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- Author or Editor: J. K. Mitchell x
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The rate of N mineralization from 35 samples of manure or compost was estimated by both aerobic laboratory incubation and lath house pot studies at Davis, Calif., in 1996–97. Each manure and compost sample was mixed at 2% by dry weight with a 1 loam soil: 1 coarse sand blend. The amended soil blends were moisture equilibrated under 0.025-MPa pressure then incubated aerobically at constant moisture at 25 °C for 3 (1996) or 6 months (1997); subsamples were collected monthly (1996) or bimonthly (1997) for mineral N determination. Four-liter pots were also filled with the amended soil blends and seeded with fescue (Festuca arundinacea). The pots were watered but not fertilized for 16 (1996) or 18 (1997) weeks in a lath house at ambient summer conditions. N mineralization from the pot study was calculated from total fescue biomass N plus mineral N from pot leachate, minus those quantities in pots of the unamended soil blend. N mineralization rate estimates from the two techniques were highly correlated (r 2 = 0.79). Green waste composts typically mineralized <5% of total N, manure composts 5% to10%, and manures (poultry, dairy, and feedlot) 7% to 20%. After 4 months of incubation, N mineralization rate (expressed as percent of total N per month) from the composts and manures was similar to that of the unamended soil blend.
Nitrogen and carbon mineralization rates of 19 manure and compost samples were determined in 1996, with an additional 12 samples evaluated in 1997. These organic amendments were mixed with a soil: sand blend at 2% by dry weight and the amended blends were incubated at constant moisture for 12 (1996) or 24 weeks (1997) at 25 °C. Net N mineralization was measured at 4- (1996) or 8-week (1997) intervals, C mineralization at 4-week intervals in 1997. Pots of the amended blends were also seeded with fescue (Festuca arundinacea Shreb.) and watered, but not fertilized, for 17 (1996) or 18 weeks (1997); N phytoavailability was estimated from fescue biomass N and mineral N in pot leachate. An average of 16%, 7%, and 1% of organic N was mineralized in 12 weeks of incubation in 1996, and an average of 15%, 6%, and 2% in 24 weeks of incubation in 1997, in manure, manure compost, and plant residue compost, respectively. Overall, N recovery in the fescue assay averaged 11%, 6%, and 2% of total amendment N for manure, manure compost, and plant residue compost, respectively. Mineralization of manure C averaged 35% of initial C content in 24 weeks, while compost C mineralization averaged only 14%. Within 4 (compost) or 16 weeks (manure), the rate of mineralization of amendment C had declined to a level similar to that of the soil organic C.
Zonate leaf spot (ZLS) caused by Cristulariella moricola, apparently a rare disease of tomato, was identified in a commercial tomato field in southeastern Arkansas in June, 1991. Although lesions of ZLS were similar to early blight (Alternaria solani) lesions, which were also present, there were several distinctions between the lesions: the concentric rings in lesions of ZLS were more symmetrical than early blight lesions, no distinct chlorosis was associated with the lesions, and ZLS lesions were not localized near the bottom of the tomato canopy. Koch's postulates were completed on several greenhouse grown tomato cultivars. Inoculum was produced on autoclaved tomato leaves incubated at 20 C and consisted of large (300-400 um long) “Christmas tree” shaped propagules. When free moisture was maintained at 20 C, large (> 1 cm), rapidly expanding, water-soaked lesions were observed on leaves of inoculated plants 1-3 days after inoculation. Lower humidities caused lesions to rapidly dry out. Epidemiological factors, such as temperature, leaf wetness, and cultivar susceptibility also have been examined.
Eliminating tillage passes is a means to reduce production costs and dust emissions in California's San Joaquin Valley tomato production region. Inserting winter cover crops between summer crops may be a way to add organic matter to the soil and thereby improve soil quality. From 1999, we evaluated conservation tillage (CT) and cover cropping (CC) in a tomato/cotton rotation in Five Points, Calif. During the course of the study, tillage operations were reduced an average of 50% in the CT system relative to the standard tillage (ST) approach. Yields in the CT no cover crop (NO) system matched or exceeded yields in the STNO system in each year. Tomato yields in the CTCC and STCC systems were comparable to the STNO except in the first year, when stand establishment and early season vigor were problems. Weed management and machine harvest efficiency in high surface residue systems are issues requiring additional work in order to make CT adoption more widespread.
In Fall 1995, 12 row crop farmers in conjunction with Univ. of California, NRCS and private agency advisors established the West Side On-Farm Demonstration Project to conduct demonstrations of soil and pest management options aimed at sustained profitability and environmental stewardship in the western San Joaquin Valley of California. Monitoring of soil physical, chemical, and biological properties is done in side-by-side on-farm comparisons of plots amended with organic inputs and unamended plots. Intensive monitoring of beneficial and pest insects is carried out within each comparison block, and the data generated is used to guide pest management decision-making at each site. Yields and soil characteristics of the amended plots did not differ from those of unamended plots after the first year. The on-farm context and the cooperative farmer–scientist interactions of this project facilitate the development of timely and relevant research directions to be pursued beyond the core set of monitoring activities.
Overuse of chemical N fertilizers has been linked to nitrate contamination of both surface and ground water. Excessive use of fertilizer also is an economic loss to the farmer. Typical N application rates for processing tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) production in California are 150 to 250 kg·ha-1. The contributions of residual soil NO3-N and in-season N mineralization to plant nutrient status are generally not included in fertilizer input calculations, often resulting in overuse of fertilizer. The primary goal of this research was to determine if the pre-sidedress soil nitrate test (PSNT) could identify fields not requiring sidedress N application to achieve maximum tomato yield; a secondary goal was to evaluate tissue N testing currently used for identifying post-sidedress plant N deficiencies. Field experiments were conducted during 1998 and 1999. Pre-sidedress soil nitrate concentrations were determined to a depth of 60 cm at 10 field sites. N mineralization rate was estimated by aerobic incubation test. Sidedress fertilizer was applied at six incremental rates from 0 to 280 kg·ha-1 N, with six replications per field. At harvest, only four fields showed a fruit yield response to fertilizer application. Within the responsive fields, fruit yields were not increased with sidedress N application above 112 kg·ha-1. Yield response to sidedress N did not occur in fields with pre-sidedress soil NO3-N levels >16 mg·kg-1. Soil sample NO3-N levels from 30 cm and 60 cm sampling depth were strongly correlated. Mineralization was estimated to contribute an average of 60 kg·ha-1 N between sidedressing and harvest. Plant tissue NO3-N concentration was found to be most strongly correlated to plant N deficiency at fruit set growth stage. Dry petiole NO3-N was determined to be a more accurate indicator of plant N status than petiole sap NO3-N measured by a nitrate-selective electrode. The results from this study suggested that N fertilizer inputs could be reduced substantially below current industry norms without reducing yields in fields identified by the PSNT as having residual pre-sidedress soil NO3-N levels >16 mg·kg-1 in the top 60 cm.
Overuse of chemical N fertilizers has been linked to nitrate contamination of both surface and ground water. Excessive fertilizer use is also an economic loss to the farmer. Typical N application rates for processing tomato production in California's Central Valley are 150-250 kg·ha-1, and growers generally fail to fully consider the field-specific effects of residual soil NO3-N concentration, or N mineralization potential of the soil. The purpose of this research was to determine the effects of sidedress N fertilizer application, residual soil NO3-N, and in-season N mineralization, on processing tomato yield. Research was conducted during the 1998 and 1999 growing seasons at 16 field sites. Pre-sidedress soil nitrate concentration was determined at each trial site to a depth of 1 m, and aerobic incubation tests were conducted on these soils (top 0.3 m depth) to estimate N mineralization rate. Sidedress fertilizer was applied at six incremental rates from 0 to 280 kg N/ha, with six replications of each treatment per field. Only five fields showed yield response to fertilizer application; yield response to fertilizer was associated with lower pre-sidedress soil nitrate levels. In most fields with fertilizer response, yield was not increased with sidedress N application above 56 kg·ha-1. Mineralization was estimated to contribute an average of ≈60 kg N/ha between sidedressing and harvest. These results suggest that N fertilizer inputs could be reduced substantially below current industry norms without lowering yields, especially in fields with higher residual soil nitrate levels.