organic research overview - npsas.org
TRANSCRIPT
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Weeds Research Overview
Dr. Greta Gramig, Assistant Professor
Pete Gregoire, Research Specialist Samantha Hogstad, Graduate Student
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Organic Weeds Research at DREC
• Funded by USDA-OREI in partnership with MSU
• Four year study- 1 MS student
• Characterize changes in weed population in association with no-till + sheep grazing vs. conventional tillage
• Measurements: seed bank, above ground weed biomass, crop yield loss
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DREC Sheep Grazing
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Organic Weeds Research at Fargo/DREC
• 3 acres at NDSU Horticulture Research Farm became organically certified in 2015
• Received 180K grant from The Ceres Trust to conduct organic vegetable crop research (2015 to 2017)
• Received support from ND Specialty Block Grant for 2016 for organic vegetable crop research.
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Vegetable Study Objectives
• Impacts of tilled vs. no-till (mulched) system on weed management and soil health in a four-crop organic vegetable crop rotation
• Impact of inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on soil and plant health
• Economic comparisons between the two systems
• Also replicated at DREC
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Some Preliminary Results
• At mid-season, onions grown in non-mulched plots were larger than onions grown with mulch.
• At maturity, mulched plots yielded higher, and this was due to differences in onion number per plot, not weight per onion.
• AMF inoculant had no impact on onion production.
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Strawberry Mulch Trial
• A study to compare three organic mulch materials (hay, paper, hemp) in strawberry production was initiated in 2015 at Absaraka and DREC.
• A secondary objective was to evaluate the effects of soil-applied biochar on strawberry growth and yield
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Mulch and Biochar Impacts on Peak Weed Biomass
• At both sites, all three mulches suppressed weeds equally well compared to the non-mulched control.
• Biochar application did not affect weed biomass.
• Weed pressure was somewhat greater at Absaraka than DREC
Weed
bio
mass g
m-2
No M
ulch
Hay
Pap
er
Hem
p
-Bio
char
+Bio
char
Absa
raka
Dic
kinso
n
0
10
20
30
40
50
a
ba a
a
b b
b
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Mulch and Biochar Impacts on Strawberry Flower Number
• At Absaraka, hay mulch suppressed flower production, but biochar has no impact (p= 0.05).
• At Dickinson, hemp mulch was associated with increased flowers compared to no mulch, hay, and paper.
• Biochar was associated with slight flower number decrease at DREC
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Mulch and Biochar Impacts on Strawberry Peak Leaf Number
• Hay mulch was associated with a slight decrease in leaf number.
• Biochar had no impact on leaf number.
• Peak leaf number did not differ between sites.
Leaves p
lan
t-1
No M
ulch
Hay
Pap
er
Hem
p
-Bio
char
+Bio
char
Absa
raka
Dic
kinso
n
0
1
2
3
4
5
a
a
b
a a a a a
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Mulch and Biochar Impacts on Strawberry Runners
• Compared to no mulch and hay mulch, paper and hemp mulch were associated with more runners.
• Biochar had no impact on runner production.
• DREC plants produced more runners than Absaraka plants.
Ru
nn
ers
pla
nt-1
No M
ulch
Hay
Pap
er
Hem
p
-Bio
char
+Bio
char
Absa
raka
Dic
kinso
n
0
2
4
6a
a
bb
a aa
b
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Interpretation of Results
• Since weeds were removed, the impacts of mulch material on strawberry growth and development were due to some factor other than competition.
• Volumetric soil water content and temperature were measured periodically throughout the season, but there were few differences among mulch treatments.
• Nitrogen fertilizer was applied to all plots twice during the growing season, so N was probably not a factor.
• Paper and hemp mulches suppressed weeds with a lower profile that did not shade or impede strawberries.