Page 22—Corn Talk, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 29, 2000
DROUGHTY SOILS
Greg Roth
Penn State Agronomy
Associate Professor
A key problem in our Mid-
Atlantic Region is that fre
quently we encounter droughts
on a tegular basis. Many of our
soils ate shallow or sandy and
corn yields are severely
impacted on these soils. As a
result we are often unable to
meet the demands for com in
our region.
Recently several land grant
researchers in the region have
joined forces to look for ways
to manage our variable soils
more efficiently. This project is
known as the Mid-Atlantic
Regional Cropping Systems
Project, and is funded by the
Foundation for Agronomic
Research through support of
numerous industry contributors
and the United Soybean Board.
Dr. Mark Alley from Virgi
nia Tech heads up the project.
Other collaborators on the pro
ject are from North Carolina
State, University of Maryland,
and Penn State.
The main stud/ site of the
project is at the Camden Farm
in Port Royal, Va. This is a
large com/wheat/soybean grain
farm with two major soil types:
droughty sandy loam Bojac
soils and productive Wickham
sandy loam soils.
On these soils, three different
grain crop rotations have been
established: 1) a standard no
till com, conventional-till
wheat, double-crop soybean
rotation; 2) no-till com, no-till
NRCS To Seek Input On
Nutrient Management
Guidelines
For some time, USDA’s
Natural Resource Conser
vation Service has been
developing a technical guid
ance document related to
implementation of compre
hensive nutrient manage
ment plans (CNMPs).
As part of the Clinton
administration’s Clean Water
Act Plan, it is expected that
all animal feeding operation
owners and operators will
soybeans, no-till wheat, no-till
double-crop soybeans; and 3)
no-till wheat, no-dll double
crop soybeans, no-till barley,
and no-till double-crop com.
The objective is to determine
the profitability of each rotation
on the different soils.
In the first year of the study,
1998, an economic analysis
indicated rotation 1, the com/
wheat soybean rotation, would
be the most profitable on The
Bojac soils or on a farm with an
equal portion of both soils. For
a farm with all of the productive
Wickham soils. Rotation 2
would be the most profitable.
These results are based on
yields during the first year
(1998) when full season com
averaged 158 bushels per acre;
double-crop com, 78 bushels
per acre; full-season soybeans,
35 bushels per acre; double
crop soybeans, 24 to 29 bushels
per acre; conventional-till
wheat, 64 bushels per acre; no
till wheat, 55 bushels per acre;
and no-till barley, 92 bushels
per acre.
The other researchers in the
project are studying various
components of the system and
new technologies that could
improve the base system. At
Noth Carolina State, for exam
ple, Ron Heininger and Gail
Wilkerson are developing vari
able rate N and variable rate
weed management systems.
We are evaluating starter fertil
izers and plant populations for
com here in Pennsylvania.
The project has established a
Website to share the results of
the main study and all of the
satellite projects as they prog
ress: www.farmresearch.com.
ORN BITS
have such plans in place by
2009.
While developing the guid
ance document, NRCS
obtained input from the
Environmental Protection
Agency. EPA believes that
document should be a com
prehensive, standalone, pre
scriptive reference that
would provide all the infor
mation necessary for develop
ment and implementation of
a CNMP.
NRCS, on the other hand,
maintains that development
Penn State ie one of four universities that have Joined forcea to atudy opti
mum crop management practicea on droughty aoila in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Potassium deficiency was apparent in some fields, especially where no
starter was used, as shown here by John Rowehl, extension agent
of a CNMP is not significant
ly different than the agency’s
traditional planning process
and, therefore, the document
should be specific, but brief,
with reference to technical
materials that NRCS already
has in place to address asso
ciated issues.
NRCS believes such a doc
ument will provide maximum
flexibility to producers dur
ing development of a CNMP.
Recently NRCS leadership
decided to move forward with
the brief document. It is
expected to be posted in the
Federal Register for a 60-day
public comment period in
mid-October. NCGA will
review and offer input on the
document at that time.