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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Sustainable Agricultural Systems Laboratory » Research » Research Project #435046
Research Project: Enhancing Sustainability of Mid-Atlantic Agricultural Systems Using Agroecological Principles and Practices

Location: Sustainable Agricultural Systems Laboratory

2021 Annual Report


Accomplishments
1. Legumes improve phosphorus and potassium balances in long-term organic crop rotations. Balancing nutrient inputs and outputs is a fundamental goal of agricultural sustainability, but this can be difficult to achieve when poultry litter is used to supply nitrogen for crops due to its high phosphorus content. USDA-ARS scientists in Beltsville, Maryland, used 13 years of data to compare the balance between inputs and exports of phosphorus and potassium in poultry litter-amended organic crop rotations at the Farming Systems Project. Including legume cover crops or forages and increasing crop rotation length/complexity increased nutrient export and non-poultry litter nitrogen inputs, thereby reducing poultry litter application rates, and improving phosphorus and potassium balances. These results will be of interest to organic and conventional farmers, nutrient management specialists and state and federal employees engaged in nutrient management policies.

2. Cold temperatures limit biological nitrogen fixation by winter legume cover crops. Winter annual legume cover crops can reduce the need for spring nitrogen fertilization via biological nitrogen fixation. However, cold fall temperatures in the northern regions of the U.S. can limit root growth and symbiotic bacterial establishment, thereby reducing the biological nitrogen fixation of these crops. In a pair of studies aimed to examine effects of cold temperatures on nodulation and nodule microbiome compositions in legume cover crops, researchers at the University of Minnesota and ARS researchers in Beltsville, Maryland, found that the lower limits of nitrogen fixation in three common cover crops [Hairy vetch (Vicia villosa), Austrian winter pea (Pisum sativa) and Crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum)] were different and all species failed to establish symbiotic relationships with bacteria below an ambient temperature of 10°C. This is critical information to estimate annual winter cover crop nitrogen contributions and will be of interest to farmers, scientists, and policymakers considering nitrogen balance in cropping systems.

3. Grazing cover crops increases soil compaction. Grazing cover crops prior to planting summer cash crops offers an economic return to producers. However, grazing animals exert large pressures on soil, which can increase soil compaction that can limit root growth and potentially reduce crop yield. USDA-ARS scientists in Beltsville, Maryland, and Tifton, Georgia, compared the effects of spring grazing versus rolling to terminate a rye cover crop on soil compaction in a rye-cotton no-till cropping system in the Georgia Piedmont. Wet spring conditions during grazing resulted in an increase in soil strength (a measure of compaction) compared to rolling that decreased over time but were still present the following winter. Grazing cover crops under wet conditions presents a risk of short-term negative impacts even for southern Piedmont soils with improved soil quality from a long history of conservation tillage and cover cropping. These results will be of interest to farmers, crop management specialists, and state and federal employees promoting diversified crop-animal production systems.


Review Publications
Roberts, D.P., Vandenberg, B., Mirsky, S., Buser, M., Reberg-Horton, C., Short, N., Shrestha, S. 2020. How to feed the world. In: Wright, D.J., Harder, C., editors. Applying Mapping and Spatial Analytics. GIS for Science. Redlands, CA:Esri Press. p. 110-123.
 Vaghefi, N., Kikkert, J.R., Bolton, M.D., Hanson, L.E., Secor, G.A., Nelson, S.C., Pethybridge, S.J. 2017. Global genotype flow in Cercospora beticola populations confirmed through genotyping-by-sequencing. PLoS One. 12(10): e0186488. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0186488.
 Kepler, R., Epp Schmidt, D.J., Yarwood, S.A., Cavigelli, M.A., Buyer, J.S., Duke, S.O., Reddy, K.N., Williams, M., Bradley, C.A., Maul, J.E. 2020. Soil microbial communities in diverse agroecosystems exposed to glyphosate. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.01744-19.
 Endale, D.M., Schomberg, H.H., Franzluebbers, A.J., Seman, D.H., Franklin, D., Stuedemann, J.A. 2021. Runoff nutrient losses from tall fescue pastures varying in endophyte association, fertilization, and harvest management. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation. https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.2021.00164.
 Goodrich, D.C., Heilman, P., Anderson, M.C., Baffaut, C., Bonta, J.V., Bosch, D.D., Bryant, R.B., Cosh, M.H., Endale, D.M., Veith, T.L., Havens, S.C., Hedrick, A., Kleinman, P.J., Langendoen, E.J., Mccarty, G.W., Moorman, T.B., Marks, D.G., Pierson Jr, F.B., Rigby Jr, J.R., Schomberg, H.H., Starks, P.J., Steiner, J., Strickland, T.C., Tsegaye, T.D. 2020. The USDA-ARS experimental watershed network – Evolution, lessons learned, societal benefits, and moving forward. Water Resources Research. 57(2). Article e2019WR026473. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019WR026473.
 Fernandez-Baca, C.P., Rivers, A.R., Maul, J.E., Kim, W., McClung, A.M., Roberts, D.P., Reddy, V., Barnaby, J.Y. 2021. Rice plant-soil microbiome interactions driven by root and shoot biomass. Diversity. https://doi.org/10.3390/d13030125.
 Evett, S.R., O'Shaughnessy, S.A., Andrade, M.A., Colaizzi, P.D., Schwartz, R.C., Schomberg, H.H., Stone, K.C., Vories, E.D., Sui, R. 2020. Theory and development of a VRI decision support system: The USDA-ARS ISSCADA approach. Transactions of the ASABE. 63(5):1507-1519. https://doi.org/10.13031/trans.13922.
 Lu, Y., Silveira, M.L., O'Connor, G.A., Vendramini, J.M., Erickson, J., Li, Y., Cavigelli, M.A. 2020. Biochar impacts on nutrient dynamics in a subtropical grassland soil - Part 1. N and P leaching. Journal of Environmental Quality. 49:1408-1420. https://doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.20139.
 Lu, Y., Silveira, M.L., Cavigelli, M.A., O'Connor, G.A., Vendramini, J.M., Erickson, J., Li, Y. 2020. Biochar impacts on nutrient dynamics in a subtropical grassland soil - Part 2. Greenhouse gas emissions. Journal of Environmental Quality. 49:1421-1434. https://doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.20141.
 Moore, V., Maul, J.E., Wilson, D., Curran, W., Brainard, D., Devine, T., Mirsky, S.B. 2020. Registration of 'purple bounty' and 'purple prosperity' hairy vetch. Journal of Plant Registrations. 14(3):340-346.
 Marcillo, G.S., Mirsky, S.B., Aurelie, P., Reberg-Horton, S., Timlin, D.J., Schomberg, H.H., Ramos, P. 2020. Using statistical learning algorithms to predict cover crop biomass and nitrogen content. Agronomy Journal. 112(6):4898-4913. https://doi.org/10.1002/agj2.20429.
 White, K.E., Brennan, E.B., Cavigelli, M.A. 2020. Soil carbon and nitrogen data during eight years of cover crop and compost treatments in organic vegetable production. Data in Brief. 33. Article 106481. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2020.106481.
 Thapa, R., Tully, K.L., Cabrera, M.L., Dann, C., Schomberg, H.H., Timlin, D.J., Gaskin, J., Reberg-Horton, C., Davis, B.W., Mirsky, S.B. 2021. Effects of moisture and temperature on C and N mineralization from surface-applied cover crop residues. Biology and Fertility of Soils. 57:485-498. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-021-01543-7.
 Schomberg, H.H., Endale, D.M., Balkcom, K.S., Raper, R.L., Seman, D.H. 2021. Grazing winter rye cover crop in a cotton no-till system: Soil strength and runoff. Agronomy Journal. 113(2):1271-1286. https://doi.org/10.1002/agj2.20612.
 Moore, V., Davis, B., Maul, J.E., Kucek, L.K., Mirsky, S.B. 2020. Phenotypic and nodule microbial diversity among crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.) accessions. Agronomy. 10(9):1434. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10091434.
 White, K.E., Cavigelli, M.A., Bagley, G. 2021. Legumes and nutrient management improve phosphorus and potassium balances in long-term crop rotations. Agronomy Journal. https://doi.org/10.1002/agj2.20651.
 Vann, R., Reberg-Horton, S., Castillo, M., Murphy, J., Mirsky, S.B., Saha, U., McGee, R.J. 2021. Differences among eighteen winter pea genotypes for forage and cover crop use in the southeastern United States. Crop Science. 61(2):947-965. https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.20355.
 Rejesus, R.M., Aglasan, S., Knight, L.G., Cavigelli, M.A., Dell, C.J., Hollinger, D., Lane, E.D. 2021. Economic dimensions of soil health practices that sequester carbon: promising research directions. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation. 76(3):55A-60A. https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.2021.0324A.