Agricultural News
USDA Researches Environmentally-Friendly Farming
Wed, 08 May 2013 11:24:39 CDT
A U-S Department of Agriculture researcher is studying the feasibility of using cheaper alternatives to commercial fertilizers and how much farmers can use in an environmentally friendly way.
How much nutrient should farmers use to help their crops without contributing to runoff? USDA Researcher Eton Codling is trying to answer that question at the Agricultural Research Service Facilities in Beltsville, Maryland.
"The plants only take up so much, so you do not want to apply excess of any nutrients. So that's why you do your soil tests to find how much a plant needs and then apply it accordingly," Codling said.
He is studying the use of byproducts like poultry litter ash and gypsum as crop nutrients. These contain phosphorous and calcium which are common ingredients in many fertilizers. He says these could be cheaper alternatives for farmers.
"We encourage farmers to utilize these amendments, these byproducts, because today most of it is landfill and they have values."
Codling, however said he wants to make sure farmers only use enough to help their crops without excess remaining in the soil and running off. He is studying how much phosphorous and nutrients wheat plants can take up from these materials. He hopes the results will provide guidelines for farmers as to how much they can safely and effectively use.
"They have nutrient values to help build the soil and I believe that if we utilize these materials safely in the environment, find which of them is safe to use and use them in agriculture, I believe it will be beneficial to farmers as well as to the environment," he said.
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