University of Delaware - Department of Plant and Soil Sciences cultivates next leaders

University of Delaware-trained plant and soil scientists continue to build on the institution's stellar reputation, with six winning recent national honors.

One graduate student and five graduate alumni of the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences in UD's College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) were presented awards by the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) and the American Society of Agronomy (ASA) at the national meetings of the societies in San Antonio, Texas.

Honorees are alumni Josh McGrath, Chad Penn and Amy Shober, who were advised by Tom Sims, CANR deputy dean and T.A. Baker Professor of Soil and Environmental Chemistry; Daniel Strawn and Kirk Scheckel, who were advised by Donald L. Sparks, S. Hallock du Pont Professor of Soil and Environmental Chemistry and director of the Delaware Environmental Institute; and Sudarshan Dutta, who recently completed his doctorate under the direction of Shreeram Inamdar, associate professor of plant and soil sciences.

Read full article: University of Delaware

Using Biochar to Boost Soil Moisture

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are leading the way in learning more about "biochar," the charred biomass created from wood, other plant material, and manure.

The studies by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists at laboratories across the country support the USDA priorities of promoting international food security and responding to global climate change. ARS is USDA's chief intramural scientific research agency.

Soil scientist Jeff Novak at the ARS Coastal Plains Soil, Water and Plant Research Center in Florence, S.C., is coordinating the multi-location effort. In one project, he led a laboratory study to see if different biochars could improve the sandy soils found on the Carolina coastal plain, and Pacific Northwest silt loam soils derived from volcanic ash.

Novak's team used peanut hulls, pecan shells, poultry litter, switchgrass and hardwood waste products to produce nine different types of biochars. All the feedstocks were pyrolysed at two different temperatures to produce the biochars. Pyrolysis is a process of chemical decomposition that results from rapid heating of the raw feedstocks in the absence of oxygen. Then the biochars were mixed into one type of sandy soil and two silt loam soils at the rate of about 20 tons per acre.

Iron blight and yellow trees may need treatment

Richard Snell, Barton County Extension Agent in Kansas, starts his recent article with a funny anecdotal story of what was called Iron blight when he was a kid (see article).

Richard explains that iron chlorosis occurs on trees, lawns and field crops. "In our area the trees and soybeans get it the worst. It seems to be more obvious when you have good soil moisture and we have had that the last month. My focus today will be on the trees and we will address other chlorotic situations in the coming weeks."

When iron in the soil is either deficient or unavailable to trees, iron chlorosis can occur. In most Kansas soils, iron is plentiful, but unavailable to trees. Iron is readily available to trees growing in soils with a pH of 5.0 to 6.5. In soils with a pH of 7.0 (neutral) and above, iron changes to an insoluble form that is not as available to trees. Many locations in our area have soils with a pH of 7.5 or above and thus are said to be alkaline or sometimes called calcareous or basic.

Read complete article at The Fence Post site>

Down to earth: The real dirt on composting

Anne Mazar/DAILY NEWS CORRESPONDENT

Photo: Jessie Mazar of Mendon uses a "compost crank," a helpful tool for mixing compost piles.

By Anne Mazar
GateHouse News Service

If you don't like to waste anything and enjoy a good bargain, then composting is for you.
It is a fascinating process -- turning yard debris and kitchen scraps into a dark, rich substance that can be used to fertilize your garden soil, lawn and house plants. Plus, it's free.

An astounding 20 percent to 30 percent of household waste comes from the yard and kitchen. It can be satisfying to foster this natural process by recycling your waste in a compost pile and keeping unnecessary waste out of our stressed landfills.

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Using soil solarization to sterilize the soil for fall vegetable planting

Why should you sterilize the soil prior to planting? South Florida soil, unfortunately, is full of creatures just lurking, waiting to destroy your best efforts at raising vegetables. Summer is the time to "cook" those critters before planting in the fall. Read more:
Using soil solarization to sterilize the soil for fall vegetable planting Source: examiner.com

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Soils Sustain Life -- Soil Science Society of America

Plant Tweak Could Let Toxic Soil Feed Millions

Thanks to a genetic breakthrough, a large portion of Earth’s now-inhospitable soil could be used to grow crops — potentially alleviating one of the most pressing problems facing the planet’s rapidly growing population.

Scientists at the University of California, Riverside made plants tolerant of poisonous aluminum by tweaking a single gene. This may allow crops to thrive in the 40 to 50 percent of Earth’s soils currently rendered toxic by the metal.

"Aluminum toxicity is a very limiting factor, especially in developing countries, in South America and Africa and Indonesia," said biochemist Paul Larsen. "It’s not like these areas are devoid of plant life, but they’re not crop plants. Among agriculturally important plants, there aren’t mechanisms for aluminum tolerance."

Read more:
Plant Tweak Could Let Toxic Soil Feed Millions

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