1

Idaho Crops & Soils News

A newsletter for Idaho crop producers

June 30, 2016 Issue No. 18

The goal of this monthly newsletter is to serve the best interests of Idaho crop producers. Correspondence

and inquiries should be addressed to: Olga Walsh, Cropping Systems Extension Specialist, Southwest

Research and Extension Center, 29603 U of I Lane, Parma, ID 83660, Phone: (208)722-6701 (ext. 218), Fax:

(208)722-6708, Email: owalsh@uidaho.edu)

TOPICS: Page

WHAT’S NEW?

Nitrogen Use Efficiency Conference – August 8-10, Boise ID 2

UAV-Based Study for Nitrogen Management - update 4

GUEST CONTRIBUTION

Check Your Finished Compost – by Lide Chen 5

GETTING TO KNOW ID AG

Western Society of Crop Science – meeting update 6

University of Idaho Extension improves people’s lives by engaging the University and our communities

through research-based education. Our areas of expertise are Agriculture, Community Development, Family

and Consumer Sciences, Natural Resources, and Youth Development.

To enrich education through diversity the University of Idaho is an equal opportunity/affirmative action

employer and educational institution.

2

WHAT’S NEW?

Nitrogen Use Efficiency Conference – August

8-10, Boise ID

3

4

UAV-Based Study for Nitrogen Management –

update

Things are looking great for our collaborative UAV-aided precision sensing study

conducted in Southern ID. We’ve seen excellent differences in wheat plant

stand associated with nitrogen fertilizer application rates at each of our 5

experimental locations: Parma, Aberdeen, Rupert, Soda Springs, and Ashton.

Below are pictures showing the obvious stand differences observed at Soda

Springs, our irrigated locations. The unfertilized check plot is on the left with

paler green, more sparse plants, compared to the taller, darker gree, more

lush plants on the right in the plot that received a total of 300 lb/a nitrogen

rate as urea at seeding.

Both ground-based and aerial-based biomass measurements clearly indicate

pronounced nitrogen fertilizer effect on wheat plant growth and development. The

results of this study will be presented at the upcoming International Annual ASA-CSSA-

SSSA Meeting in Phoenix in November 2016. This study will assist us in revising UI

nitrogen fertilizer recommendations for wheat as well as developing a UAV-based

scouting methodology for nutrient management. Thank you to Idaho Wheat

Commission for funding the study for the past 2 years. Thank you to Juliet Marshal,

and Chad Jackson and the crew for working with us on this study.

5

GUEST CONTRIBUTION

Check Your Finished Compost

-by Lide Chen – Extension Waste Management Engineer, University of Idaho Twin Falls Research and Extension Center

Not all composts are created equal. Compost quality depends on many different factors such as what goes in as raw materials, the environment (precipitation and ambient temperatures), the management practices conducted, and, most importantly, the intended use of the compost. The compost produced has many chemical, physical, and biological characteristics that allow it to be used in different ways. Knowledge about how the compost will be used is important in deciding which parameters should be measured. Alternatively, knowledge of compost’s quality enables it to be used responsibly. Table 1 shows typical ranges of test parameters in quality compost.

Compost maturity is beginning to be more recognized as a significant parameter to evaluate compost. The reason for this is that immature and poorly stabilized composts pose known problems during storage, marketing and use. In storage, immature composts may become anaerobic which often leads to odors and/or the development of toxic compounds, as well as bag swelling and bursting. Immature composts may heat up in pallets during shipment. Continued active decomposition when these composts are added to soil or growth media may have negative impacts on plant growth due to reduced oxygen in the soil-root zone, reduced available nitrogen, or the presence of phytotoxic compounds.

6

Table 1. Typical ranges of test parameters in quality compost (Watson*, ANR-15-03)

Test parameter Range

pH C:N ratio

6.8-7.3 10-15:1

EC/Soluble salts (1:5 v/v method)

0.35-0.64 dS/m (mmhos/cm)

Nitrogen 1.0-2.0%

Phosphorus 0.6-0.9%

Potassium 0.2-0.5%

Moisture content 45-50%

Organic matter 35-45%

Particle size passes 3/8'' screen

Bulk density 900-1,000 lbs/yd3

* Maurice E. Watson. Testing compost. ANR-15-03, Ohio State University Fact Sheet. During early stages of composting, very little if any nitrate-N is formed. As the thermophilic stage ends, the mesophillic microorganisms that convert organic N to ammonium- and nitrate-N begin to flourish. The appearance of significant quantities of nitrate-N (a couple of hundreds to over one thousand of PPM) is an indicator of mature compost. Therefore, nitrate-N measurement along with other maturity tests such as the Solvita test is a useful parameter to assess degree of maturity. Compost producers and users must realize that different end uses (organic farmers, regular farmers, bedding materials, nurseries, landscapers, greenhouses, local and state highway departments, etc.) have different requirements and the presently accepted methods to evaluate compost quality may not completely or precisely address the most important concern: ‘Is the product appropriate for and does it perform well in the particular end-use?’. Thus, the tests for end uses under real situations are the best judgment of good quality and are encouraged.

GETTING TO KNOW IDAHO AG

Western Society of Crop Science Meeting – The

Update

The 2016 annual WSCS meeting was a great success, the meeting was hosted by the

University of New Mexico’s Mark Marsailis, in Albuquerque, NM. We had about 50

attendees from all over the Western US. The field tour included visiting the local

organic and natural farming communities, who operate in the urban environment,

being located in the middle of the Albuquerque city. The crops the attendees have

7

seen included vegetables like onions and leafy greens, lavender (both for

pharmaceutical and culinary purposes), fruit and herbs.

A community garden run by the Los Poblanos organic farm is a great example of

extending the knowledge of agriculture to public, Not only the farm provides small

year-round vegetable plots to community members, but they also host a wide variety

of ag and garden related courses and workshops.

Mark Pieper, Gurleen Kaur, Israel Calsoyas, Laura Johnson, 2016 student oral

presentation winners!

The University of Idaho’s Cropping System Agronomy team at Parma R&E Center will

be hosting the 2017 Western Society of Crop Science meeting in Boise/Parma next

June!