Download the Conference Proceedings
Proceedings
Authors
| Filter results5 paper(s) found. |
|---|
1. Is Cover Crop Species Mixture and Diversity More Important at Building Soil Health than Shoot Biomass in a Semi-arid Region?Cover crop mixtures (CCMs) as partial fallow replacements have the potential to increase soil health, yet long-term studies on CCMs, especially in semi-arid environments are relatively rare. An eight-year study at two locations in semi-arid Montana sought to evaluate the effect of functional group (N fixer, tap roots, fibrous roots, brassicacae) and species richness (2, 6, and 8 species in a mix) on a range of biological, physical and chemical soil parameters. Although several soil health... P. Miller, C. Jones, C. Zabinski, K. D'agati, M. Housman, S. Tallman |
2. The Elasticity of Biochar Across the Farm: Nutrient Capture, Compost Feedstock, and Soil AmendmentWhen biomass is thermochemically altered through pyrolysis, what results is biochar, a solid, porous material that is high in carbon (C) (e.g. 80%). Owing to its unique physicochemical properties, biochar has been evaluated as a soil amendment, a compost feedstock, a means to mitigate nutrient loss and a way to sequester carbon. Biochar is an appealing material as a farm management tool because its potential use is varied. As part of a Western SARE grant, soil scientists at Washington... N. Stacey, D. Collins |
3. Cover Cropping in the Semi-arid West: Effects of Termination Timing, Species, and Mixtures on Nitrogen Uptake, Yield, Soil Quality, and Economic ReturnSummer fallow still dominates some areas of the northern Great Plains (NGP), providing an opportunity to grow a partial season cover crop for increased soil health or nutrient availability. Over 12 years of research on single species cover crops in semi-arid Montana have revealed the benefits of early termination and multiple cover crop cycles on N availability, subsequent crop yield, soil health, and economic return. Due to high N fixation, pea cover crops have fairly consistently increased subsequent... C. Jones, P. Miller, S. Tallman, M. Housman, C. Zabinski, M. Burgess, J. O'dea, A. Bekkerman |
4. Turf Response to Reduced Rates of Polymer-coated UreaPolymer-coated urea (PCU) is a controlled-release fertilizer which can enhance nitrogen (N) use efficiency (NUE), reduce N pollution, reduce the need for repeated fertilizer applications, and reduce turfgrass shoot growth and associated costs. A PCU fertilizer rated for 120 d was applied at 50, 75, and 100% of the recommended full rate and compared to an unfertilized control and urea, applied either all at once or split monthly at the full recommended rate. Spring applied PCU showed no initial... B. Hopkins, C. Ransom, M. Ruth, T. Blair, L. Sutton, D. Bradshaw, K. Campbell |
5. Improving Phosphorus Use Efficiency with Carbond PPhosphorus (P) fertilizer is integral for maximizing crop production and is used abundantly to achieve desired yields. However, reduction of P fertilizer is warranted, as it is the primary source of nutrient pollution in surface waters (eutrophication leading to hypoxia) and is derived from non-renewable mineral resources. Two research studies were conducted in 2009 to evaluate a new fertilizer product, Carbond® P against traditional fertilizers ammonium polyphosphate (APP) and monoammonium... B. Hopkins, B. Webb, M. Hill, C. Ransom |