean=92.5% eaten). Predation rates did not differ significantly among systems. In the latter two sampling dates, there tended to be a non-significant lower level of predation in System 4 (22.5 % in June and 85% in August) than the other three systems (25%-32.5% in June, 95% for all three in August. Damage to corn by caterpillar pests did not differ among the four systems. We detected a similar rate of infection by the entomopathogenic fungus, Metarhizium, in corn [mean percentage (out of 15)] of infected G. mellonella per sample ± S.E.] of 10 ± 3.4% and in soybean, 8.1 ± 3.7%. Infection of sentinel insects was highest in System 1 (20 ± 4.7%), intermediate is System 4 (11.7 ± 3.7%), and least in Systems 2 (2.5 ± 1.3%) and 3 (3.8 ± 1.8%). In soybean, detection was similar in Systems 4 (8.57 ± 4.8%); 3 (10 ± 4.5%); and 2 (7.5 ± 2.4); and lower in System 1 (3.3 ± 2.3%). At the end of the experiment, we will conduct an analysis to determine the effects of soil characteristics, e.g., labile C, CEC, electrical conductivity, pH, and macro and micronutrients on detection of Metarhizium. Based on weekly samples in 2016, nitrous oxide emissions increased with increasing soil moisture. The rate of increase is greater when the cover crop biomass contains a greater proportion of legumes (>2.5 Mg/ha legume biomass). Emissions were greater in systems receiving manure in the Spring before cover crop termination and incorporated with tillage compared to manure application applied to cover crops in the Fall. No-till corn (S1) had lower summer soil N availability than tilled systems, potentially reducing the leachable soil N pool but negatively impacting yields. There was greater N leaching in interseeded systems, which was unexpected. Cover crop species that winter kill may contribute to increased N leaching in spring due to asynchrony of soil N availability and plant uptake. An online tool, based on the model "Cycles," to simulate different management practice systems has been developed and is currently under testing. It allows simulating a variety of management practices with a visual interface that shows the crop-sequence, tillage, fertilization and if needed irrigation operations. These practices can be changed intuitively using a series of user friendly commands. Current developments include developing a series of pre-build simulations that users can modify, and improving the output visualization (productivity, soil health indicators, N leaching, and other outputs). The tool is hosted on PSU-based server and will be publicly deployed once the graphical outputs are completed.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Keene, C., Curran, W., Wallace, J., Ryan, M., Mirsky, S., VanGessel, M., Barbercheck, M. (2017). Cover crop termination timing is critical in organic rotational no-till systems. Agronomy Journal 109:272-282
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Wallace, J., Williams, A., Liebert, J., Ackroyd, V.J., Vann, R.A., Curran, W.S., Keene, C.L., VanGessel, M.J., Ryan, M.R., Mirsky, S. (2017.) Cover crop-based, organic rotational no-till corn and soybean production systems in the mid-Atlantic United States. Agriculture. 7:34
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Rivers, A., Mullen, C., Wallace, J., & Barbercheck, M. (2017). Cover crop-based reduced tillage system influences Carabidae (Coleoptera) activity, diversity and trophic group during transition to organic production. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 32(6): 538-551. doi:10.1017/S1742170516000466
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2017 Citation: Wallace, J., Keene, C., Curran, W.S., Mirsky, S., Ryan, M.R., VanGessel, M.J. (2017). Integrated weed management strategies in cover crop-based, organic rotational no-till corn and soybean in the mid-Atlantic region. Weed Science. https://doi.org/10.1017/wsc.2017.53

Progress 09/01/15 to 08/31/16

Outputs
Target Audience:To engage our target audience in 2016, we co-facilitated one field day at the on-station research site and one grower network field day at an on-farm research site. The on-station field day hosted visiting organic grain growers and agricultural professionals from Argentina. The field day focused on communication of alternative methods for integrating cover crops and reducing tillage in organic grain systems. The on-farm grower network meeting focused on integrating cover crops into organic grain cropping systems using relay cover cropping practices. Stakeholders attending this field day included: 1) organic grain and vegetable producers, 2) NRCS professionals, 3) Soil & Water Conservation District professionals, 4) organic industry professionals and 5) other interested members of the public. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?There are four graduate students (2 PhDs, 2 MS) currently participating in the ROSE. Their research focus areas include: 1) weed and cover crop management, 2) insect pest management, 3) nutrient cycling and management and 4) greenhouse gas emissions. In 2016, we also employed five undergraduate students who participated in research activities related to ROSE. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We conducted two field-based educational outreach events, hosted visiting scientists and personnel from agricultural NGO's, produced a project newsletter, and contributed to Extension publications. Project participants attended and presented research results at a Penn State Agricultural Systems Symposium, and five scientific conferences. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?There are no changes to the initial project plan.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Weed research: We: 1) sample the weed seedbank in late winter (Mar), 2) harvest weeds by species prior to quantify weed biomass and weed species, 3) harvest weeds in late summer in corn and soybean. To evaluate cover crop performance, we: 1) harvest cover crop biomass and weeds in late springin till- and no-till corn and soybean systems, 2) harvest cover crop biomass 28 days after planting in no-till corn and soybean systems, 3) harvest frost-seeded cover crop biomass and weed biomass prior to spelt harvest, 4) evaluate the effects of corn population on the establishment of interseeded cover crops approximately 28 days after interseeding, 5) quantify clover-timothy forage harvest yields in early September, and 6) harvest cover crop biomass in late October. To evaluate cash crop performance, we: 1) quantify cash crop populations early in the growing season, and 2) quantify cash crop yields at harvest. Arthropod Pests and Predators. We monitored insect communities through the use of dierct counts, emergence and pitfall traps, and sentinel predation traps, and assessed plant damage from early season insect pests and slugs. Crop Performance and Weed Management Results. In 2016, spring cover crop biomass before corn exceeded 4,000 kg/ha. The no-till corn system (S1) produced a significantly higher amount (7,500 kg/ha) compared to other systems. Spring weed biomass levels were similar across all four systems and did not exceed 30 kg/ha. Late summer preharvest weed biomass levels were not different between systems. S1 resulted in the lowest late summer weed biomass. Corn grain yields in S2 were 128 bu/ac and S4, 139 bu/ac. Corn silage yields in S1 were 9.26 tons/ac and in S3 15.57 tons/ac. In no-till soybean, cereal rye biomass averaged 5,450 kg/ha (S1) and 7,400 kg/ha (S2). Annual ryegrass biomass averaged 1,250 kg/ha in tilled soybean. Soybean yields in S1 were higher (42 bu/ac) than other the other no-till bean system (28 bu/ac) and the tilled bean systems (31 bu/ac). Arthropods: Early season predation was slightly higher in S2 (22.5%) and S4 (17.5%) than in S1 and S3 (10% in both) but these differences were not significant (F= 0.71, p=0.56). In later sampling dates, predation was lower in S4 (22.5 % in June; 85% in August) than the other three systems (25%-32.5% in June; 95% for all three in August), but these differences were not significant (F=0.27, p=0.85 in June; F =1.35, p= 0.28 in August). Stalk damage from caterpillars did not differ among systems (F= 0.28, p=0.84). Damage to ears ranged from 372 to 553 plants per acre, and did not differ among treatments (F=0.03, p=0.99). Corn borer larvae tended to be lower in S1(mean = 1081.02/acre) than the other three systems (means= 3166.67, 2469.61, and 2125.0, respectively), but this was not significant (F=0.21, p=0.89). Entomopathogenic Fungi. Averaged across sample dates and systems, mean number of Metarhizium- infected G. mellonella (per sample ± S.E.) was similar in corn (1.5 ± 0.52) and soybean (1.22 ± 0.55). In corn, averaged across both sample dates, detection was highest in S1 (3.0 ± 0.71), intermediate is S4 (1.75 ± 0.55), and least in S2 (0.375 ± 0.19) and S3 (0.875 ± 0.28). In soybean, averaged across both sample dates, detection was similar in S4 (1.75 ± 0.73); S3 (1.5 ± 0.68); and S2 (1.13 ± 0.36); and lower in S1 (0.5 ± 0.35). Soil Research : To monitor nutrient supply to the cash crop and potential losses to the environment we measured extractable soil inorganic nitrogen on a fortnightly basis throughout the growing season. Nutrient uptake by the cash crops as well as nutrient supply and retention by cover crops will be estimated by elemental analysis of biomass samples collected at the time of harvest. Nutrient losses to the environment were measured as potentially leached inorganic nitrogen using subsurface anion resin bags buried at 25cm below the soil surface.Summary Results. Nitrogen Dynamics in Spelt to Corn Phase. The interseeded systems (S3 and S4) maintained soil inorganic N between 1.8 and 2.3 mg N kg-1 dry soil during the summer and fall whereas the tilled system (S2) increased soil NO3- to 17 mg N kg-1 dry soil and the manure-addition system (S1) increased soil NO3- to 47 mg N kg-1 dry soil until three months after spelt harvest when it dropped below 10 mg N kg-1 dry soil. The manure-addition (S1) had the highest NO3- leaching below 25 cm with a mean of 116 kg NO3--N ha-1 leached, but the other systems had similar leaching levels to each other with the tilled system (S2) at 69 kg NO3--N ha-1 leached and the two interseeded systems (S3 and S4) at 76 and 47 kg NO3--N ha-1 leached. The tilled system with the cover crop planted post-harvest (S2) had hot moments in N2O emissions at 57 and 39 g N2O-N ha-1 d-1 following rain events whereas the interseeded system (S3) did not exhibit hot moments and had 16 and 8 g N2O-N ha-1 d-1 on those same sampling days. Results to date illustrate that novel techniques such as manure injection and cover crop inter-seeding can maintain low soil inorganic N and decrease N losses by decreasing N2O emissions without impacting cash crop yields. On-Farm Research : Experiments on 3 farms were designed as a randomized complete block with three treatments: 1) the standard practice of each farmer during the corn-soybean phase of the rotation, 2) interseeding a cover crop mixture into corn, and 3) farmer-designed treatment. The cover crop mixture was annual ryegrass (10 lb ac-1), orchardgrass (10 lb ac-1), and forage radish (10 lb ac-1) established by interseeding vs broadcasting. Summary Results. Late-fall cover crop biomass did not differ among broadcast and interseeding treatments, ranging from 145 to 1230 kg ha-1 dry matter biomass across locations. Forage radish represented a greater proportion of biomass in interseeded treatments compared to broadcasting, whereas orchardgrass represented a greater proportion of biomass in broadcasted treatments compared to interseeding. At two of three locations, no differences in corn grain yields were observed among treatments. Regression analysis indicated that cover crop biomass, particularly forage radish, increased where corn populations declined below 55,000 plt ha-1 and corn grain yields declined with increasing cover crop biomass. Extension: In February 2016, we held our second advisory board meeting to update our advisory board members, extension personnel and cooperating farmers on the progress of the project. In June 2016, we provided a research toour a delegation of farmers and organic certification professionals from Argentina. In October 2016, extension personnel and farmers hosted a grower network meeting at Charvin Farms in Mifflin, PA to learn about potential benefits and constraints of interseeding cover crops into organic grain corn.Based on evaluations, grower and agricultural professional interest in reduced-tillage strategies remains high. However, adoption is likely to remain low until further consistency in crop performance and pest management are demonstrated. Decision Tool Development: In 2016, we developed a Beta-version of a decision support tool that utilizes a process-based simulation model (Cycles) to evaluate how cover crop and tillage decision making influence production and conservation objectives in a typical organic grain system. The advisory group provided significant input on the utility of the tool, and felt the tool had the greatest utility in determining the effect of cover crop, manure and tillage interactions on nutrient management. Several attendees also suggested that the end-user of this tool may be service providers or extension-educators rather than growers.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2017 Citation: Kaye JP, M Quemada (2017) Using cover crops to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Agronomy for Sustainable Development. Accepted  In Press.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2016 Citation: Keene C, Curran W, Wallace J, Ryan M, Mirsky S, VanGessel M, Barbercheck M (2016) Cover crop termination timing is critical in organic rotational no-till systems. Agronomy Journal. In Press.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Keene C, Curran W (2016) Optimizing high-residue cultivation timing and frequency in reduced-tillage soybean and corn. Agronomy Journal. 108:1897-1906
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2017 Citation: Rivers A, Mullen C, Wallace J, Barbercheck M (2016) Cover crop-based reduced tillage system influences Carabidae (Coleoptera) activity, diversity and trophic group during transition to organic production. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. In Press
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Rivers, A, M Barbercheck, B Govaerts, N Verhulst (2016) Conservation agriculture practices contribute to an even arthropod predator assemblage and increased predation in a rainfed maize-wheat system. Applied Soil Ecology 100: 81-90
• Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Barbercheck M, WS Curran (2016) Ch. 11. Organic Crop Production. Pp 137 -146 in: The Agronomy Guide 2015-2016. AGRS-026.
• Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Barbercheck, ME (2016) Contributed to Chapter 4: Soil Health and Fertilizer Management, pp. 79  110, in the Penn State Master Gardener Manual. 2016. 808 pp. AGRS-139.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Wallace J (2016) Fall field days highlight potential for interseeding cover crops on organic farms. Penn State Sustainable Agriculture Spring Newsletter. http://extension.psu.edu/plants/sustainable/news/2016/
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Wallace J, Mazzone T (2016) A new rose in bloom. The ROSE Review: Reduced-tillage Organic Systems Experiment Newsletter. http://agsci.psu.edu/organic/research-and-extension/rotational-no-till/publications/rose-review-winter-2016
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Barbercheck, ME, J Wallace, W Curran, R Hoover (2016) Cover Crop-Based Reduced Tillage in Organic Feed and Forage Cropping Systems. Jornadas de Producci�n Responsable y Diferenciada, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 3 November 2016. [200 attendees]
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Champagne R, W Curran (2016) Alternatives for reducing tillage in organic annual grain systems: implications for weed management. 6th Annual PSU Sustainable Cropping Systems Symposium [55 attendees]
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Champagne R, W Curran, C Keene, J Wallace, T Mazzone (2016) Alternatives for reducing tillage in organic annual grain systems: implications for weed management. Proceedings of Northeastern Plant, Pest and Soils Conference. Philadelphia PA. Vol 1:137.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Champagne R, W Curran, C Keene, J Wallace, T Mazzone (2016) Alternatives for reducing tillage in organic annual grain systems: implications for weed management. Proceedings of 7th International Weed Science Congress. Prague, Czech Republic.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Isbell S, J Kaye, A Kemanian, A Morris (2016) Soil nitrogen supply and retention in ROSE 2.0: Reduced-Tillage Organic Systems Experiment. 6th Annual PSU Sustainable Cropping Systems Symposium [55 attendees]
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Mazzone T, W Curran, J Wallace (2016) No-till organic cover crop performance and weed suppression in Pennsylvania small grains. 6th Annual PSU Sustainable Cropping Systems Symposium [55 attendees]
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Mazzone T, W Curran, J Wallace (2016) No-till organic cover crop performance and weed suppression in Pennsylvania small grains. Proceedings of Northeastern Plant, Pest and Soils Conference. Philadelphia PA. Vol 1:137.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Morris A, J Kaye (2016) Managing interseeded cover crops and tillage to decrease nitrate leaching and nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural soils. Phoenix, AZ: Proceedings of Agronomy Society of America
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Regan K, C Mullen, M Barbercheck (2016) Response of arthropods to organic cover crop-based reduced-tillage cropping systems. 6th Annual PSU Sustainable Cropping Systems Symposium [55 attendees]
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Rivers, A, Barbercheck, M, Stancic, T, Govaerts B, Verhulst N (2016) Mulch affects arthropod assemblage associated with field crops grown under conservation agricultural practices in North America. 26 Sept., 2016. 25th International Congress of Entomology, Orlando, FL. https://esa.confex.com/esa/ice2016/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/105662
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Wallace J, W Curran, R Hoover, S Isbell (2016) Performance of interseeded cover crop mixtures in organic grain corn. Phoenix, AZ: Proceedings of Agronomy Society of America.
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Wallace J (2016) Cover crops: a tool for the critical period of weed control in conservation tillage systems? Penn State Plant Science Seminar. 7 Oct 2016
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Barbercheck, ME (2016) That's how we roll, or not: Reducing tillage in an organic cropping system. Invited seminar. Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA. 18 October 2016
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Barbercheck M (2016) AGECO144 Principles and Practices of Organic Agriculture (Co-instructor with H. Karsten) [35 students]
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Curran W (2015) Introduction to organic weed management. Guest Lecture at Ohio State University. [30 students] Nov 30, 2015
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Wallace J (2016) Principles of organic grain production. Guest Lecture: AGRO28 Principles of Crop Management. Pennsylvania State University.
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Barbercheck, M. (2016) Cover crop mixtures and insect-parasitic fungi in organic cropping systems. Organic Cropping Systems Field Day. 6 October 2016. Charvin Farm, Mifflin, PA. 9:00 am  2:00 pm.
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Wallace J, T Mazzone, R Champagne, K Regan, A Morris, S Isbell, A Kemanian (2016) Project Update: Reduced-Tillage Organic Systems Experiment.Project Advisory Board Meeting. Feb 2016
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Wallace J, W Curran, M Barbercheck, J Kaye (2016) An Overview of the Reduced-Tillage Organic Systems Experiment. Field day organized for agricultural delegation for Argentinian delegation and Rodale Institute. Russell E. Larsen Agricultural Research Center. June 16, 2016
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Wallace J, W Curran, C Keene, M Ryan, S Mirsky, D Mortensen (2016) Cover cropping strategies for organic weed management: lessons learned from organic annual grain systems. Empire State Producers Expo. Syracuse NY. [75 attendees]
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Barbercheck, M. Co-organizer (w/Katie Miller). USAID East Africa Delegation visit to discuss research and extension on cover crops, reduced tillage, and soil health in organic cropping systems. 10 October 2016. 11:00 am  3:00 pm, Russell E. Larsen Research Center, Rock Springs, PA.
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Bozak E, J Wallace, E Murrell, R Hoover, E Ranck, M Ranck (2016) Cover Crop Field Day at Charvin Farms: A joint field day with Penn State ROSE and Cover Crop Cocktail Projects. 7 Oct 2016 [47 attendees]
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Curran WS (2016) Exploring cover crop establishment and termination timing for increased cash crop performance. Pacific Northwest Direct Seed Cropping Systems Conference, Kennewick, WA. Presented to 30 attendees. January 12, 2016.
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Curran WS (2016) Interseeding cover crops in corn and soybean. Presented a webinar to over 50 people from all over the US on our research progress to date of cover crop interseeding. Broadcast via Adobe Connect on April 11, 2016. (http://extension.psu.edu/plants/sustainable/courses/cover-crop-innovations-webinar-series/webinars/interseeding-cover-crops-in-corn-and-soybean).
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Curran WS, D Mortensen (2016) Weed management in organic cropping systems. USDA-NRCS Science and Technology Training Library. Presented to over 100 on June 7 webinar posted at http://www.conservationwebinars.net/webinars/weed-management-in-organic-cropping-systems?searchterm=organic+weed+mana.

Progress 09/01/14 to 08/31/15

Outputs
Target Audience:To engage our target audience in 2015, we co-facilitated and participated in three field days at the on-station research site and at two grower network meetings at on-farm research sites. We hosted an on-station tour of the research-station site for visiting organic grain growers and agricultural professionals from Argentina. The field tour focused on discussion of alternative methods for integrating cover crops and reducing tillage in organic grain systems. We hosted an on-station field day to introduce our project and concepts to the PSU Field Crop and Forages Extension Team (FCFT). PSU-FCFET is comprised of faculty and county extension agronomy educators. We hosted a third field day in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) as part of their 2015 Soil Health Summer Conference. This event focused on exchange of ideas with diverse stakeholders interested in soil health and sustainable agriculture. On-farm grower network meetings focused on exchanging ideas about cover crop integration and reduced-tillage methods on organic farms with diverse stakeholders, including: 1) organic grain and vegetable producers, 2) NRCS professionals, 3) Soil & Water Conservation District professionals, 4) organic industry professionals (fertilizer and organic poultry production), and 5) other interested members of the public. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?In the spring of 2015, we recruited four graduate students (2 PhDs, 2 MS) to the project. Their research focus areas include: 1) weed and cover crop management, 2) insect pest management, 3) nutrient cycling and management and 4) greenhouse gas emissions. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Research results from the 2014-2015 growing season were disseminated through facilitation or participation in multiple field days listed below: Barbercheck, M.E. (2015) Dung Beetles and Wormers. The Forum at the International Livestock Expo, Harrisburg, PA. 2 October 2015. Barbercheck, M.E. (2015)Entomology in organic reduced-tillage and cover crop research. PASA Soil Management Summer Conference. 6 August 2015. Russell E. Larsen Agricultural Research Center. Barbercheck, M.E. and Mortensen, D.A. (2015) Organic reduced-tillage and cover crop research. Field day organized for agricultural delegation from Argentina. Russell E. Larsen Agricultural Research Center. 18 June 2015. 24 attendees. Barbercheck, M.E. (2015) Soil health assessment: What are some of the "alternative" soil tests and what do they measure? Crop Management Webinar Series. 23 February 2015. 49 attendees. Hartmann, D., Hoover, H., Wallace, J., Hoover R (2015) Southeastern Pennsylvania Organic Field Crop Growers Network Meeting: Interseeder Cover Crop Trials for Organic Field Crops. 9 Oct. 2015 Hautau, M., Esbenshade, W., Wallace, J., Hoover, R. (2015) Organic Crop Growers Network Meeting - Central Susquehanna Valley: Evaluation of interseeding cover crops into organic grain corn. 1 Oct. 2015. Regan, K. and M.E. Barbercheck. (2015) Entomology in organic reduced-tillage and cover crop research. Field and Forage Crop Team In-Service. Russell E. Larsen Agricultural Research Center. 7 July 2015. Wallace, J. (2015) An Overview of the Reduced-Tillage Organic Systems Experiment. Field and Forage Crop Team In-Service. Russell E. Larsen Agricultural Research Center. 7 July 2015. Wallace et al. (2015) An Introduction to ROSE 2.0: Reduced-Tillage Organic Systems Experiment. Project Advisory Board Meeting. Wallace, J. (2015)An Overview of the Reduced-Tillage Organic Systems Experiment. Field day organized for agricultural delegation from Argentina. Russell E. Larsen Agricultural Research Center. 18 June 2015. 24 attendees. 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:We initiated the organic reduced-tillage experiment in 2014-2015 at PSU-RELARC in certified organic cropland. See proposal for experimental design. Data was collected using methods described in the proposal for various grower priorities: 1) weed suppression, 2) insect pest suppression, 3) cover crop performance, 4) nitrogen dynamics and 5) cash crop performance. At cover crop termination in late spring (May) prior to corn planting, weed biomass was below 150 lb ac-1. Prior to soybean planting, spring weed biomass ranged from 100 to 450 lb ac-1. Weed biomass was greatest where cereal rye was established the previous fall with the chisel plow, rather than moldboard plow. Establishing spelt using inversion tillage reduced peak summer weed biomass (143 lb ac-1) in comparison to no-till and minimum-tillage (~400 lb ac-1). The greatest amount of herbivory on plants during early season assessments in 2015 was from slug feeding. Slug feeding was found on ~60% of plants during the early season assessment with no difference among treatments. Cutting damage from Lepidopteran pests ranged from 18% to 32% of plants affected. No discernable difference in predation rates among treatments could be seen on three out of four sampling dates. The only date that differed among treatments was just after cash crop emergence with greater predation occurring in hairy vetch systems. No fall armyworm caterpillars were collected in 2015 and damage characteristic of this caterpillar was low. Chewing herbivory was variable among treatments but ranged from 3% to 11%. No European corn borers were collected from plants in hairy vetch systems, while caterpillars were present on 22% of plants in red clover systems. Prior to corn planting, spring cover crop biomass accumulation ranged from 3,000 to 6,000 lb ac-1. Due to delayed planting, hairy + triticale biomass was significantly greater in the no-till corn system. Biomass accumulation was similar across tilled systems that utilized hairy vetch + triticale or red clover + timothy. Prior to soybean planting, biomass accumulation of cereal rye was significantly higher than the interseeded mix. However, cereal rye was below targeted levels for adequate weed suppression in no-till soybean. The interseeded mixture produced significantly greater biomass than cereal rye in late fall. Nitrogen provisioning from the hairy vetch cover crop did not differ between tilled and no-till systems despite delayed termination in the no-till system. In tilled systems terminated at the same time, nitrogen provisioning from hairy vetch (~ 175 lb N ac-1) was significantly higher than red clover systems (~ 125 lb N ac-1). Nitrogen provisioning did not differ across no-till and tilled soybean systems, though provisioning from cereal rye was nominally higher (42 lb N ac-1) in comparison to annual ryegrass + orchardgrass + forage radish systems (~ 35 lb N ac-1). The tilled corn silage system resulted in greater silage yields (17 tn ac-1) in comparison to no-till corn silage (11 tn ac-1). Corn grain yields averaged 145 bu ac-1. In corn grain systems, cover crops did not influence corn grain yields. Soybean yields averaged 33 bu ac-1 across cropping systems. No differences were observed between no-till and tilled systems. Spelt yield (2,760 lb ac-1) did not differ among cropping systems. Due to our focus on long-term cropping system effects, determination of outcomes of cropping system effects on the suite of grower identified priorities are in progress. Objective 2:In May 2015, three cooperating farmers in Union, Mifflin and Lancaster County, Pennsylvania initiated on-farm experiments focused on evaluating interseeding as a method for establishing cover crops after grain corn. If adopted, this practice has the potential to reduce tillage frequency in comparison to a full-tillage system that integrates cover crops. Experiments were designed as a randomized complete block with three treatments: 1) the standard practice of each farmer during the corn-soybean phase of the rotation, 2) interseeding a cover crop mixture at the V5-V6 corn stage, and 3) an alternative strategy for integrating cover crops during this phase designed by the farmer. Each farmer chose to broadcast the same cover crop mixture at last cultivation. The cover crop mixture was annual ryegrass (10 lb ac-1) + orchardgrass (10 lb ac-1) + forage radish (10 lb ac-1). This provided a direct comparison of establishment methods (interseeding vs broadcasting). The experiment will be terminated at soybean planting and will be replicated in 2016-2017 in a different corn field on each cooperating farm. Data was collected using on-station methodologies. Cover crop establishment was successful using both the interseeding and broadcast methods across the three field trials. Linear ground cover of interseeded cover crops averaged 72% approximately 1 mo after interseeding. Ground cover of broadcasted cover crops averaged 55% approximately 1 mo after interseeding. Though cover crop establishment was similar across field trials, the composition of cover crops differed. Trends suggest that forage radish abundance increases as corn population decreases. Analysis of corn yields and other associated data is on-going. We are near completion of our first year of field trials that will be replicated in 2016. Objective 3: In February 2015, we held our first advisory board meeting to introduce our non-PSU advisory board members, extension personnel and cooperating farmers to the Reduced-Tillage Organic Systems Experiment (ROSE) project. In June 2015, we hosted a delegation of farmers and organic certification professionals from Argentine at PSU-RELARC. In October 2015, cooperating extension personnel and farmers hosted a grower network meeting at two of our three cooperating farms to highlight the interseeding field trials. Farmers completed a questionnaire at the advisory board meeting. The questionnaire was written to gauge farmer perceptions about the benefits and constraints of reducing the frequency or intensity of tillage. The data will help facilitate the development of decision support tools (see Objective 4) in years 3 and 4 of this project. Farmers recognized the potential benefits of reducing tillage but had different opinions about what benefits were most important. Farmers generally felt that potential reductions in soil erosion and improvements in soil quality were more important than reductions in fuel inputs or labor costs. However, farmers agreed on the most important constraints to reducing tillage. Weed management was cited as the most important barrier to adoption of reduced tillage practices. Other factors that were cited as being an important constraint included insect-pest management, residue management, manure incorporation and cover crop management factors such as narrow growing windows. Through participatory research with on-farm collaborators, we were able to increase farmer knowledge of the potential benefits of interseeding as a method for integrating cover crops in corn grain systems while reducing the intensity or frequency of tillage. Objective 4:This objective is in development and will be a primary focus of years 3 and 4 of this project.

Publications

• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Keene, C (2015) Agronomic performance of a reduced-tillage organic grain crop rotation. Ph.D Dissertation. The Pennsylvania State University. August 2015.
• Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Barbercheck, M. (2015) Carabid Beetles: Your Allies on the Ground. March 2015 Newsletter, Pennsylvania Certified Organic. http://www.paorganic.org/carbid-beetles-your-allies-on-the-ground
• Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Barbercheck, M., W.S. Curran. (2015) Ch. 11. Organic Crop Production. Pp 137  146 in: The Agronomy Guide 2015-2016. AGRS02
• Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: White, C., Barbercheck, M., Bates, B. (2015) Ch. 1 Introduction to organic farming and the national organic standards. Pp. 1  7 in: PSU Organic Crop Production Guide. C. White, M. Barbercheck, W. Curran (co-editors). AGRS-124
• Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Barbercheck, M., Tooker, J. (2015) Ch. 8. Insect Management. PP 151-162 in: PSU Organic Crop Production Guide. C. White, M. Barbercheck, W. Curran (co-editors). AGRS-124
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Barbercheck, M. A.Rivers, R. Jabbour, T. Pisani-Gareau, C. Mullen. (2015) Arthropods in Organic Reduced Tillage Systems. ASA-CSSA-SSSA-ESA Joint Annual Meeting, St. Paul, MN, Nov. 14-19. (Invited Symposium--Organic Crop Management to Enhance Insect Ecology)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Keene, C., W. Curran, S. Mirsky, and M. VanGessel. (2015) The legacy matters: cover crop management in organic rotational no-till. ASA-CSSA-SSSA. Long Beach, CA. November 3, 2014. Oral presentation.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Keene, C., W. Curran, M. Dempsey, and J. Wallace (2015) Success and challenges of cover crop management in the Reduced Tillage Organic Systems Experiment. American Seed Trade Association. Washington, D.C. June 17-20, 2015. Poster presentation.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Rivers, A., C. Mullen, M. Barbercheck. (2015) Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting, St. Paul, MN, Nov. 14-19. Cover crop species and termination timing influence Carabidae assemblage in 3-year transition to organic. Poster Presentation.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Wallace J., M. Ryan, C. Keene, S. Mirsky, M. VanGessel and W. Curran (2015) Influence of cover crop termination timing and high-residue inter-row cultivation on weed communities in a reduced-till organic grain system. Lexington, KY: Proceedings of Weed Science Society of America
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Wallace J., Barbercheck, M., Curran, W., Kaye, J., Kemanian, A. (2015) Reduced-Tillage Toolbox: An Introduction to the Reduced-Tillage Organic Systems Experiment. Penn State Sustainable Cropping Systems Symposium. Mar 2015. University Park, PA
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Keene, C., W. Curran, J. Wallace, S. Mirsky, M. VanGessel, M. Ryan, and M. Barbercheck (2015) Corn, soybean, and wheat yields in an organic rotational no-till system during the three-year transition. Weed Science Society of America. Lexington, KY. February 10, 2015. Poster presentation.