“Key soil properties and their relationships with crop yields as affected by soil-landscape rehabilitation” with Dr. Sharon Schneider. Soil erosion is one of the major issues in agriculture that causes loss of the topsoil layer, reducing soil health and crop productivity. There are several ways to check soil erosion and its impacts on crop and soil health. One of the potential strategies to reduce the effect of past soil erosion is to reverse the soil erosion process by moving soil from where it was deposited by erosion to where soil was lost by erosion. In this episode, Dr. Sharon Schneider s ..read more

“Recalibrating the Pennsylvania pre-sidedress soil nitrate test recommendations for modern corn production” with Charles White. Nitrogen management is one of the most important agronomic practices in modern crop production systems. The Pre-Sidedress Soil Nitrate Test, also known as the PSNT, gives farmers an estimation of plant available nitrogen in the soil, allowing them to calculate how much nitrogen the plants still need. The existing PSNT method was developed during the 1990’s. Now, farming practices are improved, altering the amount of nitrogen fertilizer plants need. Thus, it is importa ..read more

“Precision nitrogen management for improving yield and protein content in wheat” with Dr. Olga Walsh. Nitrogen is one of the most important nutrients for crops, which is required in large amounts for crop production and demands precise nutrient management methods due to its highly mobile property in plants and soils and high chances of leaching. Precise nutrient management is also important for improving the yield and quality of grains, minimizing the input, and maximizing the efficiency. Assessing the real-time plant growth, biomass production, and nutrient depletion in the soil using differe ..read more

“Nitrogen mitigation scenarios to reduce coastal eutrophication” with Wafa and Patrick. Eutrophication is a state of overgrowth of aquatic plants, such as algae and seaweeds, in water bodies due to the excessive pouring of nutrients from different sources like agriculture, industry, and human settlements, causing disturbances to the ecosystems. Coastal eutrophication is a major issue worldwide due to the increasing discharge of nutrient emissions from agricultural activities into coastal ecosystems. Several efforts have been made to reduce eutrophication, achieving up to 35–40% reduction, but ..read more

“Focusing the GWAS Lens on days to flower using latent variable phenotypes derived from global multienvironment trials” with Sandesh Neupane and Derek Wright. Lentil, a pivotal pulse crop, is recognized as an important part of food and nutrition security in the world. It has rich sources of important nutrients, is easy to cook, and thrives well on the farm. Due to its rich dietary benefits, lentil has been introduced to North America, especially in Canada. Originating as a warmer climate crop, domesticated in the Middle East and North Africa, and widely adopted in Southeast Asia, lentil can fa ..read more

“Addressing conservation practice limitations and trade-offs for reducing phosphorus loss from agricultural fields” with Dr. Pete Kleinman, Research Leader, USDA, and Dr. Deanna Osmond, Professor, North Carolina State University. Conservation practices are important techniques that help us move towards a more sustainable planet. But when these tools are applied without proper testing and a holistic point of view, they can sometimes cause unintended consequences or tradeoffs that affect the surrounding environment. This episode, Pete and Deanna discuss common tradeoffs that can impact tools tha ..read more

“Genes and genetic mechanisms contributing to fall armyworm resistance in maize” with Sandra Woolfolk and Leigh Hawkins, research entomologist and molecular biologist (respectively) at USDA-ARS. Fall armyworm is a major pest around the world, causing millions of dollars in damages yearly. However, farmers are not alone in the fight against these invasive creatures, with plant breeders coming alongside to help develop more resistant plants. This episode, Drs. Sandra Woolfolk and Leigh Hawkins discuss their work tracking down the traits that can lead to higher resistance against this frightful p ..read more

“Microplastics in Composts, Digestates and Food Wastes: A Review” with Kate Porterfield, PhD Candidate at University Vermont and Dr. Eric Roy, Associate Professor at University of Vermont. Diverting organic materials and food waste from landfills and recycling them for beneficial use in agriculture is a great way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, intermingled microplastics from packaging and other sources could make these recycled materials less beneficial than they otherwise might be. This episode, Kate and Eric discuss their review paper studying the prevalence of these contaminan ..read more

“Genotypic and environmental effects on the compounds associated with garlic flavor, health-enhancing properties, and postharvest conservation” with Dr. Pablo Cavagnaro. Garlic is a widely consumed species used for culinary as well as therapeutic and medicinal purposes. Different compounds within garlic can affect its effectiveness for these purposes, which are also driving factors for the market value. These compounds' availability in the garlic bulbs along with the dry (solid) matter of garlic are affected by environmental factors, which ultimately affect the farmer’s income. How does the en ..read more

“Partial recovery of microbial function in restored coastal marshes of Oregon, USA” with Amelia Fitch, PhD Candidate at Dartmouth College Draining or restoring a wetland has a significant impact on the land’s ability to store carbon. A lot of that has to do with the microbial communities that live within these wetlands, but when a wetland is restored, how long does it really take for those communities to shift and what does that mean for the land’s carbon storage capacity? This episode, Amelia discusses her work studying wetland restoration and its effects on carbon sequestration and microbial ..read more