Assessing Soil Fertility and Soil Health in Midwest Hop Production

View the project final report

Commodities

• Agronomic: hops

Practices

• Crop Production: fertigation, fertilizers, tissue analysis
• Education and Training: decision support system, extension, on-farm/ranch research
• Soil Management: soil analysis, soil quality/health

The hop production industry has benefited greatly from the continued popularity of craft beer. The U.S. is second in the world in total hop acreage and production with new farms entering the market each year. Within the Midwest, harvested hop acres have increased greatly over the past few years with the majority of production coming from Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio. Research in this area has primarily focused on integrated pest management (IPM) and disease control with very little attention provided to soil fertility and soil health. However, soil fertility and health have consistently been identified by North Central hop growers as a critical area where they need better information for effective management. This proposal addressed this knowledge gap with the following objectives: i) document relationships between soil fertility and soil health with hop cone quality and yield, ii) develop more reliable leaf petiole nitrate values for N management of hops, and iii) develop educational materials and continue outreach efforts for optimized nutrient management in North Central hopyards. We partnered with 35 hop growers primarily in Ohio and Michigan and sampled 87 total hop yards over two years. Hopyards were classified by stand age: 0-3 yrs (57%) and 4+ yrs (43%) with 88% of the hopyards having one of the following varieties: Cascade, Chinook, Centennial or Columbus. Farmers sampled and shipped us soil, petioles and hop cones and we quantified soil fertility and health, nutrient levels and hop cone quality. We found that more than a quarter of hopyards were below optimal pH levels, but were typically sufficient in soil test phosphorus and potassium. We documented typical leaf nutrient ranges for 3-4 key hop varieties grown in the Midwest. Finally, we developed education and outreach materials that provide guidance and best practices targeting soil and nutrient management. This work addressed a widely identified research need by the hop growing community in the North Central region and provide tools for growers to optimize soil and nutrient management and subsequent economic profitability.

PROJECT OUTCOMES

Learning Outcomes

Farmers will learn:

(1) Soil health basics and its importance in crop production;

(2) Interpreting soil tests to inform nutrient management decisions; and

(3) Using petiole sap testing to monitor nutrient uptake in hops.

Action Outcomes

Upon completion of our project, farmers will:

(1) Include monitoring soil health in their hopyard management plans;

(2) Use fertilizers to boost overall soil health as necessary based on first interpreting soil test results; and

(3) Monitor nutrient uptake in petioles in order to make real-time nutrient management decisions in the field.