Great Basin Plant Materials Center

2055 Schurz Highway, Fallon, NV 89406 Phone 775-423-7957

http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/plantmaterials/pmc/west/

Who We Are

The Great Basin Plant Materials Center (GBPMC) is one of 25 Plant Materials Centers (PMC) operated by the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Each PMC is strategically located in an ecologically distinct area, creating a network of PMCs uniquely positioned to address local, regional, and national natural resource concerns. Our objective is to evaluate plants and vegetative technologies to support NRCS conservation programs and practices. The GBPMC is specifically tasked with resource concerns in the Great Basin, with a focus on rangeland restoration, soil health, and water conservation. The GBPMC opened in 2006 and is the newest PMC in the nation. We are located in a cold desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada Mountains where we receive about five inches of annual precipitation, mostly in the winter. We manage 79 flood irrigated acres, 3 non-irrigated acres, and we conduct off-center field trials as needed. This report highlights some of our activities during 2018. GBPMC Studies Cover Crops Cover crops continue to be a major area of focus for the GBPMC. A national NRCS needs assessment listed cover crops as a primary need, and a Nevada needs assessment listed cover crops as the fourth most important need for the state. Benefits of cover crops include reduced erosion, increased organic matter, increased biological activity, increased soil water holding capacity, and an overall improvement in soil retention and health. Species specific benefits can include organic tillage, nutrient capture, weed control, and nematode control.

2018 Annual Progress Report of Activities

January 2019

Figure 1: Field work at the Great Basin Plant Materials Center. Harvesting 'Rymin' cereal rye.

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Two cover crop studies were conducted in 2018: the final year of a national cool season cover crop trial and a warm season daikon radish (Raphanus sativus) seeding rate and green manure study. National Cover Crop Study The GBPMC has been participating in the national cover crop study for the past three years. First, as an initial evaluation of 34 varieties in 2016, and later expanded to 60 varieties of nine species for 2017 and 2018. The 2018 study was planted on September 21, 2017 and irrigated twice before irrigation was shut off for the winter. There was a final irrigation in the spring on April 26. Data collected included germination, frost survival, 50% flowering date, and height at 50% flowering. Flowering dates were recorded as Days After Planting (DAP) and germination data was ranked by percentage of plot, with 0-25% = 0 (Poor), 30-60% = 1 (Moderate), 65-85% = 2 (Good), and >90% = 3(Excellent). The best performing cover crops per species can be found in Table 1. In general, cereal rye (Secale cereale) and black oats (Avena strigosa) performed the best in all categories. Germination was excellent and frost survival was at 100% for most varieties, and 50% flowering averaged 234 DAP and 267 DAP respectively. Two cereal ryes had low frost survival: ‘Merced’ (53%) and ‘FL 401’ (21%). Daikon radish also had excellent germination for all varieties (except ‘Graza’: Good), but had very low and variable frost survival; ranged 0%-42% with an averaged 12%. Germination for all other cover crops was highly variable between and within species. Among Austrian winter pea (Pisum sativum), clovers, and hairy vetch (Vicia villosa), only Austrian winter pea had varieties with excellent germination (‘Arvica 4010’, ‘Dunn’, ‘Maxum’, ‘Survivor 15’, and ‘Whistler’). Frost survival highlights included hairy vetch (61%-86%), and Austrian winter pea variety ‘whistler’ (71%), red clover (Trifolium pretense; 42%-86%), and crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum) variety ‘AU robin’ (78%). Fallon’s 2018 winter proved to be difficult for the majority of the cover crops. The winter was drier than average, with only 2 inches of rain from October to May. There was also extreme weed pressure in the form of an annual mustard that completely dominated the field. Cereal rye was the only cover crop that demonstrated weed control and resistance (Fig 2). All

Figure 2: Cereal rye plot demonstrating weed resistance. Outside the plot is dominated by dense annual mustards, whereas inside the plot there are only a few mustard plants.

Figure 3: Clovers had little to no impact against the annual mustards.

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other cover crops were stressed by drought and competition, resulting in reduced performance (Fig 3). The 2018 results were not consistent with the 2017 results. This is not surprising as the two years were quite different. 2017 was not irrigated, but had 5.15 inches of rain from October to May. 2018 was irrigated three times, twice in October and once in late April, but had only 2 inches of rain over that same time. Temperatures were also different, with 2018 being, on average, a few degrees colder than 2017. This is a good illustration of the year to year variability of the Great Basin and why it may be difficult to get consistent results in cover crops. Late fall irrigation availability is not guaranteed, with drought years in the past shutting off irrigation as early as June. Irrigation was likely required for 2018 to be successful as no rainfall was recorded from just after the planting date, September 23, through November 16. A notable exception here is cereal rye, which had 100% frost survival for both 2017 and 2018 for all varieties except ‘Merced’ and ‘FL401’. Both had 100% survival in 2017, but in 2018 they experienced 54% and 21% survival respectively. This may have been due to the slightly colder temperatures in 2018, or frost may have hit the planting when these two varieties were in a particularly sensitive physiological state (Fig 4). TABLE 1: Top three cover crops per species

Figure 4: Frost killed cereal rye, surrounded by cereal rye plots with no frost damage.

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Summer Daikon Radish Seeding Rate and Green Manure Daikon radish is a cover crop with multiple uses. Its large taproot breaks up compacted soils and is used for organic tillage. It exudes chemicals that kill parasitic root nematodes and thus is used as a biofumigant. It is aggressive, often reduces weed pressure, and it produces an abundance of above ground biomass which can be used as green manure. “Green Manure” refers to cover crops that are tilled into the soil. The primary purpose of green manure is to add organic matter to the soil. There is also a slow release of nutrients as the plant material decomposes. The GBPMC has previously published a technical note on the green manure from forage soybean (Glycine max) variety ‘Big Fellow’ and ‘Large lad’ and the sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea) variety ‘Tropic Sunn’.

This daikon radish study focused on two varieties of daikon radish, ‘Concorde’ and ‘Control’. The two varieties were selected due to their superior performance in other studies. They were planted on June 29 in the same field in two separate checks. Three different seeding rates each of 25lb/a, 9lb/a, and 4lb/a were planted adjacent to each other in twelve foot wide belts. Daikon radish performance is density dependent and the seeding rates were used to evaluate weed control effectiveness and biomass production. 25lb/a was selected because it was recommended by commercial providers as the optimal seeding rate for nematode control, 9lb/a was recommended as a good rate for cover crops, and 4lb/a was selected because previous 9lb/a trials indicated a lower seeding rate may be effective. A 0.25m2 frame was used to collect biomass and cover data. Root volume was measured at 69DAP and calculated using the equation for a cone, where the radius was measured where the root entered the soil and the height was from the soil to where the taproot tapered off and broke when pulled out of the soil. ‘Control’ 4lb/a seeding rate was not correctly established and the data was not used.

The results demonstrate a tradeoff between higher and lower seeding rates. Weed control was highest at the higher seeing rate while root mass was highest at the lower seeding rate. Above ground biomass was highly variable, with no consistent trend from 34DAP and 69DAP (Table 2). At 69DAP, ‘Concorde’ appeared to have larger plants, both in height and biomass, in the 4lb/a seeding rate compared to 25lb/a. In contrast, ‘Control’ had the highest biomass of the study at 25lb/a. However, data for 4lb/a was not available for comparison.

TABLE 2: Daikon Radish Dry Biomass

Figure 5: Daikon Radish with large taproot for bio-tilling.

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The biomass data in Table 2 was corrected for two outliers. During 69DAP data collecting, one 0.25m2 frame in ‘Control’ landed in a particularly dense patch. The result was a dry weight of 13,289 lb/a. Likewise, a frame in ‘Concorde’ 4lb/a recorded 10,110lb/a. Both were substantially higher than the next highest frames and both were deemed outliers, not representative of the planting as a whole, and removed from the dataset.

An additional difference between the varieties worth noting was bolting time. ‘Concorde’ started bolting early and had the majority of plants bolting by DAP 46 (Fig 5). In contrast, the majority of ‘Control’ never started bolting and remained so until winterkilled.

Figure 6: Left- 'Concorde' with over 50% bolting by 46DAP. Right- 'Control' with no significant bolting. There would be no significant bolting for the rest of the year.

Plant Development Sorghum The GBPMC is involved in developing novel plant materials for both rangeland and agriculture application. We have partnered with Dr. Melinda Yerka, a plant breeder from the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). She is an expert in sorghum breeding, and together we hope to create a commercially viable sorghum cover crop that is uniquely suited to thrive in Nevada’s harsh climate. To that end, we assisted with a Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) that included over 400 genetic strains (Fig 7). Plant performance was evaluated and crosses were made with the intent to continue genetic evaluation for next year. We Figure 7: Several genetic strains of sorghum, evident by

the variety of expressed phenotypes.

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are in the initial stages of this collaboration and look forward to continued partnership in the future. Indian Ricegrass We are in the initial stages of developing a pre-varietal germplasm of Indian Ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides). Indian Ricegrass is a bunchgrass that thrives in the lower precipitation zones of the Great Basin, especially in sandy soils. Currently, there are six cultivars and pre-varietal germplasm commercially available. However, none have been sourced out of Nevada and all have been sourced out of precipitation zones above 10 inches. Over the summer, we made 16 collections across Nevada, specifically in valley bottoms near salt flats where precipitation averages around 5 inches (Fig 8). Our objective is to develop a drought and salt tolerant product that can benefit the Great Basin. GBPMC Activities Field Tour In September, the GBPMC hosted a collaborative field tour with UNR (Fig 9). The tour started out at the PMC where we handed out refreshments and discussed the NRCS, conservation districts, and UNR programs. We then had a walking tour of a windbreak demonstration and daikon summer cover crop study (mentioned above). Both stops discussed conservation strategies and various conservation tools for those studies. The final stop was the UNR sorghum GWAS study hosted by Dr. Melinda Yerka. Tour participants were encouraged to walk among the different sorghum to see what potential exists for that crop in Nevada. Events The GBPMC assisted and spoke at a wide variety of events in 2018. The largest event was the 2018 Small Farm Conference where NRCS had a booth. The GBPMC presented on general strategies for cover crops and showed results from the national winter cover crop study.

Figure 8: Lahontan Valley, NV. A sandy location, near the salty basin, where Indian Ricegrass was collected.

Figure 9: The Daikon Radish stop at the GBPMC/UNR Field Tour

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The GBPMC manned a booth at the UNR Pollinator Day and at a UNR Agriculture Day. Both events focused on education and outreach and the importance of Agriculture.

Publications Plant Guides The GBPMC published two Plant Guides: Prickly Russian Thistle (Salsola tragus) and Barbwire Russian Thistle (Salsola paulsenii). Both guides were peer reviewed by international experts on the topic. Comments received on these guides include:

“Your texts are interesting and will be useful to many people dealing with those weeds.” ~ Dr. Sergei Mosyakin, Director of the M.G. Kholodny Institute of Botany at the National Academy of Science of Ukraine and President of the Ukrainian Botanical Society “I’m really excited by the wealth of information included that gave them the look of real small monographs.” ~ Dr. Helmut Freitag, Taxonomic Botanist at the University of Kassel; Kassel, Hessen, Germany

Journal Publication Bernau, C.R., E.K. Strand, S.C. Bunting (2018) Fuel bed response to vegetation treatments in juniper-invaded sagebrush steppe. Journal of Fire Ecology 14:1 13p. https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-018-0002-z

Technical Publications 2017 Annual Progress Report of Activities Young-Mathews, A., P. Pavek, V. Bullard, T. Pickett, C. Bernau, M. Pokorny, H. Dial, and B. Cooney (2018) WNTSC Plant Materials Technical Note No. 3: Cover Crop Seed Vendors for Western States (PDF; 433 KB) USDA-NRCS West National Technology Support Center. Portland, OR. June 2018. 18p. (ID# 13328). Media In 2017 we partnered with our public relations officer Heather Emmons to produce a cover crop video for the Nevada NRCS YouTube Channel. That video now has 9,700 views and is the most-viewed video on our channel. It is not quite viral, but certainly fungal or maybe bacterial and something we may look to continue into the future.

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