Source: TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY submitted to NRP
ENHANCING RESOURCE EFFICIENCY BY INTEGRATING LEGUMES AND COPRODUCTS INTO MODERN AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
HATCH
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1020040
Grant No.
(N/A)
Cumulative Award Amt.
(N/A)
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Jun 26, 2019
Project End Date
Jun 12, 2024
Grant Year
(N/A)
Program Code
[(N/A)]- (N/A)
Recipient Organization
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
750 AGRONOMY RD STE 2701
COLLEGE STATION,TX 77843-0001
Performing Department
Corpus Christi-TAMU Agr Res
Non Technical Summary
The world population is expected to exceed 9 billion in 40 years (United Nations, 2011). Soil conservation and improved efficiency of resource (water and fertilizer) use is critical to feeding this growing population. The pressure that agriculture is facing to produce more food while conserving natural resources such as soil, water, and nutrients is compounded by an increase in the middle-income population and the related demand for food, fuel, and fiber. Conservation agriculture and resource efficient technologies are available in the United States but are only regionally adopted. Advances in plant genetics and machinery, and availability of cheap energy and inorganic fertilizer greatly improved agricultural productivity during the Green Revolution. The Green Revolution resulted in a shift from diverse agricultural enterprises into highly mechanized and specialized production units. Today, a growing awareness is emerging that the stability and resiliency of agricultural lands appear to be impaired by specialization, concentration of operations, and expansion of scale which have compartmentalized and disrupted nutrient cycling far removed from natural ecosystem cycling (Gates, 2003; Franzluebbers, 2007).In the South Texas Plains, the primary agriculture commodities produced are cotton, corn, and cattle. Steadily decreasing water availability, more frequent and severe drought conditions, and increasing costs of fuel, fertilizer, and labor require maximum efficiency for economically and environmentally stable agricultural systems. As a result of these economic drivers, land tracts are still large, but average acreage is decreasing and where cattle are produced, the primary profit is shifting from beef cattle production to wildlife hunting leases. New management practices that maximize resource efficiency and conserve natural resources are necessary in order to maintain agriculture production in south Texas. One of these management shifts is the replacement of introduced forages with native forages in pastures. Besides providing nutrition for grazing livestock, forages in the region are also important for maintaining water quality and providing erosion control along waterways and near the Gulf of Mexico. Using forages for soil remediation caused by salt contamination and in rotation with traditional row cropping systems also has potential for this region in the future. Another management shift is the introduction of conservation tillage into the region, which may increase the potential success of cover crops, which reduce soil erosion. Conservation tillage has been shown to decrease soil erosion, soil temperatures, and evaporative water loss, and increase water infiltration (Pimentel et al., 1995; Reeves, 1997; Kay and VandenBygaart, 2002). Since increases in soil organic C (SOC) and decreases in mechanical soil disturbance are two hallmarks of conservation tillage systems, a conservation tillage system is expected to improve water capture and availability over the long-term timeframe. Research in other regions indicates that although water is lost from cover crops through evapotranspiration the total soil moisture increases when conservation tillage is also used (Reeves, 1994). The present push towards production of sustainable bioenergy through the cultivation of cellulosic feedstocks may also present new opportunities for forage use.Research, especially regionally focused in south Texas, is lacking in regards to improvements in resource use efficiency associated with the transition of introduced pastures to native forages, the use of forages as cover crops in conservation tillage systems, the integration of legumes into rotational cropping systems, the use of forages for cellulosic ethanol, and how various management practices may impact these systems. Because agriculture production in south Texas is diverse, this program is broad and seeks to fill this identified knowledge gap by evaluating the use of forages and their management for livestock, wildlife, erosion control, salt remediation, and bioenergy. Using forages to improve the resource use efficiency of agriculture systems will improve the system as a whole. Unifying this program of interest is the use of legumes and forbs with a systems research approach. Information gathered with this program may provide sustainable remedies for problems facing livestock production, bioremediation, biofuels, and crop production practices. The vision of this program is to be a nationally recognized and respected Forage Management Program with groundbreaking research and competitive graduate student training. The Forage Management Program will perform research that maintains or improves forage production while maintaining or enhancing resource (water, fertilizer, energy) efficiency. Graduate training will be a primary component of the research and education within this program.
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
20507801060100%
Knowledge Area
205 - Plant Management Systems;

Subject Of Investigation
0780 - Grasslands, other;

Field Of Science
1060 - Biology (whole systems);
Goals / Objectives
Evaluate native and introduced grasses, forbs, and legumes, and their management, for potential to maintain and improve the productivity and nutritive value of grazing systems in order to improve resource efficiency.Evaluate forages adapted to South Texas and their management to enhance the secondary income of livestock operations, including wildlife production, soil amendments, cover cropping, biofuels, and improved water quantity/quality.Determine the feasibility of utilization of new co-products, forage cultivars, and/or forage species as necessary.Identify and evaluate feasibility of emerging technologies, such as remote sensing, that have application for forage and crop research and management.
Project Methods
Objective 1. (Evaluate Forage Grasses, Forbs, and Legumes) Forages will be grown as monocultures and as mixtures in replicated (three or more) small plots. Irrigation may be necessary to establish crops; however, is not representative of the area and will only be used up to historical averages. Management factors may include irrigation, fertilizer, soil amendments, crop rotation, cover cropping, tillage, among others. Field measurements will include forage yield and soil nitrogen and carbon cycling and will be conducted over multiple locations when feasible. Laboratory analysis will include crude protein, and both neutral and acid detergent fiber concentrations and digestibility. Measures of crop physiology and soil moisture content may be made. Additional experimentation to determine protein fractionization and fiber degradation rates will be conducted on forages with the most promise for improving the efficiency of livestock production. Data will be analyzed with SAS. Successful entries will provide a large herbage yield and greater nutritive value than that of commonly grazed species. Selected forages will also be adapted to the region (water and nutrient use efficient), easily established, and show persistence through multiple growing seasons. In addition, selected forages must have a niche such that they complement or change current systems.Objective 2. (Evaluate Forages for Secondary Uses) Species studied will include grasses, legumes, and forbs and these experiments will be primarily in replicated (three or more) small plots. This work will be part of Objective 1 so that recommendations for the optimum use of these forages and how they fit into a production system can be made. Irrigation application, field measurements, laboratory analysis, and data analysis will be similar to that of Objective 1. Secondary uses for forages in the region include cellulosic biofuel feedstocks, soil amendments such as green manures, wildlife production (seeds, forage and habitat), soil conservation (cover crops), native grasslands, and savannah restoration.Objective 3. (Evaluate new co-products, cultivars, and species) Co-products are imperative to the economic feasibility of many new industries, such as that of algal biofuel. Evaluation of how co-products may enhance the resource efficiency of current agricultural systems must be conducted before they can be adopted on a large scale. Additionally, evaluation of new forage cultivars and species must be conducted in research before they are recommended to land owners. This objective is more forward thinking and industry focused than that of the other objectives.Objective 4. (Remote sensing applications for forage and crop research and management) Ground truth data, including measures of plant height, herbage mass, leaf area index, SPAD, and leaf: stem ratio, will be taken to compare to remotely collected images. This objective is highly collaborative and includes engineers and computer scientists. Data is processed through UAS Hub and other software, including regression using SAS.

Progress 10/01/19 to 09/30/20

Outputs
Target Audience:Texas A&M AgriLife Extension; Texas Beef Producers; Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association; Texas DairyAssociation; Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers Association; South Texas cattle and small ruminant producers; South Texascotton and sorghum growers; American Society of Animal Science; American Society of Dairy Science; American Society ofAgronomy; Crop Science Society of America; Soil Science Society of America; Texas Department of Agriculture; TexasDepartment of Transportation; Texas Parks and Wildlife Department; Department of Energy; Natural ResourcesConservation Service; International agriculture Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?4 M.S. students served on committee; 1 graduated; 3 currently on committee 1 PhD student as Chair and 2 served on committee 2 undergraduate students supervised, 19 student poster or oral presentations Co-supervise Postdoctoral researcher Courses: Introduction to Forages. Guest Lecture for General Plant Sciences (SCH 1407). Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Kingsville, TX. 1. Basic Review and Definitions 2. Environmental Considerations 3. Warm-Season Perennial Grasses: Old World Bluestems 4. Warm-Season Annual Grasses 5. Warm-Season Legumes 6. Conserved Forages: Hay, Baleage, and Silage. Texas A&M University. Distance Education International Beef Cattle Academy Certificate Program. Forage Production and Utilization. College Station, TX. Seminars: Texas State Forage Physiology Report (NCCC 31). Remote Meeting. Fertilizing: Options and Accurate Prescriptions. 2020 Advocating for Agriculture, Texas A&M AgriLife Corpus Christi Based Specialists. Selection and Management of Introduced and Native Grasses. Texas A&M AgriLife Extenstion of Jackson County, Virtual Event. Soil and Water Conservation in South Texas Cropping Systems. Karnes County Soil and Water Conservation District. Kenedy, TX. Service: Reviewer, Crop, Forage & Turfgrass Management Reviewer, Agronomy Journal Reviewer, Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, FFAR, Sustainable Water Management. Reviewer, Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, FFAR, Plant Protein Enhancement. Reviewer, AFRI-NIFA, Federal Grant Peer Review Panelist. Reviewer, Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Professional Development Program Review Panel. Crop Science Society of America. Golden Opportunity Mentor. 2019-2020. NCCC 31 Hatch Committee Texas A&M AgriLife Research State Representative: Ecophysiological Aspects of Forages. Texas A&M AgriLife Research Professional Services Customer Advisory Committee. Girl Scouts of Greater South Texas, Board of Directors. Vice President. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Publications, student training and teaching, extension and other programs and seminars as previously listed. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1. Evaluate native and introduced grasses, forbs, and legumes, and their management, for potential to maintain and improve the productivity and nutritive value of grazing systems in order to improve resource efficiency. A state-wide effort to determine the prussic acid concentration of johnsongrass after drought or freeze conditions is in progress. To not graze johnsongrass after an extreme weather event has been dogma shared with cattle producers for a long-time; however, data to determine how to best manage the potential for prussic acid toxicity is lacking. The efforts of this research should result in more precise recommendations that will increase grazing days when johnsongrass is present in a pasture. The second, and final, year of a collaborative project with Extension and Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK) evaluating weed management in novel imidazolinone tolerant sorghum was completed. The results of this research have implications to the reduction of chemical application and increased available tools to growers of sorghum. Two M.S. students at TAMUK are conducting in situ ruminal incubations of legumes and grass combinations stored as hay or silage to attempt to determine the mechanism of increased nitrogen use efficiency by cattle fed polyphenol oxidase containing forage. 2. Evaluate forages adapted to South Texas and their management to enhance the secondary income of livestock operations, including wildlife production, soil amendments, cover cropping, biofuels, and improved water quantity/quality. A project evaluating the use of native grasses and forbs for bioenergy is in initiation stages. This would allow an additional use for rangelands or fields planted to native species, thereby, reducing investment risks. FieldPrint calculator is an opportunity to quantify sustainable change over time of farming systems, and I have participated in efforts to increase use of this program by cotton farmers. Along with this effort, is collaborating with Soil Health Institute to educate farmers about sustainable practices, including reduced tillage and cover cropping. Two long-term soil health projects are in progress. The first is an annual rotation of cotton and sorghum managed with either no-tillage or full tillage. The second is wheat as a primary crop managed with no-tillage, strip-tillage, or full tillage overlaid with various summer double-crops, cover crops, or fallow control. A new experiment was initiated at a >30-year old annual cotton-sorghum rotation no-tillage field to incorporate tillage, cover crops, and sorghum residue retention as replicated treatments. 3. Determine the feasibility of utilization of new co-products, forage cultivars, and/or forage species as necessary. The project evaluating weed management in novel imidazolinone tolerant sorghum in objective 1 also overlaps with this objective. In addition, the in situ incubations from objective 1 and native forage as bioenergy experiment from objective 2 overlaps to this objective. 4. Identify and evaluate feasibility of emerging technologies, such as remote sensing, that have application for forage and crop research and management. Two primary projects are in progress in collaboration with Extension and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. The first is using UAS-derived phenotypic parameters to develop an artificial neural network to estimate herbage mass and carbon content. The second is identification of brush species and oak trees in UAS-derived imagery of rangelands.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Garcia, A., G. Schuster, J.L. Foster, A. Umphres, and J. McGinty. 2020. Weed management systems in Imidazolinone tolerant grain sorghum. ASA-CSSA-SSSA 2020 International Meetings, Virtual, Nov. 8-11. (Abstr.)
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Bekewe, P.E., H.L. Neely, C.B. Neely, J.L. Foster, K.L. Lewis, T.W. Boutton, B. Gerrish, and A.J. Gyawali. 2020. Comparing soil health parameters in no-till and conventional tillage farms across three ecoregions in Texas. ASA-CSSA-SSSA 2020 International Meetings, Virtual, Nov. 8-11. (Abstr.)
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Burke, J.A., K.L. Lewis, and J.L. Foster. 2020. Moisture use, decomposition, and nutrient cycling of cover crops on Texas High Plains cotton production. ASA-CSSA-SSSA 2020 International Meetings, Virtual, Nov. 8-11. (Abstr.)
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Dube, N., A. Chang, X. Shen, J. Landivar, and J.L. Foster. 2020. Unmanned aircraft system (UAS) based forage biomass prediction using an artificial neural network. ASA-CSSA-SSSA 2020 International Meetings, Virtual, Nov. 8-11. (Abstr.)
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Shen, X, J. Landivar, A. Chang, N. Dube, and J.L. Foster. 2020. Identifying botanical composition and accuracy assessment on high-resolution imagery of grassland mixtures. ASA-CSSA-SSSA 2020 International Meetings, Virtual, Nov. 8-11. (Abstr.)
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Cardenas, S., A. Bhandari, A. Umphres, J.L. Foster, J. Landivar, and N. Dube. 2020. Response of high yielding cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) varieties to potassium fertilizer application in dryland south Texas. ASA-CSSA-SSSA 2020 International Meetings, Virtual, Nov. 8-11. (Abstr.)
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Pintar, J., A.J. Gyawali, A.P. Smith, H. Neely, J.L. Foster, and P. Bekewe. 2020. Developing spatial sampling strategies for monitoring microbial exoenzyme activity for soil health. ASA-CSSA-SSSA 2020 International Meetings, Virtual, Nov. 8-11. (Abstr.)
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Foster, J.L., P.E. Bekewe, H.L. Neely, C.B. Neely, L.E. Tomlin, and K.L. Lewis. 2020. Wheat double cropping systems to improve soil health. Soil and Water Conservation International Annual Conference, Virtual, Jul. 26-29. (Abstr.)
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Victoria, M., H.R. Leggette, J.L. Foster, H. Neely, C. Neely, K. Lewis, P. Bekewe, B.J. Gerrish, and J. Parrella. 2020. Minding the microbes: The adoption of soil health management techniques by Oklahoma wheat producers. Soil and Water Conservation International Annual Conference, Virtual, Jul. 26-29. (Abstr.)
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Garcia, A., J.A. McGinty, J.L. Foster, G. Schuster, and A. Umphres. 2020. Weed management systems in imidazolinone tolerant grain sorghum in south Texas. Weed Science Society of American Annual Meeting. Maui, HI, Mar 2-5. (Abstr.)
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Bekewe, P.E., H.L. Neely, C.B. Neely, J.L. Foster, K.L. Lewis, B. Gerrish, L.E. Tomlin, and T.W. Boutton. 2020. Building soil health and food security in wheat-based cropping systems in Texas. Soil Survey and Land Resource Workshop, College Station, TX, Feb. 6-7. (Abstr.)
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Victoria, M., H.R. Leggette, J.L. Foster, H. Neely, C. Neely, K. Lewis, P. Bekewe, B.J. Gerrish, and J. Parrella. 2020. Measuring adoption of soil health practices of wheat producers in Texas. National Agricultural Communication Symposium, Louisville, KY, Feb. 2-3. (Abstr.)
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Garcia, A., J.L. Foster, G. Schuster, A. Umphres, and J.A. McGinty. 2020. Weed management systems in imidazolinone tolerant sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) in south Texas. Subtropical Agriculture and Environments Society, Weslaco, TX, Feb. 7. (Abstr.)
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Jennings, J., and J.L. Foster. 2020. Legume Structure and Morphology. In: D. Redfearn, et al., editors, Forages: The Science of Grassland Agriculture. Vol. II, 7th ed., Wiley-Blackwell, Hoboken, NJ.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Fears, R., J.L. Foster, and C.A. Clark. 2020. Farmers first: Growing the right grass. The Eagle Land and Livestock Post, Bryan, TX, Mar 30.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Norris, A., L.O. Tedeschi, J.L. Foster, J.P. Muir, K.D. Casey, and W. Pinchak. 2020. The effect of quebracho (Schinopsis balansae) condensed tannin extract fed to steers on seasonal fecal gas flux. J. Enivron. Qual. 49: 1225-1235. doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.20110
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Smith, W.B., J. Banta, J.L. Foster, L. Redmon, T. Machado, L. Tedeschi, and M. Rouquette. 2020. Evaluation of growth performance and carcass characteristics of beef stocker cattle grazing Tifton 85 bermudagrass supplemented with dried distillers grains with solubles then finished in feedlot. Appl. Anim. Sci. 36: 308-319. doi.org/10.15232/aas.2019-01907
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Norris, A., L.O. Tedeschi, J.L. Foster, J.P. Muir, W. Pinchak, and M. Fonseca. 2020. Inclusion of Quebracho tannin extract in a high-roughage cattle diet alters digestibility, nitrogen balance, and energy partitioning. J. Animal Sci. 93: doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaa047
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Xu, Y., N. Porter, J.L. Foster, J.P. Muir, P. Schwab, B.L. Burson, and R.W. Jessup. 2020. Silica production across candidate lignocellulosic biorefinery feedstocks. Agronomy. 10:82. doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10010082
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Norris, A., L.O. Tedeschi, J.L. Foster, J.P. Muir, W. Pinchak, and M. Fonseca. 2020. Influence of quebracho tannin extract fed at differing rates within a high-roughage diet on the apparent digestibility of dry matter and fiber, nitrogen balance, and fecal gas flux. Animal Feed Science & Technology. 260: doi.org/10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2019.114365
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Gyawali, A.J., A. Peyton Smith, H. Neely, R. Ghimire, J. Pintar, C. Neely, K. Lewis, and J.L. Foster. 2020. Assessing soil health in South Central United States. ASA-CSSA-SSSA 2020 International Meetings, Virtual, Nov. 8-11. (Abstr.)
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Bean, G.M., D.K. Bagnall, S.B. Cappellazzi, M. Cope, K.L.H. Greub, D. Liptzin, C.E. Norris, E.L. Rieke, P.W. Tracy, C.W. Honeycutt, C.L.S. Morgan, and Consortium of NAPESHM Partnering Scientists. 2020. Soil hydraulic properties as indicators of soil health: Measurement response to management and inherent soil properties. ASA-CSSA-SSSA 2020 International Meetings, Virtual, Nov. 8-11. (Abstr.)
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Greub, K.L.H., K. Flynn, J.A. Howe, D.K. Bagnall, G.M. Bean, S.B. Cappellazzi, M. Cope, D. Liptzin, C.E. Norris, E.L. Rieke, P.W. Tracy, C.L.S. Morgan, C.W. Honeycutt, and Consortium of NAPESHM Partnering Scientists. 2020. Assessing the sensitivity and utility of aggregate stability methods for soil health evaluation. ASA-CSSA-SSSA 2020 International Meetings, Virtual, Nov. 8-11. (Abstr.)
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Bagnall, D.K., S. Cappallazzi, G.M. Bean, M. Cope, D. Liptzin, K.L.H. Greub, E.L. Rieke, C.E. Norris, C.L.S. Morgan, C.W. Honeycutt, P.W. Tracy, and NAPSHM Collaborators. 2020. Management-Sensitive Pedotransfer Functions for Plant-Available Water Holding Capacity. ASA-CSSA-SSSA 2020 International Meetings, Virtual, Nov. 8-11. (Abstr.)
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Liptzin, D., G.M. Bean, S.B. Cappellazzi, M. Cope, K.L.H. Greub, C.E. Norris, E.L. Rieke, P.W. Tracy, C.W. Honeycutt, C.L.S. Morgan, and Consortium of NAPESHM Partnering Scientists. 2020. Carbon indicators of soil health: Relationships among indicators and the role of management and intrinsic factors. ASA-CSSA-SSSA 2020 International Meetings, Virtual, Nov. 8-11. (Abstr.)
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Rieke, E.L., G.M. Bean, S.B. Cappellazzi, M. Cope, K.L.H. Greub, C.E. Norris, D. Liptzin, P.W. Tracy, C.W. Honeycutt, C.L.S. Morgan, and Consortium of NAPESHM Partnering Scientists. 2020. Assessment of targeted amplicon sequencing as an indicator of soil health. ASA-CSSA-SSSA 2020 International Meetings, Virtual, Nov. 8-11. (Abstr.)
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Cappellazzi, S.B., E.L. Rieke, D. Liptzin, K.L.H. Greub, M. Cope, G.M. Bean, C.E. Norris, P.W. Tracy, C.L.S. Morgan, C.W. Honeycutt, and Consortium of NAPESHM Partnering Scientists. 2020. Comparing the usefulness of nitrogen measurements for use in soil health assessments. ASA-CSSA-SSSA 2020 International Meetings, Virtual, Nov. 8-11. (Abstr.)
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: 1. Cope, M., G.M. Bean, S.B. Cappellazzi, K.L.H. Greub, D. Liptzin, C.E. Norris, E.L. Rieke, P.W. Tracy, C.W. Honeycutt, C.L.S. Morgan, and Consortium of NAPESHM Partnering Scientists. 2020. Towards Quantitative Ratings That Reflect Soil Health Principles: Soil Tillage Intensity. ASA-CSSA-SSSA 2020 International Meetings, Virtual, Nov. 8-11. (Abstr.)


Progress 06/26/19 to 09/30/19

Outputs
Target Audience:Texas A&M AgriLife Extension; Texas Beef Producers; Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association; Texas Dairy Association; Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers Association; South Texas cattle and small ruminant producers; South Texas cotton and sorghum growers; American Society of Animal Science; American Society of Dairy Science; American Society of Agronomy; Crop Science Society of America; Soil Science Society of America; Texas Department of Agriculture; Texas Department of Transportation; Texas Parks and Wildlife Department; Department of Energy; Natural Resources Conservation Service; International agriculture Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?3 M.S. students as Chair graduated; 7 served on committee graduated; 2 currently on committee 1 PhD student as Chair graduated; 3 served on committee graduated; 2 currently on committee 18 undergraduate students supervised, 27 student poster or oral presentations Courses: Basic Review and Definitions 2. Environmental Considerations 3. Warm-Season Perennial Grasses: Old World Bluestems 4.Warm-Season Annual Grasses 5. Warm-Season Legumes 6. Conserved Forages: Hay, Baleage, and Silage. Texas A&M University. College Station, TX, Fall 2018 & 2019. Distance Education International Beef Cattle Academy. Forage Production and Utilization. Seminars: Soil Health in South Texas. Soil Health Workshop. Natural Resources Conservation Service, Victoria, TX, Apr. 23-24, 2019.Selection and Management of Introduced and Native Grasses. Natural Resources Webinars, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Sept. 5, 2019. https://texasrangewebinars.tamu.edu/webinars/selection-and-management-of-introduced-andnative- grasses/ Resilience in Forages and Grazinglands.Texas Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. Corpus Christi, TX, Feb. 16, 2019. (Evaluation Report: 2.7/3.0 learn something useful; 2.6/3.0 expect to use information; 2.7/3.0 attend another session by this presenter) Forages of South Texas Update. Texas Pasture and Forage Work Group. College Station, TX, Jan. 7, 2019. Cover Crop Options for South Texas. Restoring Ecosystem Function with Affordable Agricultural Practices Field Day. D'Hanis, TX, Oct. 29, 2019. Tillage Systems Effect on Organic Matter, Infiltration, and Water Holding Capacity. Nueces County Field Crop Tour Continuing Education Unit Event. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension of Nueces County. Jun. 5, 2019. Forages and Beekeeping. Coastal Bend Beekeepers Association. Corpus Christi, TX, May 2, 2019. Field Day: Converting bermudagrass to native grassland to benefit bobwhite quail. Hosted and planned by the Texas A&M AgriLife Research Station-Beeville. Apr. 30, 2019. Women in Plant Science. 2019. Girl Scouts of Greater South Texas. Bishop, TX, Apr. 8, 2019. Service: Associate Editor, Crop Science Reviewer, Crop Science Reviewer, Grass and Forage Science Reviewer, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Research and Infrastructure Grant Reviewer, Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Grant Program Review Panel Crop Science Society of America. Golden Opportunity Mentor. 2019-2020. Crop Science Society of America. Division C06. International Annual Meeting Symposia Planning Committee Member. 2019- 2020. Field to Market. Texas A&M AgriLife Research Representative to the Metrics Committee. 2015-2020. Crop Science Society of America Liaison to the Botanical Society of America's Planting Science Program. 2013-2020. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Publications, student training and teaching, extension and other programs and seminars as previously listed. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Future research and collaborative opportunities: • Remote sensor technology for forage research and forage and grazingland management • Cropping systems • Legume production and benefits • Restoring grazinglands with Native Species Manuscripts to prepare for peer review publication: • integrated cool-season legume cover crops and strip tillage in south Texas (R. Noland) • cowpea in South Africa (B.B. Singh) • Greenhouse cowpea algae soil amendement • KR bluestem management (2; M. Lesak) • Water soluble carbohydrate flux and seed longevity in King Ranch Bluestem (Foster) Papers/posters to be presented: • Cropping systems • Remote sensor technology for forage research and forage and grazingland management • Cool-season legumes Proposals for Extramural Funding: • NIFA: native forage speciesCIG NRCS: cropping systems • NIFA: biofuel and cropping systems • NIFA: remote sensors • SARE: Strip-tillage and cover cropping system • SUN grant: Legume use in biofeedstock systems • Commodity grants as appropriate Graduate Students to Supervise: • Chair 1 Ph.D. TAMU-CS • Serve on 2 committees and additional as requested Student Workers to Supervise: • Two and plan to hire additional students Courses: International Beef Cattle Academy Forage Course Refinement and additional guest lectures as invited Outreach Activities • Extension field days and CEU events: Plan to participate as a speaker or attendee as invited

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1. Evaluate native and introduced grasses, forbs, and legumes, and their management, for potential to maintain and improve the productivity and nutritive value of grazing systems in order to improve resource efficiency. The water soluble carbohydrate flux of king ranch bluestem, an invasive warm-season grass, over time was measured inorder to determine the ideal time to treat for managment and supression. Land management practices to manage king ranchbluestem were evaluated for four years. A manual for landowners was developed and data will be presented in peer-reviewjournal articles. One land managment practice is the use of native plant mixtures. Conversion methods to transition pasturefrom introduced to native species mixtures were evaluated in a 3 year trial. Several warm-season grass cultivars (pearlmilletnapiergrassand kleingrass) are being evaluated for release. An international project with cowpea was completed and resultedin the humanitarian licensing of 2 novel cowpea cultivars and publication is pending. 2. Evaluate forages adapted to South Texas and their management to enhance the secondary income of livestock operations, including wildlife production, soil amendments, cover cropping, biofuels, and improved water quantity/quality. The resource (fertilizer and water) use efficiency and potential for bioproduct development from novel pearl millet napiergrass,switchgrass, and sorghum has been completed and yield and economic data will be published. Elephantgrass and otherbreeder lines are also being evaluated for its biofuel and secondary product potential in south Texas with one publication.Theestablishment of native forage for wildlife within bermudagrass pastures project is near completion, and field demonstrationsplanted. The inclusion of cool-season legume cover crops plus strip tillage into conventional tillage and fallow cotton-sorghumsystems is in manuscript development stage. No-tillage cotton/sorghum production impact on water and soilresources has been published and data collection continues to evaluate the use of remote sensing technology to comparetreatments and the use of FieldPrint Calculator to measure sustainabiltiy metrics. A new cropping rotation system with wheatas the primary crop and warm-season legumes as the secondary crop began in 2015 and data collection is ongoing. 3. Determine the feasibility of utilization of new co-products, forage cultivars, and/or forage species as necessary. A project to determine the impact of algae as a soil amendment and other co-products on cowpea wascompleted. The third year of data collection with drone based remote sensors for forage herbage mass and nutrivie valueestimation was completed, and additonal research on botanical composition is underway. The use of tannins to mitigategreenhouse gas emissions from cattle is in publication stage. 4. Identify and evaluate feasibility of emerging technologies, such as remote sensing, that have application for forage and crop research and management. A research project to estimate herbage mass and botanical composition in warm-season and cool-season pastures began in 2019. Data is collected every 2 weeks and modeling to determine visual indices for growth estimation is underway. Work to identify different species based on color and texture is in progress.

Publications