Source: COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY submitted to
OPTIMIZING ON-FARM PRODUCTION AND UTILIZATION OF CYANOBACTERIAL BIO-FERTILIZER IN IRRIGATED VEGETABLES
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
HATCH
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0229556
Grant No.
(N/A)
Cumulative Award Amt.
(N/A)
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Jul 1, 2012
Project End Date
Jun 30, 2017
Grant Year
(N/A)
Program Code
[(N/A)]- (N/A)
Recipient Organization
COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
FORT COLLINS,CO 80523
Performing Department
Soil and Crop Science
Non Technical Summary
In order to target our research to meet stakeholder needs, attendees at the 2011 Colorado Big and Small Conference and 2011 New Mexico Organic Conference were surveyed about their soil fertility practices and concerns. Fifty-three farmers were surveyed representing CO (20), NM (28), and AZ (5). Farm size ranged from less than 1 acre to 1900 acres. Thirteen farms were certified organic, 26 considered themselves organic but not certified, 10 were conventional, 1 was biodynamic, and 3 did not answer the question. All but 1 of the farms were irrigated, and the breakdown of irrigation types was as follows (the numbers do not add up to 100% because many farms have more than 1 type of irrigation system): 57% drip, 37% sprinkler, 31% flood, and 16% furrow. In addition, respondents named the types of N fertilizers that they use. On average, farmers estimated that they spent $110/acre on fertilizers; however, the range was quite broad, from zero to $1000/acre. Farmers Have Identified Fertilizer Problems on Organic Farms. Farmers were also asked to describe the problems they faced in meeting the nutrient needs of their crops with organic soil amendments and fertilizers. Survey responses included: inadequate nutrient availability, expense, quality, application cost (equipment and labor), salt buildup, inadequate organic matter content, the bulk of low nutrient materials (e.g., manures), dispersal of weed seed in manure, odor, sustainability (e.g., fish emulsion), and inadequate space for composting. On a scale of 1-10, farmers were moderately satisfied with their soil fertility practices (6.8) and interested in new approaches (7.8). Through partnership with farmers, we aim to address farmers' research needs and optimize positive aspects of fertilization practices while minimizing negative aspects. Surveyed farmers (91%) strongly preferred producing their own fertilizers over purchasing them. Prices per pound of N are quite variable with kelp over $1000/lb N to seabird guano, blood meal, and feather meal at <$10/lb N. The Carbon Footprint of organic fertilizers is unknown. Manure is one of the most commonly used organic fertilizers and is commonly hauled short distances (~5 miles) due to its bulk and transportation costs. Compost is often hauled longer distances (~100 miles) due to its higher value. Other commonly-used products such as fish emulsion from Northern California (~1200 miles to Fort Collins, CO) and kelp from Norway (~3200 nautical miles to NY followed by another 1800 miles to Fort Collins, CO) are shipped long distances. These transportation distances are costly both in terms of direct costs and also in their carbon footprints. Our hypothesis is that by using energy from the sun and farm-level production of cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer, fossil energy requirements for both production and transportation can be dramatically reduced as compared to organic fertilizers from off-farm sources. Our work will develop a new set of C footprint data using the latest C accounting techniques to address this important question.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
20552101103100%
Knowledge Area
205 - Plant Management Systems;

Subject Of Investigation
5210 - Fertilizers;

Field Of Science
1103 - Other microbiology;
Goals / Objectives
The goal of this project is to: Develop an innovative, bio-fertilizer that can be produced on-farm and utilized as a nitrogen source in irrigated vegetable production systems in order to optimize crop productivity and improve farm profitability. Specific objectives are: 1) Test an on-farm cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer production system and optimize the yield, efficiency, and productivity of cyanobacteria 2) Evaluate the utilization of cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer as both a solid and liquid fertilizer in irrigated vegetable production systems in order to maximize the vegetable yield, efficiency, and productivity 3) Quantify the carbon footprint of commonly-used organic and conventional fertilizers and cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer
Project Methods
Task 1.1. Optimizing UV protection and PAR at the field scale Our hypothesis is that the hoop house cover that offers the greatest degree of UV protection and PAR penetration will be the best for cyanobacterial growth. Field-scale tests will be conducted with different covers. Cyanobacterial growth (optical density) and N fixation will be monitored throughout the study period. Task 1.2. Cyanobacteria growth, carbonate, and pH control We will investigate two strategies: 1) carbonate addition and 2) optimization of the concentration of the cyanobacteria in the raceways. With regard to carbonate addition, our hypothesis is that alleviating carbonate mass transfer limitation by potassium bicarbonate addition will stabilize the pH and prevent high growth rates from stripping the carbonate from the system. Task 1.3. Optimize harvesting and storage procedures Our past research has shown that the strains of cyanobacteria we have been cultivating naturally flocculate and settle within 24 hrs. The concentrated cyanobacterial culture can then be further concentrated and stored by one of two methods: (1) by screening and storing as a liquid, or (2) by drying naturally or with the use of a solar dryer and stored in dry form. These methods will be evaluated in terms of time, cost, and efficiency of harvest. Task 2.1. Greenhouse Evaluation Cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer will be evaluated in a greenhouse study. Both liquid and solid forms of cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer will be compared to commonly-used organic fertilizers, specifically, composted manure and fish emulsion. The test crop will be lettuce, and yield and quality of the crop will be evaluated in addition to N uptake rate, apparent N recovery, and N use efficiency. Task 2.2. Fertilizer Field Evaluations Field trials are contingent upon the receipt of grant funding. If funded, a 3-year field study will be initiated on certified organic land at the CSU Horticulture Field Research Center. Eight soil fertility treatments will be evaluated: raw dairy manure, compost (made from manure), alfalfa pellets, blood meal, cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer (dried and soil-applied), fish emulsion (fertigated), cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer (fertigated), and a no fertilizer control for comparison. The manure and compost will be broadcast and incorporated, and the alfalfa pellets, blood meal, and dried cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer will be banded. Task 3.1. Carbon Footprint of Organic Fertilizers The CarbOn Management Evaluation Tool for Voluntary Reporting (COMET-VR), for example, is an on-line decision tool that farmers use today for voluntary reporting of CO2 and N2O emissions due to their agricultural activities and emission reductions associated with changes in their management practices. Unfortunately, none of the existing GHG decision support tools were designed to assess emission and emission reductions from changes in organic practices. We will quantify the C budget for organic fertilizer practices by surveying the literature, researching the C equivalent of the practice, and comparing that information with our measured emissions values.

Progress 10/01/15 to 09/30/16

Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audience is irrigated fruit and vegetable growers in Colorado and beyond. Although we work with both conventional and organic farmers, our focus is small and medium-sized farmers that manage their farms organically (whether they are certified or not). Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?By participating in this research team, we are training many graduate students: 6 MS and 4 PhD students, 4 Americans and 6 international students representing the countries of Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Libya, and Kenya. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Dr. Davis presented data from this project at several conferences for farmers in 2016:the New Mexico Organic Farming Conference in Albuquerque, NM on February 19-20, 2016; the High Plains Organic Farming Conference in Cheyenne, WY on February 24, 2016. In addition, Dr. Davis presented seminars at the Colorado State University Africa Center Seminar Series in Fort Collins, CO on Feb. 4, 2016; the Colorado State University Natural Resources Ecology Lab Seminar Series in Fort Collins, CO on March 25, 2016; and the Royal University of Agriculture in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on June 28, 2016. The TEDx talk that Dr. Davis gave in 2014 has continued to receive additional hits with 3066 views currently (about 800 of the views were in 2016). www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxXT73wzIYA What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Objective 1. We will finalize statistical analysis of the 2016 experiments and draw conclusions regarding optimization of CO2 and light levels. This additional knowledge will improve the management and economic feasibility of cyano-fertilizer. Objective 2. We plan to compare cyano-fertilizer with cyano-fertilizer that was harvested through the use of ground moringa seeds as a flocculant. The moringa improves flocculation and harvest of dry cyano-fertilizer, and we plan to evaluate how the moringa affects N availability through lab incubation and greenhouse studies on kale. Objective 3. We will finish the data analysis of our ammonia volatilization field studies. These analyses will help us better understand N fate, in addition to the carbon footprint, from different organic fertilizers in drip-irrigated vegetables.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1. In 2015, we identified light and CO2 as the most limiting factors to cyanobacterial growth in the field. Summer 2016 field experiments utilized CO2 to maintain a sufficiently low pH to improve dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) availability in raceway cultures throughout the day, especially when photosynthesis rates were high between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. During the summer 2016 field season, we conducted experiments to better manage light availability of Anabaena sp. cultures. We compared two inoculation densities, both higher than historical inoculation rates, in an effort to decrease photo-inhibition and photo-damage. We hypothesized that this would improve outdoor culture survival rates and increase daily productivity (biomass gains) and final 14-day batch biomass and N concentrations. In addition, we performed a phytohormone assay to determine if certain phytohormones and phytohormone concentrations are consistently produced during a 14-day batch period. Cyanobacterial-based phytohormone extracts have been shown to improve growth, yields and drought tolerance in a variety of crops. Increased inoculation rates, decreased culture depth, and CO2 supplementation achieved 14d batch biomass and N concentrations of 542 mg L-1 and 60 mg L-1, respectively. Six phytohormone related compounds were detected during the phytohormone assay - abscisic acid (ABA), salicylic acid (SA), one cytokinin (CK), trans zeatin riboside, and three auxin compounds: indole 3-acetic acid (IAA), indole 3-acetamide, an IAA precursor, and Indole 3-carboxylic acid. Concentrations of auxins, CK, and ABA were consistent across experiments, while SA showed more variability. A cyanotoxin assay conducted using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry did not find detectable concentrations of microcystins, anatoxin-a, or cylindrospermopsin. Results from the 2016 field experiments showed that we can increase 14-day batch biomass and N concentrations by increasing inoculation densities and decreasing culture depth. Increasing inoculation densities can protect cyanobacteria from photo-damage, and decreasing culture depth reduces self-shading and increases light availability. No net gains in biomass were recorded on cloudy days during the second week of production, suggesting that light can be limited in on-farm production. Production parameters designed to allow for increased light availability (e.g. shorter batch periods, shallow raceways, increased mixing, etc.) could increase growing season yields. In fact, when inoculation rates were increased in conjunction with decreased culture depth and CO2 supplementation, the 14-day batch biomass and N concentrations increased by 225%. Objective 2. Phytohormone concentrations (auxin and cytokinin, in particular) were quantified in organic fertilizers (including compost, fish emulsion, hydrolyzed fish emulsion, kelp, and cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer). Six of the seven organic fertilizers analyzed were found to contain auxin and salicylic acid; however, none of the fertilizers contained any measurable levels of cytokinins. The non-hydrolyzed fish emulsion contained a high auxin content and a low salicylic acid content, while the hydrolyzed fish emulsion was relatively high in salicylic acid and low in auxin. The cyano-fertilizer was high in both auxin and salicylic acid. The impact of phytohormones present in organic fertilizers on plant growth, yield, and quality of carrots and peppers (including β-carotene concentrations) was assessed. In both the field-grown carrot study and the greenhouse pepper experiment, the cyano-fertilizer and the non-hydrolyzed fish emulsion treatments had the highest crop yields. This may be due to both of these fertilizers resulting in the largest auxin application rates. There was no fertilizer effect on beta-carotene concentration in peppers. In the pepper study, fertilizer treatment affected phytohormone levels in pepper leaves at harvest time. Specifically, the non-hydrolyzed fish treatment had higher abscisic acid and 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid concentrations in the leaves. The impact of cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer on peaches was compared to farmer's standard practice through on-farm, participatory research in organic peach orchards. Application of cyano-fertilizer in addition to compost increased peach yield and reduced the growth of the tree trunks. In addition, cyano-fertilizer increased the SPAD chlorophyll readings of the leaves, and the SPAD readings were positively correlated to the distal leaf iron concentration. Objective 3. Ammonia (NH3) volatilization is an important issue with both agricultural and environmental aspects. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impacts of fertilizer source, application method, and rate on NH3 volatilization. The fertilizers tested included solid fertilizers (blood meal and feather meal) and liquid fertilizers (fish emulsion and cyano-fertilizer). The study was conducted at Colorado State University's Horticulture Field Research Center, Fort Collins, CO. Two application rates (28 and 56 kg N ha-1) were applied to an organic lettuce (Lactuca sativa) crop to evaluate the effect of rate on NH3 loss. Solid fertilizers were applied all at once before transplanting, while liquid fertilizers were applied weekly beginning two weeks after transplanting. Semi-open static chambers were used to measure NH3 volatilization and samples were extracted using 2M KCl and analyzed using DIN # 38406 method. Using a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four replications in SAS, the results indicate that there was a significant difference among the different treatments. On the other hand, there was no difference between application rates. Furthermore, the Tukey-Kramer test specified which treatments were different from each other. Feather meal applied at both rates and blood meal applied at 56 kg N ha-1 had significantly higher NH3 emissions than cyano-fertilizer and fish emulsion applied at either rate. Moreover, the Dunnet's test indicated significant differences between control and blood meal at 56 kg N ha-1 (P = 0.0034), feather meal at 28 kg N ha-1 (P = 0.0202), and feather meal at 56 kg N ha-1 (P = 0.0059). Blood meal at 56 kg N ha-1 and feather meal at both rates had the highest NH3 volatilization rates compared with other treatments. NH3 emissions from the cyano-fertilizer and fish emulsion treatments were not significantly different than control.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Barminski, R., H. Storteboom, and J.G. Davis. 2016. Development and evaluation of an organically-certifiable growth medium for cyanobacteria. J. Appl. Phycol. 28:2623-2630. DOI 10.1007/s10811-016-0819-2.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Toonsiri, P., S.J. Del Grosso, A. Sukor, and J.G. Davis. 2016. Greenhouse gas emissions from solid and liquid organic fertilizers applied to lettuce. J. Environ. Qual. 45:1812-1821. DOI:10.2134/jeq2015.12.0623
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Tsekeke, A., T. Degefu, E. Wolde-Meskel, and J. Davis. 2016. The effect of pond depth and lining plastic color on nitrogen fixing capacity of cyanobacteria, Anabaena strain E3. African Journal of Biotechnology 15: 1442-1451. DOI: 10.5897/AJB2015.15173.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Erwiha, G., A. Sukor, J. Ham, and J. G. Davis. 2016. Effect of organic nitrogen fertilizer source, application method, and application rate on ammonia volatilization from drip irrigated lettuce. Great Plains Soil Fertility Conference, Denver, CO, March 1-2, 2016.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Jama, A., and J.G. Davis. 2016. Nitrogen mineralization of Azolla mexicana applied as fertilizer compared to compost and cyanobacterial fertilizers. Great Plains Soil Fertility Conference, Denver, CO, March 1-2, 2016.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Widiastuti, D.P., and J.G. Davis. 2016. Optimization of the nutrient media for Azolla mexicana growth for use as fertilizer. Great Plains Soil Fertility Conference, Denver, CO, March 1-2, 2016.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Widiastuti, D.P., J.G. Davis, and S. Gafur. 2016. Azolla fertilizer as an alternative N source for red spinach production on alluvial and peat soils in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. International Nitrogen Initiative Conference; Melbourne, Australia, Dec. 4-8, 2016.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Afkairin, A., H., Storteboom, and J.G. Davis. 2016. Optimizing phosphorus and iron concentrations to maximize cyanobacterial growth and nitrogen fixation. Soil Science Society of America Annual Conference, Phoenix, AZ, Nov. 6-10, 2016.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Erwiha, G., A. Sukor, J. Ham, and J. G. Davis. 2016. Effect of organic nitrogen fertilizer source, application method, and application rate on ammonia volatilization from drip irrigated lettuce. Soil Science Society of America Annual Conference, Phoenix, AZ, Nov. 6-10, 2016.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Jama, A., A. Sukor, and J.G. Davis. 2016. Nitrogen mineralization of Azolla mexicana applied as fertilizer compared to compost and cyanobacterial fertilizers. Soil Science Society of America Annual Conference, Phoenix, AZ, Nov. 6-10, 2016.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Toonsiri, P., M.F. Cotrufo, and J.G. Davis. 2016. Organic vegetable farming promotes physically protected carbon accrual in soil. Soil Science Society of America Annual Conference, Phoenix, AZ, Nov. 6-10, 2016.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Widiastuti, D., S. Gafur, and J.G. Davis. 2016. Evaluation of Azolla as biofertilizer for vegetable production on alluvial soil in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Soil Science Society of America Annual Conference, Phoenix, AZ, Nov. 6-10, 2016.
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Wickham, A. 2016. Effects of cyanobacterial fertilizer, commonly-used organic fertilizers, and plant growth regulators on yield and growth characteristics of carrots (Daucus carota var. sativus), cucumbers (Cucumis sativus), and bell peppers (Capsicum annuum). MS thesis. Colorado State University; Fort Collins, CO.
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Sterle, D. 2016. Evaluation of cyanobacterial biofertilizer as a supplemental or solitary fertilizer on peach yields, leaf tissue nutrient concentration, and trunk growth. MS thesis. Colorado State University; Fort Collins, CO.
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Sukor, A. 2016. Organic nitrogen fertilizers influence nutritional value, water use efficiency, and nitrogen dynamics of drip irrigated lettuce and sweet corn. PhD dissertation. Colorado State University; Fort Collins, CO.


Progress 10/01/14 to 09/30/15

Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audience is irrigated fruit and vegetable growers in Colorado and beyond. Although we work with both conventional and organic farmers, our focus is small and medium-sized farmers that manage their farms organically (whether they are certified or not). Changes/Problems:We received additional funding from the Organic Farming Research Foundation which has allowed us to expand our research on phytohormones and beta-carotene. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?By participating in this research team, we are training many graduate students: 5 MS and 4 PhD students, 3 Americans and 6 international students representing the countries of Malaysia, Thailand, Indoneisa, Libya, and Kenya. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Dr. Davis presented data from this project at several conferences for farmers in 2015: the Texas Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association in San Antonio, TX on January 30-31; Organicology in Portland, OR on February 6-7; the New Mexico Organic Farming Conference in Albuquerque, NM on February 20-21; and the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES) Organic Farming Conference in Lacrosse, WI on February 26-28. In addition, one of Dr. Davis' graduate students spoke at the Western Colorado Horticulture Conference in Grand Junction, CO on January 15, and Dr. Davis presented seminars at the CSU Water Center on March 9 and at Texas A&M University Agrilife Research and Extension Centers in Corpus Christi and Weslaco, TX on May 13-14. The TEDx talk that Dr. Davis gave in 2014 has continued to receive additional hits with 2271 views currently (more than half of the views were in 2015). www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxXT73wzIYA What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Objective 1. We plan to evaluate the interaction between cyanobacterial culture density and CO2 supplementation under varying light conditions in order to optimize growth and N fixation of cyanobacteria. Additional knowledge will improve the management and economic feasibility of cyano-fertilizer. Objective 2. We are extending our research to additional crops, including carrots, cucumbers, peppers, and peaches in order to compare cyano-fertilizer with other commonly-used organic fertilizers. In particular, we will evaluate the impact of phytohormones produced by cyanobacteria on plant growth, productivity, and beta-carotene concentration in the harvested crops. Objective 3. We have added ammonia volatilization to our measurements, even though it is not a greenhouse gas. These measurements will help us better understand N fate from different organic fertilizers in drip-irrigated vegetables.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1. Our lab is scaling up production of a local strain of the nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. in on-farm open raceways to determine its economic potential as a nitrogen fertilizer for horticultural crops. Our goal is to increase productivity in an organically certifiable growth medium above the current two week batch production levels of 30 mg L-1 total Kjeldahl nitrogen. To improve production, we tested delta wing arrays to improve mixing and mass transfer of nutrients. We also supplemented production raceways with CO2 to maintain a pH of 9.5 or lower. We determined that improved mixing produces no significant differences in biomass or nitrogen production in CO2 limited cultures. Supplementation of CO2 to limit pH at 9.5 produced small improvements in biomass but no difference in nitrogen concentration. Increasing the levels of CO2 supplemented and coupling the delta wings with CO­­­2 supplementation still has strong potential to improve nutrient transfer, and increase production of biomass and total nitrogen. Objective 2. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of inorganic N and phytohormone concentrations in organic fertilizers on yield, leaf gas exchange components, and WUE (fWUE, and iWUE) of sweet corn. A two-year field study was conducted in the summers of 2013 and 2014 at the Colorado State University Horticulture Research Center, Fort Collins, CO. The fertilizers used in this study were blood meal, feather meal, fish emulsion, and cyano-fertilizer. Both fish emulsion and cyano-fertilizer were supplied in four split applications over the growing season applied through drip irrigation, while the blood meal and feather meal were incorporated into the soil prior to planting. The cyano-fertilizer recorded greater fresh ear yield and WUE (fWUE and iWUE) compared to other treatments in 2013 and 2014. The percentage of N applied as NH4+-N in the feather meal treatment may have contributed to increasing leaf temperature and decreasing net photosynthetic rate, yield, and WUE. The percentage of N applied as NO3--N in the blood meal treatment may have contributed to increasing leaf transpiration rate and leaf vapor pressure deficit thus reducing iWUE. Salicylic acid application in the cyano-fertilizer treatment may have contributed to a decrease in stomatal conductance (r=-0.79), thus impacting iWUE in sweet corn. Indole-3-acetic acid in fish emulsion may have influenced marketable ear yield of sweet corn and fWUE due to effective conduction and water transport, thus enhancing plant water use. Further research needs to be conducted to understand the mechanisms of plant water regulation related to inorganic N forms and phytohormone concentrations in fertilizers in increasing WUE. Nitrogenous fertilizers have shown positive impacts on a crop's ability to accumulate β-carotene in plant tissue. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of different types of organic N fertilizer on β-carotene concentration and the marketable yield of lettuce. A two-year field study was conducted in the summer of 2013 and 2014 at the Colorado State University Horticulture Research Center, Fort Collins, CO. The fertilizers used in this study were blood meal, feather meal, fish emulsion, and cyano-fertilizer. Both fish emulsion and cyano-fertilizer were supplied in four split applications over the growing season through drip irrigation, while the blood meal and feather meal were subsurface banded prior to planting. All fertilizer treatments in 2013 increased β-carotene concentration in leaf tissue compared to control, while only fish emulsion recorded significantly higher β-carotene concentration compared to other treatments in 2014. The high indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) applied in the fish emulsion treatment could have increased β-carotene concentration in lettuce in both years. IAA application (IAAapp) was positively correlated with β-carotene concentration in 2013 (r = 0.49; P = 0.0083) and 2014 (r = 0.53, P = 0.0029). A significant negative correlation (r = -0.7565, P=0.0044) was found between marketable yield and β-carotene concentration in leaf tissue in 2014. High salicylic acid (SA) in the cyano-fertilizer treatment recorded a higher total leaf area compared to other fertilizers in both years. Further research needs to be conducted to understand the mechanism of hormonal regulation in influencing β-carotene concentration in lettuce. Objective 3. The focus of this study was to evaluate effects of environmental factors and four organic fertilizers: feather meal, blood meal, fish emulsion, and cyano-fertilizer application at different application rates (0, 28, 56 and 112 kg N/ha) on CO2 and N2O emissions from a lettuce field (Lactuca sativa). The study was conducted in 2013 and 2014 and compared pre-plant applied solid fertilizers (feather meal and blood meal) and multiple-applied liquid fertilizers (fish emulsion and cyano-fertilizer). CO2 and N2O emissions were measured twice per day (three days a week) in 2013 and once per day (three days a week) in 2014 using a closed-static chamber, and analyzed by gas chromatography. The results showed that i) none of the fertilizer treatments significantly affected cumulative CO2 emissions as compared to the control, ii) N application rates did not significantly affect cumulative N2O emissions except in pre-plant applied solid fertilizer treatments in 2014, iii) multiple-applied liquid fertilizers did not significantly increase cumulative N2O emissions compared to the control, iv) emission factors ranged from 0-0.1% for multiple-applied liquid fertilizers and 0.6-11% for single-applied solid fertilizers, and v) soil temperature and soil water content can influence N2O and CO2 emissions. Therefore, organic farmers should consider the use of multiple-applied liquid fertilizers, such as fish emulsion or cyano-fertilizer, as a means to reduce soil greenhouse gas emissions.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2016 Citation: Barminski, R., H. Storteboom, and J.G. Davis. 2016. Development and evaluation of an organically-certifiable growth medium for cyanobacteria. Journal of Applied Phycology. Submitted.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2016 Citation: Sukor, A., and J.G. Davis. 2016. Yield and nitrogen use efficiency of greenhouse lettuce in response to organic fertilizer applied to different soil types. HortScience. Submitted.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2016 Citation: Sukor, A., M. Stromberger, and J.G. Davis. 2016. Nitrogen mineralization of cyanobacterial fertilizers compared to commonly-used organic fertilizers applied to two soils. Soil Science. Submitted.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2016 Citation: Toonsiri, P., S.J. Del Grosso, A. Sukor, and J.G. Davis. 2016. Greenhouse gas emissions from solid and liquid organic fertilizers applied to lettuce. Journal of Environmental Quality. Submitted.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2016 Citation: Tsekeke, A., T. Degefu, E. Wolde-Meskel, and J. Davis. 2016. The effect of pond depth and lining plastic color on nitrogen fixing capacity of cyanobacteria, Anabaena strain E3. African Journal of Biotechnology. Submitted.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Sterle, D.*, G. Litus, F. Stonaker, S. Ela, and J.G. Davis. 2015. The effect of cyanobacteria biofertilizer on Western Colorado organic peach quality and yield characteristics. Proc. of the Western Nutrient Management Conference. March 5-6, 2015; Reno, NV.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Sukor, A.*, C. Ramsey, and J.G. Davis. 2015. Effects of commercial organic and cyanobacterial fertilizers on instantaneous water use efficiency in drip irrigated organic sweet corn. Proc. of the Western Nutrient Management Conference. March 5-6, 2015; Reno, NV.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Wenz, J.*, H.N. Storteboom, and J.G. Davis. 2015. Effects of enhanced mixing and minimal CO2 supplementation on biomass and nitrogen concentration in a nitrogen-fixing Anabaena sp. cyanobacteria biofertilizer production culture. Proc. of the Western Nutrient Management Conference. March 5-6, 2015; Reno, NV.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Wickham, A.*, and J.G. Davis. 2015. Effect of liquid organic fertilizers and seaweed extract on Daucus carota var. sativus growth characteristics. Proc. of the Western Nutrient Management Conference. March 5-6, 2015; Reno, NV.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Davis, J.G.*, H. Storteboom, and M.S. Massey. 2015. Developing an organic on-farm bio-fertilizer production system using cyanobacteria. Organic Agriculture Research Symposium; February 25-26, 2015 in Lacrosse, WI.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Davis, J.G.*, H. Storteboom, and M.S. Massey. 2015. Developing a solar-powered, on-farm fertilizer production system using cyanobacteria. SusTech2015 IEEE Conference on Technologies for Sustainability; July 30-Aug 1 2015 in Ogden, UT.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Sukor, A., P. Toonsiri, G. Erwiha, and J.G. Davis*. 2015. Fate of organic fertilizers applied to drip-irrigated lettuce (Lactuva sativa). American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America Annual Meeting; Nov. 15-18, 2015 in Minneapolis, MN.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Wenz, J., H. Storteboom, and J.G. Davis. 2015. Potential of a Nitrogen-Fixing Anabaena sp. Cyanobacterium for Use as a Nitrogen Biofertilizer. 2015. In American Society for Microbiology General Meeting Proceedings; New Orleans, LA: 30 May to 2 June 2015.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Davis, J.G. 2015. Diagnosis and Treatment of Stunted Yellow Wheat on Hilltops. Making Better Decisions: Colorado Winter Wheat Variety Performance Trials. Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Report TR 15-6. Fort Collins, CO.
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Aljrbi, Abdulkariem. 2015. Alfalfa reference crop evapotranspiration in Colorado and its use for irrigation scheduling. Ph.D. Dissertation. Colorado State University; Fort Collins, CO.


Progress 10/01/13 to 09/30/14

Outputs
Target Audience: Our target audience is irrigated fruit and vegetable growers in Colorado and beyond. Although we work with both conventional and organic farmers, our focus is small and medium-sized farmers that manage their farms organically (whether they are certified or not). Changes/Problems: Due to funding received from the USDA Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, we are expanding our focus to including tree fruits, specifically peaches. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? By participating in this research team, we are training many graduate students: 8 MS and 4 PhD students, 5 Americans and 7 international students representing the countries of Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Libya, and Kenya. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? We held three field days in 2014 to reach our target audience: July 15, 2014 at Osito Orchard; July 24, 2014 at Ela Family Farms; and August 27, 2014 at the CSU Horticulture Research Center. In total, we had about 65 audience members. In addition, Dr. Davis participated in two public panels sponsored by CSU's School of Global Environmental Sustainability, one on Climate Smart Agriculture on March 26, 2014, and one on Organic Agriculture on November 12, 2014. The audience size averaged about 80 people. On April 9, 2014, Dr. Davis organized the Food and water Panel and spoke at CSU's Africa Symposium on the potential for cyanobacterial biofertilizer in Africa, Ethiopia in particular. There wer about 60 people in the audience. On October 11, 2014, Dr. Davis gave a TEDx talk about this cyanobacterial biofertilizer research to an in-person audience of about 500 with more than 1100 views on youtube thereafter (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxXT73wzIYA). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Objective 1: Test an on-farm cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer production system and optimize the yield, efficiency, and productivity of cyanobacteria. In 2015, we will evaluate the potential for bubbling carbon dioxide into raceways to maximize cyanobacterial biomass yield and N fixation. In addition, we are testing whether another nutrient (such as P or Fe) is limiting productivity. Objective 2: Evaluate the utilization of cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer as both a solid and liquid bio-fertilizer in irrigated vegetable production systems in order to maximize the vegetable yield, efficiency, and productivity. We will be following up on our iWUE results with a greenhouse study on sweet corn, in order to better understand the mechanisms by which cyanobacterial biofertilizer improves iWUE. In addition, our field work will continue on carrots, cucumbers, and peaches. Objective 3: Quantify the carbon footprint of commonly-used organic and conventional fertilizers and cyanobacterial biofertilizer. The field study reported above was repeated in 2014, and gas samples are currently being analyzed. Results from the second year will be reported in 2016.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1: Test an on-farm cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer production system and optimize the yield, efficiency, and productivity of cyanobacteria. We typically grow cyanobacteria in 2-week batches; however, semi-continuous production has the potential to increase productivity by keeping the cyanobacteria in their maximal growth stage. Two operational modes were tested in 2 x 6 m raceways with three replicates: semi-continuous and batch. After six days of growth, 25% of the semi-continuous treatment was harvested, and raceways were filled to volume with fresh RB medium every other day. After 14 days of growth, 85% of the batch treatment was harvested and the remaining 15% was used as seed to begin a second batch. Biomass yield was estimated by optical density (OD) and chlorophyll content, and N-fixation was estimated by Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN). During the first 2-week period, the batch treatment had significantly higher chlorophyll concentration, OD, and TKN. However, during the second 2-week growth period, the semi-continuous treatment had significantly higher chlorophyll and TKN concentrations. More than likely, the semi-continuous treatment was harvested when the culture density was above the optimal cell density range, resulting in a lower total biomass and N yield than what could be achieved within the optimal cell density range. Determination of the optimal cell density and a specific harvest regime that maintains the semi-continuous treatment within the optimal cell density would result in a higher total biomass and N yield compared to that of batch production. Objective 2: Evaluate the utilization of cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer as both a solid and liquid bio-fertilizer in irrigiated vegetable production systems in order to maximize the vegetable yield, efficiency, and productivity. We compared cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer applied through drip irrigation lines to other organic fertilizers applied to sweet corn. Organic growers often use commercial organic animal-based fertilizers which vary in nutrient composition, forms of available N (NH4+-N and NO3--N), and have high transportation costs. Forms of available N in organic fertilizers may influence photosynthetic enzymes, and therefore photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, and instantaneous water use efficiency (iWUE) were measured to evaluate the effect of different organic fertilizers on sweet corn. A field experiment was conducted during the summer of 2014 at the Horticulture Field Research Center, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO. The treatments were solid organic fertilizers (feather meal and blood meal) and liquid organic fertilizers (fish emulsion and cyanobacteria) applied at 56 and 112 kg N ha-1. Liquid organic fertilizers were applied every two weeks after planting while the solid organic fertilizers were applied prior to planting. The feather meal treatment recorded the significantly lowest photosynthesis rate (19.5 µmol m-2 s-1) at 112 kg N ha-1 compared to other fertilizer treatments at 56 and 112 kg N ha-1. The cyanobacterial treatment recorded the significantly lowest transpiration rate (0.6 mmol H2O m-2 s-1) and stomatal conductance (0.05 mol H2O m-2 s-1) at 56 kg N ha-1 compared with other fertilizer treatments at 56 and 112 kg N ha-1. The cyanobacterial treatment also recorded the significantly highest iWUE (3 µmol CO2 mmol-1 H2O) at 56 kg N ha-1 compared to other fertilizer treatments at 56 and 112 kg N ha-1. In conclusion, the cyanobacterial biofertilizer application resulted in significantly lower stomatal conductance and transpiration rate, thus recording a higher iWUE at both N rates in drip irrigated sweet corn. Objective 3: Quantify the carbon footprint of commonly-used organic and conventional fertilizers and cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer. We evaluated the effect of four organic fertilizers: feather meal, blood meal, fish emulsion, and liquid cyanobacteria applied at two rates, 56 and 112 kg N/ha, on greenhouse gas emissions from a lettuce field in 2013. Feather meal and blood meal increased the nitrous oxide (N2O) flux significantly as compared to the control, and the different rates of N in blood meal significantly impacted the N2O flux. The liquid fertilizers (fish emulsion and liquid cyanobacteria) did not increase N2O flux compared to the control, probably due to their application in small doses throughout the growing season as compared to the pre-plant application of the feather meal and blood meal treatments. Most of the fertilizer treatments showed a significant impact on the CO2 flux as compared to the control; however, the low rate of cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer was not significantly different from the control.

Publications


    Progress 10/01/12 to 09/30/13

    Outputs
    Target Audience: Our target audience is irrigated fruit and vegetable growers in Colorado and beyond. Although we work with both conventional and organic farmers, our focus is small and medium-sized farmers that manage their farms organically (whether they are certified or not). Changes/Problems: Due to funding received from the USDA Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, we are expanding our focus to including tree fruits, specifically peaches. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? By participating in this research team, we are training many graduate students: 8 MS and 4 PhD students, 5 Americans and 7 international students representing the countries of Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Libya, and Kenya. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? We held three field days in 2014 to reach our target audience: July 15, 2014 at Osito Orchard; July 24, 2014 at Ela Family Farms; and August 27, 2014 at the CSU Horticulture Research Center. In total, we had about 65 audience members. In addition, Dr. Davis participated in two public panels sponsored by CSU's School of Global Environmental Sustainability, one on Climate Smart Agriculture on March 26, 2014, and one on Organic Agriculture on November 12, 2014. The audience size averaged about 80 people. On April 9, 2014, Dr. Davis organized the Food and water Panel and spoke at CSU's Africa Symposium on the potential for cyanobacterial biofertilizer in Africa, Ethiopia in particular. There wer about 60 people in the audience. On October 11, 2014, Dr. Davis gave a TEDx talk about this cyanobacterial biofertilizer research to an in-person audience of about 500 with more than 1100 views on youtube thereafter (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxXT73wzIYA). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Objective 1: Test an on-farm cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer production system and optimize the yield, efficiency, and productivity of cyanobacteria. In 2015, we will evaluate the potential for bubbling carbon dioxide into raceways to maximize cyanobacterial biomass yield and N fixation. In addition, we are testing whether another nutrient (such as P or Fe) is limiting productivity. Objective 2: Evaluate the utilization of cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer as both a solid and liquid bio-fertilizer in irrigated vegetable production systems in order to maximize the vegetable yield, efficiency, and productivity. We will be following up on our iWUE results with a greenhouse study on sweet corn, in order to better understand the mechanisms by which cyanobacterial biofertilizer improves iWUE. In addition, our field work will continue on carrots, cucumbers, and peaches. Objective 3: Quantify the carbon footprint of commonly-used organic and conventional fertilizers and cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer. The field study reported above was repeated in 2014, and gas samples are currently being analyzed. Results from the second year will be reported in 2016.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? Please see the report submitted for the period 07/01/2012 - 09/30/2012. Objective 1: Test an on-farm cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer production system and optimize the yield, efficiency, and productivity of cyanobacteria. We typically grow cyanobacteria in 2-week batches; however, semi-continuous production has the potential to increase productivity by keeping the cyanobacteria in their maximal growth stage. Two operational modes were tested in 2 x 6 m raceways with three replicates: semi-continuous and batch. After six days of growth, 25% of the semi-continuous treatment was harvested, and raceways were filled to volume with fresh RB medium every other day. After 14 days of growth, 85% of the batch treatment was harvested and the remaining 15% was used as seed to begin a second batch. Biomass yield was estimated by optical density (OD) and chlorophyll content, and N-fixation was estimated by Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN). During the first 2-week period, the batch treatment had significantly higher chlorophyll concentration, OD, and TKN. However, during the second 2-week growth period, the semi-continuous treatment had significantly higher chlorophyll and TKN concentrations. More than likely, the semi-continuous treatment was harvested when the culture density was above the optimal cell density range, resulting in a lower total biomass and N yield than what could be achieved within the optimal cell density range. Determination of the optimal cell density and a specific harvest regime that maintains the semi-continuous treatment within the optimal cell density would result in a higher total biomass and N yield compared to that of batch production. Objective 2: Evaluate the utilization of cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer as both a solid and liquid bio-fertilizer in irrigiated vegetable production systems in order to maximize the vegetable yield, efficiency, and productivity. We compared cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer applied through drip irrigation lines to other organic fertilizers applied to sweet corn. Organic growers often use commercial organic animal-based fertilizers which vary in nutrient composition, forms of available N (NH4+-N and NO3--N), and have high transportation costs. Forms of available N in organic fertilizers may influence photosynthetic enzymes, and therefore photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, and instantaneous water use efficiency (iWUE) were measured to evaluate the effect of different organic fertilizers on sweet corn. A field experiment was conducted during the summer of 2014 at the Horticulture Field Research Center, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO. The treatments were solid organic fertilizers (feather meal and blood meal) and liquid organic fertilizers (fish emulsion and cyanobacteria) applied at 56 and 112 kg N ha-1. Liquid organic fertilizers were applied every two weeks after planting while the solid organic fertilizers were applied prior to planting. The feather meal treatment recorded the significantly lowest photosynthesis rate (19.5 µmol m-2 s-1) at 112 kg N ha-1 compared to other fertilizer treatments at 56 and 112 kg N ha-1. The cyanobacterial treatment recorded the significantly lowest transpiration rate (0.6 mmol H2O m-2 s-1) and stomatal conductance (0.05 mol H2O m-2 s-1) at 56 kg N ha-1 compared with other fertilizer treatments at 56 and 112 kg N ha-1. The cyanobacterial treatment also recorded the significantly highest iWUE (3 µmol CO2 mmol-1 H2O) at 56 kg N ha-1 compared to other fertilizer treatments at 56 and 112 kg N ha-1. In conclusion, the cyanobacterial biofertilizer application resulted in significantly lower stomatal conductance and transpiration rate, thus recording a higher iWUE at both N rates in drip irrigated sweet corn. Objective 3: Quantify the carbon footprint of commonly-used organic and conventional fertilizers and cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer. We evaluated the effect of four organic fertilizers: feather meal, blood meal, fish emulsion, and liquid cyanobacteria applied at two rates, 56 and 112 kg N/ha, on greenhouse gas emissions from a lettuce field in 2013. Feather meal and blood meal increased the nitrous oxide (N2O) flux significantly as compared to the control, and the different rates of N in blood meal significantly impacted the N2O flux. The liquid fertilizers (fish emulsion and liquid cyanobacteria) did not increase N2O flux compared to the control, probably due to their application in small doses throughout the growing season as compared to the pre-plant application of the feather meal and blood meal treatments. Most of the fertilizer treatments showed a significant impact on the CO2 flux as compared to the control; however, the low rate of cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer was not significantly different from the control.

    Publications

    • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Moshia, M.E., R. Khosla, L. Longchamps, R. Reich, J.G. Davis, and D.G. Westfall. 2014. Precision manure management across site-specific management zones: Grain yield and economic analysis. Agron. J. 106: 2146-2156.
    • Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2015 Citation: Moshia M.E, R. Khosla, J.G. Davis, D.G. Westfall, and K. Doesken. 2015. Precision manure management on site-specific management zones: Topsoil quality and environmental impact. Commun. in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 46: 235-258.
    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Abulobaida, M., N. Hansen, F. Cotrufo, and J.G. Davis. 2014. Irrigation effects on soil inorganic carbon sequestration in semi-arid cropping systems. pp. 164-169 In Proc. of the Great Plains Soil Fertility Conference. March 4-5, 2014 in Denver, CO.
    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Barminski, R., H.N. Storteboom, and J.G. Davis. 2014. Development of an organic growth medium for cyanobacterial biofertilizer production. pp. 140-145 In Proc. of the Great Plains Soil Fertility Conference. March 4-5, 2014 in Denver, CO.
    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Sukor, A., and J.G. Davis. 2014. Influence of commercial organic and cyanobacterial fertilizers on yield and nitrogen use efficiency of lettuce. pp. 146-152 In Proc. of the Great Plains Soil Fertility Conference. March 4-5, 2014 in Denver, CO.
    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Toonsiri, P. S.J. DelGrosso, J.G. Davis, A. Sukor, M. Smith, and M. Reyes-Fox. 2014. Greenhouse gas emissions from organic fertilizers applied to lettuce. pp. 153-157 In Proc. of the Great Plains Soil Fertility Conference. March 4-5, 2014 in Denver, CO.
    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Yoder, N.B., F. Stonaker, and J.G. Davis. 2014. Organic fertilizer comparison on kale yield and nutrient content. pp. 158-163 In Proc. of the Great Plains Soil Fertility Conference. March 4-5, 2014 in Denver, CO.
    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Abulobaida, M., J.G. Davis, M.F. Cotrufo, and N.C. Hansen, 2014. Carbon sequestration in soil aggregates under irrigated and dryland cropping systems in a semi-arid area. Paper 425-21. Soil Science Society of America Annual Meeting; Nov. 2-5, 2014 in Long Beach, CA.
    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Aljrbi, A.M., A.A. Andales, and J.G. Davis. 2014. Evaluation of Colorado Irrigation Scheduler (CIS) for Furrow-Irrigated Corn in Northeast Colorado. Paper 359-2. American Society of Agronomy Annual Meeting; Nov. 2-5, 2014 in Long Beach, CA.
    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Davis, J.G., T.T. Hurisso, E. Wolde-meskel, and H.N. Storteboom. 2014. Development and Evaluation of Locally-Made Fertilizers in Ethiopia. Paper 444-2. Soil Science Society of America Annual Meeting; Nov. 2-5, 2014 in Long Beach, CA.
    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Davis, J.G., H.N. Storteboom, and E. Wolde-meskel. 2014. Development of a nitrogen fertilizer for organic systems in the Great Plains and smallholder farmers in Ethiopia. p. 40 In Proc. of the Great Plains Soil Fertility Conference. March 4-5, 2014 in Denver, CO.
    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Sukor, A., and J.G. Davis. 2014. Influence of commercial organic and cyanobacterial fertilizers on yield and nitrogen use efficiency of lettuce and sweet corn. Paper 164-11. Soil Science Society of America Annual Meeting; Nov. 2-5, 2014 in Long Beach, CA.
    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Toonsiri, P. S.J. DelGrosso, J.G. Davis, A. Sukor, M. Smith, and M. Reyes-Fox. 2014. Comparison of organic fertilizer effects on nitrous oxide (N2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from a lettuce field. Paper 164-10. Soil Science Society of America Annual Meeting; Nov. 2-5, 2014 in Long Beach, CA.
    • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Abulobaida, M. 2014. The effect of irrigation and cropping systems on soil carbon and nitrogen stocks and organic matter aggregation in semi-arid lands. Ph.D. Dissertation. Colorado State University; Fort Collins, CO. 84 pages.
    • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Abuye, F. 2014. Growth of cyanobacterial strains and their comparative influence on biomass yield and nutritional quality of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) grown on Ziway and Yirgalem soils, Ethiopia. M.S. Thesis. Hawassa University; Hawassa, Ethiopia. 109 pages.
    • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Barminski, R. 2014. Development of an organically certifiable growth medium for N-fixing cyanobacteria in a raceway biofertilizer production system. M.S. Thesis. Colorado State University; Fort Collins, CO. 105 pages.
    • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Menamo, M. 2014. Effects of cyanobacterial biofertilizer, compost and urea on yield and nutritional content of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) grown in soils from Ziway and Yirgalem, Ethiopia. M.S. Thesis. Hawassa University; Hawassa, Ethiopia. 74 pages.
    • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Yoder, N. 2014. Organic fertilizer comparison on kale (Brassica spp.) growth and nutrient content. M.S. Thesis. Colorado State University; Fort Collins, CO. 32 pages.
    • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Davis, J.G. 2014. CSU Team Begins Testing of On-farm Bio-Fertilizer Production on Local Orchards. Fruit Facts May 2014. Colorado State University Western Colorado Research Center. Grand Junction, CO.
    • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Davis, J.G. 2014. CSU Soil Fertility Team Testing On-Farm Bio-Fertilizer Production for High?Value Crops. Southeast Farm and Ranch Newsletter October 2013. Colorado State University Cooperative Extension Southeast Area. Lamar, CO.
    • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Davis, J.G. 2014. Improving Fertilizer Recovery by Your Wheat Crop. Making Better Decisions: Colorado Winter Wheat Variety Performance Trials. Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Report TR 14-8. Fort Collins, CO.


    Progress 07/01/12 to 09/30/12

    Outputs
    Target Audience: Our target audience is irrgated vegetable growers in Colorado and beyond. Although we work with both conventional and organic farmers, our focus is small and medium-sized farmers that manage their farms organically (whether they are certified or not). Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? We held two field days in 2013 to reach our primary audience, small vegetable growers: July 17, 2013 at Spring Kite Farm (one of our cooperating farms) and August 28, 2013 at the CSU Horticulture Research Center. In total, we had about 75 audience members. In addition, about 80 additional farmers learned about cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer at the Southern Rocky Mountain Agricultural Conference (Monte Vista, CO) on February 2, 2013. Dr. Davis and her students also spoke at other events in order to reach other communities of interest beyond the farming community: a) 120 middle school students at Africa Day at Webber Middle School in Fort Collins, CO on February 8, 2013. b) 10 members of the U.S. Agency for International Development Development Innovation Ventures team (Washington, DC) on March 19, 2013. c) 200 entrepreneurs and inventors at the Rocky Mountain Innosphere in Fort Collins, CO on April 12, 2013. d) 50 Phi Beta Kappa initiates and their families and mentors in Fort Collins, CO on April 25, 2013. e) 6 engineers from CSU's Mechanical Engineering Department and the Shell Foundation in Fort Collins, CO on August 12, 2013. f) 15 Horticulture graduate students and faculty at CSU on November 13, 2013. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Objective 1: Test an on-farm cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer production system and optimize the yield, efficiency, and productivity of cyanobacteria. In 2014, we plan to evaluate the potential for increasing CO2 concentrations in the raceways as a means to further increase growth and N fixation by cyanobacteria. Objective 2: Evaluate the utilization of cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer as both a solid and liquid fertilizer in irrigated vegetable production systems in order to maximize the vegetable yield, efficiency, and productivity. We plan to repeat the 2013 field experiment on lettuce for a second year. In addition, we would like to add evaluation of nitrate leaching and possibly ammonia volatilization in order to understand N cycling in organic systems more thoroughly. Objective 3: Quantify the carbon footprint of commonly-used organic and conventional fertilizers and cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer. We will repeat the N2O and CO2 measurements from 2013 in order to verify our findings. We will also attempt to quantify the amount of C utilized in the production of the organic fertilizers under evaluation (bllod meal, feather meal, fish emulsion, and cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer).

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? Both organic and conventional nitrogen fertilizers face serious limitations to their sustainability, particularly in the western USA. Manure and compost are commonly used in organic farming systems, but they often come from off-farm, are low in N content, have to be hauled long distances, and can contribute to soil salinization. Legume cover crops consume soil water while improving soil fertility, and are not used much in semi-arid areas due to the scarcity of water that could otherwise be used for cash crops. Many organic farmers use fertilizers that are hauled long distances (e.g., fish emulsion, guano) and are expensive (compared to manure). The processing and transportation involved increases the carbon footprint of organic crops. Most consumers of local, organic crops don’t realize that these local farms are often dependent on fertilizers shipped to them over considerable distances. Conventional nitrogen fertilizer is highly dependent on natural gas supplies both as an ingredient and as an energy source, and is transported long distances (55% ofnitrogen fertilizer consumer in the USAis imported). In addition, N2O emissions after fertilizer application to land are a significant contributor to agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, 70-75% of the carbon footprint of conventional crops is due to nitrogen fertilizer, and of economic concern, fertilizer prices vary with increasingly volatile energy prices. The cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer we are developing and testing in this project addresses many of these limitations to sustainability. We are developing a biological fertilizer production process that can be carried out on farm, thus eliminating transportation requirements. By using the energy from the Sun as their sole energy source, cyanobacteria fix N while reducing the use of fossil fuels in fertilizer production. To date, we have been focusing on increasing our knowledge about how to optimize a cyanobacteria-based fertilizer system. However, we have received numerous inquiries from small farmers and are eager to provide them with the knowledge they need to implement this system on their own farms in the years to come. Objective 1: Test an on-farm cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer production system and optimize the yield, efficiency, and productivity of cyanobacteria. In previous research, we developed a nutrient media for cyanobacteria that could be certified as an organic media. In 2013, we compared this organic nutrient media (RB) with the Allen-Arnon (AA) media that is commonly used for laboratory studies in a field study. We used a cyanobacterium cultured from a local lake, with 99% similarity to Anabaena cylindrica. In the field study, growth (estimated by optical density) and N-fixation (estimated by net Total Kjeldahl N (TKN)) of raceway-cultivated (three replicates of each treatment in six 2 x 6 m raceways) cyanobacteria grown in the RB medium was compared to AA medium. No significant difference in growth or net TKN was found between the two treatments. This study suggests that the RB medium supports growth and N fixation equal to that of the AA medium in raceway cultivation. This is an especially important finding for certified organic farmers who would like to produce their own cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer. The RB media yields equally to the AA media and can be certified as organic. Objective 2: Evaluate the utilization of cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer as both a solid and liquid fertilizer in irrigated vegetable production systems in order to maximize the vegetable yield, efficiency, and productivity. A field experiment was conducted during summer 2013 at the CSU Horticulture Field Research Center. The soil was a fine, smectitic, mesic Aridic Argiustoll of the Nunn series, and the crop was lettuce (Lactuca sativa). The treatments were solid commercial organic fertilizers (feather meal and blood meal) and liquid fertilizers (fish emulsion and liquid cyanobacteria) applied at 55 and 110 kg N hectare-1. Liquid fertilizers (fish emulsion and liquid cyanobacteria) were applied every two weeks after transplanting while the solid commercial fertilizers (blood meal and feather meal) were applied prior to planting. There were no significant differences observed in leaf N concentration, leaf chlorophyll content, or soil total N. However, the high rate of cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer yielded significantly higher than all other treatments. On the other hand, feather meal and blood meal treatments recorded significantly higher soil nitrate-N concentration post-season compared to the liquid fertilizer treatments. Residual soil nitrate is vulnerable to leaching during the off-season, so it is possible that the solid fertilizers could be at greater risk of contributing to nitrate leaching than the liquid fertilizers based on this preliminary result. Objective 3: Quantify the carbon footprint of commonly-used organic and conventional fertilizers and cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer. Throughout the duration of the field experiment described under Objective 2, CO2 and N2O emissions were measured twice per day three times per week. These samples were analyzed by gas chromatograph, and the data are currently being analyzed. This data will be used to compare the greenhouse gas emissions of different organic fertilizers, an important part of our analysis of their carbon footprints. This knowledge will allow farmers to consider carbon footprint in their fertilizer decision-making.

    Publications

    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Davis, J.G. E. Wolde-meskel, A. Sukor, H.N. Storteboom, F. Abuye, M. Menamo, S. Yigrem, M. Asmamaw, G. Wolde, M. Yohannes, and T. G/Egziabher. 2013. Nitrogen source influences crop Zn, Fe, and ?-carotene contents. In XVII. International Plant Nutrition Colloquium and Boron Satellite Meeting Proceedings Book, pp. 190-191, Sabanci University, Istanbul. ISBN 978-605-4348-62-6. Retreived from http://www.plantnutrition.org/en/2013ipnc-b-proceedings.html.
    • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Davis, J.G. 2013. Making fertilizer decisions during drought. p. 45 In Making Better Decisions: 2013 Colorado Winter Wheat Variety Performance Trials. Colorado State University Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Report TR-13-9.
    • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Davis, J.G. 2013. Making fertilizer decisions during drought. p. 7-8 In Colorado State University Southeast Area Extension Farm and Ranch Newsletter April 2013 (Vol. 1, Issue 1).
    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Asmamaw, M., G. Wolde, M. Yohannes, S. Yigrem, E. Wolde-meskel, A. Chala, and J.G. Davis. 2013. Comparison of cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer with urea on two soils and three crops. Paper 78238, Soil Science Society of America Annual Meeting; Nov. 3-6, 2013; Tampa, FL.
    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Barminski, R.L., H. Storteboom, and J.G. Davis. 2013. Optimizing growth and nitrogen fixation in organic cyanobacterial biofertilizer production. Paper 79474, Soil Science Society of America Annual Meeting; Nov. 3-6, 2013; Tampa, FL.
    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Davis, J.G., A. Sukor, H. Storteboom, F. Abuye, M. Menamo, G. Wolde, M. Yohannes, M. Asmamaw, S. Yigrem, T. G/Egziabher, and E. Wolde-meskel. 2013. Paper 78248, Influence of cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer on crop micronutrient (Zn, Fe, beta-carotene) content. Crop Science Society of America Annual Meeting; Nov. 3-6, 2013; Tampa, FL.
    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Hurisso, T.T., J.G. Davis, J. Norton, E. Wolde-meskel, A. Chala, and A. Getachew. 2013. Coffee wastewater for acidifying animal bone-meal: Impacts on crop growth and phosphorus nutrition in P deficient soils in Ethiopia. Paper 80888, American Society of Agronomy Annual Meeting; Nov. 3-6, 2013; Tampa, FL.
    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Sukor, A., F. Stonaker, M.E. Stromberger, H. Storteboom, and J.G. Davis. 2013. Fertilizer recovery of cyanobacterial and commonly-used organic fertilizers and lettuce growth response on different soil textures. Paper 78376, Soil Science Society of America Annual Meeting; Nov. 3-6, 2013; Tampa, FL.
    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Yohannes, M., G. Wolde, M. Asmamaw, S. Yigrem, H. Storteboom, E. Wolde-meskel, A. Chala, and J.G. Davis. 2013. Paper 78249, Optimizing a cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer manufacturing system for village-level production in Ethiopia. American Society of Agronomy Annual Meeting; Nov. 3-6, 2013; Tampa, FL.
    • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Sukor, A. 2013. Effects of cyanobacterial fertilizers compared to commonly-used organic fertilizers on nitrogen availability, lettuce growth, and nitrogen use efficiency on different soil textures. M.S. Thesis. Colorado State University; Fort Collins, CO. 99 pages.
    • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Admasie, Mulat Asmamaw. 2013. The potential of cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer for kale (Brassica carinata L.) production in soils of Ziway and Yirgalem, Ethiopia. M.S. thesis. Hawassa University; Hawassa, Ethiopia. 88 pages.
    • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Sido, Mekiso Yohannes. 2013. Effect of cyanobacterial biofertilizer on growth of hot pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) on soils from Ziway and Yirgalem, Ethiopia. M.S. thesis. Hawassa University; Hawassa, Ethiopia. 73 pages.
    • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Feleke, Girma Wolde. 2013. Response of maize (Zea mays L.) to cyanobacterial biofertilizer application on soils of Ziway and Yirgalem, Ethiopia. M.S. thesis. Hawassa University; Hawassa, Ethiopia. 80 pages.
    • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Hurisso, T.T., J.G. Davis, J.E. Brummer, M.E. Stromberger, M.M. Mikha, M.L. Haddix, M.R. Booher, and E.A. Paul. 2013. Rapid changes in microbial biomass and aggregate size distribution in response to changes in organic matter management in grass pasture. Geoderma 193-194:68-75.
    • Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2014 Citation: Moshia, M., R. Khosla, D. Westfall, J. Davis, and R. Reich. 2014. Precision manure management on site-specific management zones: Nitrogen mineralization. J. Pl. Nut. In Press.
    • Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2014 Citation: Moshia, M., R. Khosla, J. Davis, D. Westfall, and K. Doesken. 2014. Precision manure management on site-specific management zones: Topsoil quality and environmental impact. Commun. Soil Sci. and Pl. Anal. In Review.