Project Overview
Annual Reports
Commodities
- Agronomic: corn, cotton, peanuts, rye, soybeans, wheat, grass (misc. perennial), hay
- Vegetables: cabbages, sweet potatoes
- Animals: bovine, poultry
Practices
- Animal Production: feed/forage
- Crop Production: conservation tillage
- Education and Training: extension
- Natural Resources/Environment: biodiversity
- Pest Management: biological control, competition
- Production Systems: agroecosystems, holistic management
- Soil Management: composting, green manures, organic matter, soil analysis
Proposal abstract:
Long-term farming systems experiments have been initiated at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) in Goldsboro North Carolina as part of an inter-disciplinary, multi-institutional and stakeholder (NGOs, farmers, citizens) desire to enhance the science and practice of farming sustainably. Farming system experiments, particularly on the large scale as occurs at CEFS, provide an opportunity to evaluate the impact of management practices and cropping systems on crop/animal productivity, economic returns, and sustainability indicators, in addition to the impacts on soil physical, chemical and biological responses. The practice and science of sustainable agriculture will advance through implementation of visionary practices informed by fundamental knowledge obtained by component research. In particular, there is a need to characterize soil microbial communities and understand (and ideally manage) the links between microbial community structure/diversity to ecological function. Fundamental ecological functions consistent with our expertise include nutrient cycling, plant disease suppression, and plant growth promoting effects as mediated by soil microbes. In our SARE-funded farming systems experiments, we archived soils at the start of the long-term experiment (baseline samples, Spring 1999) and at each sampling date (~4/yr). Corresponding soil samples have been analyzed by soil scientists, microbial ecologists, entomologists, and nematologists, providing a fairly comprehensive analysis of the samples. Our archived soils represent an irreplaceable repository and resource to ask fundamental questions about the impact of farming systems on microbial communities. Parallel to this opportunity, is the need to develop methods and knowledge about the mechanisms and links between these communities and impacts on plant health. Therefore, the objectives of this proposal are: (1) To utilize microarray technology to assess microbial diversity and structure as impacted by long-term farming systems structure with emphasis on microbial communities associated with nutrient cycling and disease suppression. Baseline soil samples will be compared to fresh samples to be collected in 2005or 2006 to ascertain the impact of selected farming systems on microbial communities; (2) to elucidate mechanisms of disease suppression in long term SARE organic and farming systems projects. Soils from the different farming systems will be sampled, analyzed, and manipulated to discover components that contribute to disease suppression (primarily plant pathogen invasion and colonization); and 3) to develop functional plant assay(s) to assess plant disease suppressive mechanisms and plant growth promoting effects. These objectives seek to link knowledge about the soils, microbial communities, soil borne pathogen fitness, and plant response as impacted by long-term farming systems and management of “soil health”. We believe component research as proposed here can be translated into practical recommendations and knowledge that will serve our clientele and goals to enhance the objectives of a sustainable agriculture. Members of our team have a proven history of translating basic information into effective extension talks concerning the implementation of practices consistent with a sustainable agriculture, organic production, and plant health management. Our proposal specifically addresses the SARE priority areas of component research and organic farming.
Project objectives from proposal:
(1) to utilize micro-array technology to assess microbial diversity and structure as impacted by long-term farming systems structure with emphasis on microbial communities associated with nutrient cycling and disease suppression.
(2) To elucidate mechanisms of disease suppression in long term SARE organic and farming systems projects. Soils from the different farming systems will be sampled, analyzed, and manipulated to discover components that contribute to disease suppression (primarily plant pathogen invasion and colonization).
3) To develop functional plant assay(s) to assess plant disease suppressive mechanisms and plant growth promoting effects.
These three objectives seek to link knowledge about the soils, microbial communities, soil borne pathogen fitness, and plant response as impacted by long-term farming systems and management of “soil health”.