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ARS Home » Plains Area » Temple, Texas » Grassland Soil and Water Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #421494
Research Project: Enhancing Cropping System and Grassland Sustainability in the Texas Gulf Coast Region by Managing Systems for Productivity and Resilience

Location: Grassland Soil and Water Research Laboratory

Title: Creating a producer toolbox for in-field soil health assessment in southern Idaho: Active carbon

Author
item SCHOTT, LINDA - University Of Idaho
item Krecker-Yost, Jenifer
item AGIN, ANA - University Of Idaho
item OLSEN, DAVEY - Amalgamated Sugar Company

Submitted to: ASABE Annual International Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/20/2024
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Sugarbeet growers have a strong interest in maintaining or improving soil health on their farms. To evaluate if improvement is being made, however, growers must first be able to measure soil health. Only then can they understand what impact their management practices are having. Unfortunately, there is currently no universally accepted method of measuring soil health in Southern Idaho. The ultimate goal of this project aimed to develop a rapid, low-cost tool that can be used by growers and advisors to evaluate soil health by measuring Active Carbon (POxC). Soil was collected from 269 fields in the sugarbeet industry in 2021 and 20122 under a wide range of management practices, such as conventional and reduced tillage, compost/manure application, cover crop usage, and a range of rotational crops. Soil was collected and composited from the top 6 inches of the profile from 10-15 locations per field. POxC was measured on a benchtop spectrophotometer and a handeld colorimeter. Initial results indicated that POxC was sensitive to management practices in Southern Idaho, such as tillage, irrigation type, cover crop usage, and manure/compost application but was not sensitive to the previous rotational crop (small grain, potato, corn dry beans). POxC was not correlated with sugarbeet yield or quality from 2021 or 2022. Initial benchmarking for the region resulted in ‘high’ POxC defined as a concentration higher than 480 ppm, ‘average’ POxC as between 480 ppm and 300 ppm, and ‘low’ POxC as less than 300 ppm, which is different than other developed benchmarks. With so much interest in soil health by growers, consumers, and the overall industry, having a metric to measure soil health that is sensitive to local management practices is significant.