From the Field to the Lab: July

Traditionally research gets published when the data have been collected, the analysis has been done, some overall summaries have been made and the project is at an end. And for good reason. But as our field days have shown us over the years, there is so much that happens along the way that is of interest for other researchers and for farmers. While overarching conclusions can't necessarily be made based upon mid-stream findings, there are often unexpected outcomes along the way that can inform real-world practices. So we're opening up our doors each month and inviting you all for a virtual "field day" of our research projects. Look for "From the Field to the Lab" to see what our research team has been up to.

Mycorrhiza Leek Tillage Trial

Operations Foreman Owen Maguire rotovates the first four plots. The trial includes three different tilling treatments that will look at the effect of tillage frequency on mycorrhiza populations and weed density.

Tomato Planting in Field 4 (SARE No-Till Veggie Trial)

On June 10th, the Research Team came together, with help from the Operations Team and wonder-volunteer John Serrao, to plant 800 tomato plants for RI’s SARE vegetable project. The purpose of the project is to compare weed suppression, yields and soil effects of different mulches for vegetable production. The mulches we’re testing are black plastic; flail-mowed rye, vetch, or a mix of rye and vetch; and no-till rolled rye, vetch, or rye-vetch mixture. Into these various mulches, we’re planting tomatoes and pole beans.

Hiniker Cultivator in the Soybean Management Trial

Here is a picture of the Hiniker High Residue Cultivator working beautifully in the Soybean Management experiment. This management technique is designed to cut the weed roots under the rye mat while leaving the rye mat intact. We are doing this cultivation twice (with one week in between each pass) for 3 treatments to attempt to stop the weeds from re-rooting. In these 3 treatments the cultivator is used at different numbers of weeks after planting.

Soil Sampling in FST

We’re undertaking a major soil sampling in the Farming Systems Trial (FST) that began last December and will wrap up this fall. The goal of this sampling is not only to assess soil carbon and nitrogen, but to also establish the depth of the topsoil (A horizon) and determine the bulk density and percent of rock fragments that make up our soil. We’re taking 50 samples from each of FST’s 72 plots in order to map variations in these parameters over the area, and at different depths (up to 30 cm). The data will help us develop much clearer and more accurate assessment of how much carbon is being sequestered by FST’s six farming systems.

IOP Oat Harvest

At the end of the month, oats were harvested from the Integrated Organic Program (IOP) field, just as they were at the five other participating IOP research stations in the northern mid-west. Weed biomass in the field was collected by hand, oat yields were weighed using the research combine, and then the straw from the field was baled and weighed to assess crop yields and the full above-ground biomass produced by the tilled and no-till treatments.

Harvesting Sweet Corn for Mycorrhiza Research

On July 28, we harvested sweet corn from a field trial that was designed to assess the impact of mycorrhizal inoculum on the growth and yield of corn that is started in the greenhouse.  It’s hypothesized that inoculating transplants with mycorrhiza in the greenhouse will give the transplants an advantage in scavenging the soil for nutrients, particularly phosphorus, once they are planted in the field.  Whole corn plants from inoculated and uninoculated transplants were harvested and both stalks and cobs were counted and weighed.  Prior to harvest, roots of some plants had been taken back to the lab to be examined for mycorrhizal colonization.

FST Marker Platform Installation

David Heath and Harrison Frantz, interns provided by the National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) assisted in installing underground location markers in the historic Farming Systems Trial. These markers will form a “sampling platform” that will allow us to precisely revisit sampling locations in the trial in 1, 5, and even 20 years, because the markers are permanently installed below the plow line. A power auger was used to drill the 2-foot deep holes required to properly place the markers. Read Making carbon crediting really work for farmers, Part 3 for more on this process.

FST Wheat Harvest

On June 29th, wheat was harvested from the conventional no-till system, and from the organic manure and legume tilled and no-till systems (20 of FST’s 72 plots).  Yields were calculated using grain weight data collected by the research combine, and then the straw was baled and weighed.

Weed/Crop Competition Assessment

Researchers are studying weed diversity, density and growth as part of our weed management research program, both in FST and in this year’s soybean management trial. Quads that cover a half square-meter are laid down over a crop row, and then all the weeds that fall within the quad area are identified by species, counted by species and measured for height. These data give us an idea of the type and quantity of weeds that compete with our crops. Assessments are conducted several times throughout the growing season to evaluate, for example, how effective our mechanical weed management tools are, and what weeds are most commonly present and competitive with the crop from beginning to end of the season.