Multiflora rose
(Continued from Page Al)
commTtftient from
Agriculture Secretary
t Penrose Hallowell to come
up with new legislation
similar to HB 2360 which was
defeated this past session.
HB 2360 would have allowed
the Secretary of Agriculture
to declare a plant a noxious
weed by holding a series of
hearings before a noxious
weed committee, but without
the currently required
legislative approval
Bowers said Tuesday the
Commission would not op
pose such a move if the
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Commission were
represented on the weed
hearing panel.
Bowers, shortly after the
meeting, issued an order.'
curtailing production of
autumn olive at the Com
mission nursery.
Both the multiflora and
autumn olive moves were,
taken administratively and
will require no further
Commission approval.
Rep. Hayes also asked
Penn State University to
work on management
guidelines for multiflora
rose.
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Hayes, backed by 40
Huntingdon County fanners,
said he would check the Soil
Conservation Service to be
sure they are not using
multiflora rose or autumn
olive as cover to reclaim
land
Bowers said the Game
Commission had stopped
planting multiflora rose
several years ago but still
sees a place for the species
in wildlife management
He said the Commission is
doing some studies using
Roundup to eliminate
multiflora rose.
“But we are not going into
an all-out program to
annihilate multiflora rose,”
he added.
Bowers blames much of
the problem espenenced by
the farmers in Huntingdon
County and other areas on
birds who eat the multiflora
berries and spread the plant
in their droppings. The plant
quickly takes over un
cultivated meadows or land
along stream banks
This summer, the Hun
tingdon County farmers and
County Agent Harold L
Lockhoff asked their County
Commissioners to do
something about the
problem The County At
torney told them they would
have to go to the Secretary of
Agriculture for help
They did so at the County
Fair in August. There, the
Secretary invited them to
come down to Harrisburg to
talk.
Hayes organized the date
and led the day for the
farmers Representatives of
the Grange, Farmers’
Association, and even the
Holstein Association backed
him up.
Hayes asked the Game
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Delaware sewage sludge
evaluated as fertilizer
DOVER, Del. - Use of
sewage sludge as fertilizer
on cropland is a long
established practice in some
parts of the world though
only a recent development in
theU.S.
But as the prices of
commercial fertilizers and
the cost of sludge disposal
mount, researchers are
taking a close look at how
this waste material can be
safely and effectively used
for agricultural purposes in
this country, too.
For the past three years
scientists at the University
of Delaware Agricultural
Experiment Station have
been studying the feasibility
of using sludge from Kent
County’s sewage treatment
plant on field crops.
When Station soil scientist
William Liebhardt began his
Commission to firm up its
oral commitments at its
January meeting. Bowers
confirmed on Tuesday that
the full Commission would
be informed of his action at
the January meeting.
Why was it so easy for the
Huntingdon County farmers
to succeed where so many
others had failed’
Actually, they will say, it
wasn’t easy until they got the
ear of the new Majority
leader. He made sure the
group in Harrisburg was
listening
It >vas all downhill sled
ding after that.
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project back in 1977, the first
thing he did was analyze the
sludge for its nutrient
content.
He found that an ap
plication of 2.77 dry tons per
acre would provide roughly
300 pounds of nitrogen and
235 pounds of phosphorus.
Fifteen percent of the
nitrogen is ammonium. The
rest is organic nitrogen - an
excellent ratio for plants.
An analysis of heavy
metals in the sewage waste
showed up an excess of only
one-zinc. This occurred at
nearly twice the level con
sidered safe for crops under
current guidelines. While
this poses no threat to
humans (nutritionists say
the American diet tends to
be too low in zinc) Leibhardt
was concerned about a
possible toxic effect on
plants and soil.
To find out how well plants
would perform with the
sludge, he established
research plots near the
treatment plant and started
growing botr corn and
soybeans there.
He applied sludge at four
different rates -0, 440, 880
and 1760 pounds of nitrogen
per acre. The two highest
applications used several
tunes more nitrogen or
sludge than should be used
under normal conditions.
But the scientists felt this
test was necessary to judge,
the safety margin for the soil
amendment.
Results to date are en
couraging, reports
Liebhardt. “We’ve found no
visible sign of zinc toxicity in
either corn or soybeans.
Neither growth nor yield
have been adversely af
fected by the sludge. ’ ’
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Analysis of plants grown
on sludge-amended soil
shows increased con
centrations of both
manganese and zinc. But
both are well within normal
ranges and don’t indicate
problems for either the
plants themselves or for
then- use as animal feed.
Other research has shown
that soil type and soil pH
may be more important than
the application of sludge in
controlling zinc uptake in
plants, says the soil scien
tist. The native supply of
plant-available zinc in soils
is quite variable. Low pH
also favors zinc uptake. This
indicates the importance of
site management where
sewage is used as fertilizer.
“We are now reasonably
assured there’s no problem
with the use of sewage
sludge on field com as long
as amounts used are those
needed to meet fertilizer
needs, and not as disposal
mechanism,” reports
Liebhardt.
With proper management
he feels the material has
potential on Delaware soils
as a safe and effective
fertilizer.
He and fellow scientists
have just started a new
project at the University’s
Georgetown Substation
where they will be com
paring the performance of
several vegetable crops
under various sludge and
commercial fertilizer
treatments.
Work is also in progress to
evaluate the rate at which
plant-available nitrogen is
released from sludge. This
will help researchers learn
how much of the material
farmers need to use for
adequate crop growth.