Effects of Flue Gas Desulfurization Gypsum on Crop Yield and Soil Properties in Kansas

Flue gas desulfurization (FGD) gypsum was recently approved for use in Kansas as a sulfur (S) fertilizer and as a soil amendment. Gypsum has been known as an effective product used in remediation of sodic soils, as the calcium (Ca) can exchange with sodium (Na) on the cations on clay particles. Marketing efforts have promoted the use of FGD gypsum on non-sodic soils as a means of improving soil health. Two 3-year study sites were established in Kansas in 2013, and no yield effects were observed for any of the site years. Treatment differences for grain quality and soil chemical properties had consistently greater sulfate-sulfur (SO4-S) with increasing FGD application rates. Soil electrical conductivity (EC) had instances where it was greater with increasing gypsum rates. There were no treatment differences for the selected soil physical and biological parameters. During this project, FGD gypsum did not cause changes in soil health at the two sites

Evaluating Multi-Species Cover Crops for Forage Production

Cover crops offer potential benefits for improving soil health, but establishment and management costs can be expensive. One way for farmers to recover these costs is to graze the forage, which benefits producers by integrating crop and animal production. More information is needed on the potential forage quantity and quality for grazing livestock of cover crops and mixed species of cover crops. Researchers have suggested that different plant species complement each other, but additional work is needed to determine how best to balance forage production and how competitive the various species are when added to a mix. Sixteen treatments were drill-seeded at the Southeast Research and Extension Center near Columbus, Kansas, in August 2014 and 2015. Each treatment consisted of a three-way mix representing popular cover crops from the plant families Brassicaceae (brassicas), Poaceae (grasses), and Fabaceae (legumes). Eight species were planted, including forage radish (Raphanus sativus), purple-top turnip (Brassica rapa), oat (Avena sativa), rye (Secale cereale), barley (Hordeum vulgare), wheat (Triticum aestivum), Austrian winter pea (Pisum sativum subsp. arvense), and berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum). Small areas of each plot were clipped at 45-, 74-, and 91-day intervals each year. The clipped biomass was then weighed, sorted, and dried to determine biomass as well as species composition. In 2014 the average biomass produced at 45, 74, and 91 days was 1,250, 3,290, and 3,050 lb/ac, respectively. These range from 470–1,940 lb/ac 45 days after planting to 1,790–4,440 lb/ac at 91 days after planting, depending on the cover crop mix. In 2015, the average biomass at 45, 74, and 91 days was 1,120, 1,604, and 2,273 lb/ac, respectively. These range from 557-1,876 lb/ ac 45 days after planting to 1,100–4,127 lb/ac at 91 days after planting, depending on the cover crop mix

Improving Yield Stability and Resiliency of Agronomic Production Systems in Southeast Kansas

Soil health is a critical determinant of crop performance. Soil physical, chemical, and biological properties can be modified through production practices such as tillage. Use of cover crops has been shown to benefit soil health and may improve productive capacity of soils. High rainfall and intense crop production practices limit the ability to implement cover crops in current production systems in southeast Kansas. This study explores potential management of cover crops and their contribution to soil health, crop productivity, and animal grazing

Human Land-Use and Soil Change

Soil change is the central, if under-recognized, component of land and ecosystem changes (Yaalon 2007). Soils change naturally over a long timescale (decades to millennia) in response to soil-forming factors (biota, climate, parent material, time, and topography). However, human land-use pressures are currently the driving force in maintaining, aggrading, and degrading soil properties across nearly all ecosystems. Traditionally, in order to simplify and standardize the relationships between soils and soil-forming factors, pedology and soil survey have often focused on “natural” or “virgin” soil (e.g., Hilgard 1860; Jenny 1980), but many argue that humans should be thought of as a part of soil genesis and formation (Amundson and Jenny 1991; Yaalon and Yaron 1966; Bidwell and Hole 1965). Landscapes and soils have been altered by wide-scale conversion to agriculture, use of vegetative products, and development for direct human use. Land-use impacts can be gradual or abrupt, subtle, or catastrophic (Table 18.1). The interactions between environmental changes and geomorphic and biotic feedback loops vary across temporal and spatial scales depending on the setting (Monger and Bestelmeyer 2006). The effects of land use can linger for decades to centuries and beyond (Hall et al. 2013; Jangid et al. 2011; Sandor et al. 1986). While each land resource region has some specific soil–land use interactions, this chapter will focus on general uses and topical areas: croplands, wetlands, grazing lands (both pasture and rangelands), and forest lands with smaller sections devoted to special issues including acid sulfate soils, strip-mined lands, and cold soils

Soil and crop response to stover removal from rainfed and irrigated corn

Excessive corn (Zea mays L.) stover removal for biofuel and other uses may adversely impact soil and crop production. We assessed the effects of stover removal at 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% from continuous corn on water erosion, corn yield, and related soil properties during a 3-year study under irrigated and no-tillage management practice on a Ulysses silt loam at Colby, irrigated and strip till management practice on a Hugoton loam at Hugoton, and rainfed and no-tillage management practice on a Woodson silt loam at Ottawa in Kansas, USA. The slope of each soil was \u3c1%. One year after removal, complete (100%) stover removal resulted in increased losses of sediment by 0.36–0.47 Mg ha-1 at the irrigated sites, but, at the rainfed site, removal at rates as low as 50% resulted in increased sediment loss by 0.30 Mg ha-1 and sediment-associated carbon (C) by 0.29 kg ha-1. Complete stover removal reduced wet aggregate stability of the soil at the irrigated sites in the first year after removal, but, at the rainfed site, wet aggregate stability was reduced in all years. Stover removal at rates ≥ 50%resulted in reduced soil water content, increased soil temperature in summer by 3.5–6.8 °C, and reduced tem-perature in winter by about 0.5 °C. Soil C pool tended to decrease and crop yields tended to increase with an increase in stover removal, but 3 years after removal, differences were not significant. Overall, stover removal at rates ≥50% may enhance grain yield but may increase risks of water erosion and negatively affect soil water and temperature regimes in this region

Growth, Forage Quality, and Economics of Cover Crop Mixes for Grazing

Cover crops offer many potential benefits to crop production. They diversify the plant system, increase soil organic matter, and reduce erosion. However, they can be expensive to plant. By grazing the cover crops, farmers can recover some of the expenses associated with growing cover crops. Grazing also increases the nutrients to the field, further enhancing the productive capacity of the soil. Many cover crop mixtures are currently available on the market. However, it is not clear how useful the multi-species cover crops mixtures are, or their potential impact on economics of production. Moreover, many of the cover crop mixes being sold contain species that are potentially harmful to either humans or cattle. For example, some cattle are sensitive to hairy vetch (Farney et al., 2016). Buckwheat, a valuable and frequently used cover crop, causes serious allergic reactions in some human populations, making it especially unsuitable for growing regions that also produce wheat. To avoid cross-contamination of buckwheat with wheat, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) requires an exclusion of buckwheat by 30 feet and two years from any commercial wheat production fields. NRCS has restricted the use of buckwheat in cover crop mixes for regions that grow wheat (NRCS, 2016). Many plants are good for planting as cover crops. There are three general categories of plants that are commonly used as cover crops, each with a unique growth habit and rooting structure. In this study, we chose common plants from each of these major groups: grasses, brassicas, and legumes. The soils in southeast Kansas were developed under the tallgrass prairie. Grasses have a dense, fibrous rooting system that is ideally suited for growth in the claypan soils of this region. Studies of soil microbial activity indicate that grasses may enhance microbial activity at lower soil layers, better using more of the soil profile for extracting nutrients and water (Hsiao et al., 2018). The grasses chosen for this study included winter barley, winter oats, cereal rye, and winter wheat. Brassicas have a taproot that creates large holes in the soil called macropores. These macropores break up the soil structure. As the large taproot decays, it supports microbial activity and further improves the soil structure. Brassicas also release unique compounds into the soil, such as glucosinolates, that have been shown to suppress disease organisms in the soil such as fungi and nematodes. The brassicas used in this study included tillage radish and purple-top turnip. Legumes improve the soil by increasing the soil nitrogen. Most legumes have a fibrous rooting system. The legumes used in this study included berseem clover and Austrian winter pea

Assessing Corn Response to Cover Crops and Nitrogen Fertilization in a No-Till, Three-Year Rotation in Northeast Kansas

A long-term cover crop experiment was established in 2007 at Ashland Bottoms near Manhattan, KS, to determine the effect of cover crops and nitrogen (N) rates on subse­quent corn growth and yield in a wheat-corn-soybean rotation. Treatments included chemical fallow, double crop soybean, different cover crops (cereal rye,crimson clover, a mix of cereal rye and crimson clover, and a diverse mix of seven species) planted in late summer after wheat harvest, and five N rates (0, 40, 80, 160, and 240 lb/acre) applied to the subsequent corn crop. Yield responded differently to N rate depending on cover crop treatment and year. In both 2021 and 2022, corn after chemical fallow and double crop soybeans maximized yields at 80 lb N/acre, but corn following cereal rye and the cereal rye-crimson clover mix needed 160 to 240 lb N/acre to maximize yield. Nitrogen fertilizer replacement values (NFRV) were negative for most cover crop treatments, indicating immobilization of soil N. The double crop soybean NFRV had the least nega­tive value. Overall, N availability for uptake by the subsequent corn crop was reduced by cover crop treatments compared to the check. However, soil water used by the cover crops likely also contributed to corn yield reductions and confounded with NFRV estimations

Dual-purpose wheat: Management for forage and grain production

The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service periodically issues revisions to its publications. The most current edition is made available. For access to an earlier edition, if available for this title, please contact the Oklahoma State University Library Archives by email at [email protected] or by phone at 405-744-6311

Corn and Soybean Yield as Affected by Cover Crop and Phosphorus Fertilizer Management

Phosphorus (P) fertilizer additions are often required to meet crop nutrient demands, but over-fertilization can have economic consequences, as well as environmental consequences from agricultural P loss. Therefore, we require management strategies that balance crop P demand and the need to minimize environmental P loss. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of cover crop addition and P fertilizer management strategy [build and maintain (BM), sufficiency (SF), and a zero-P control (CN)] on crop yield of a no-till, corn-soybean system for 2020, 2021, and 2022 crop years for a site near Manhattan, KS. The addition of a cover crop decreased corn yield in 2021, and soybean yield in 2022, compared to the no cover treatment. In all three years of the study, both BM and SF management increased crop yield compared to the control, and BM and SF yields were similar, overall

Proceedings of the 24th annual Central Plains irrigation conference

Presented at Proceedings of the 24th annual Central Plains irrigation conference held on February 21-22 in Colby, Kansas