Field, Lab, Earth

"Economics of strip cropping with autonomous machines" with James Lowenberg-DeBoer. With the growing global population, the demand for food continues to rise. However, increasing food production often depends on intensive farming practices and agricultural inputs that can negatively impact environmental health. To counter this, promoting crop diversity, improving soil health, and reducing disease...

" Microarthropods improve oat nutritional quality and mediate fertilizer effects on soil biological activity " with Dr. Ashley Jernigan Microarthropods are little critters that can have a big impact on crop production, particularly when it comes to nutrient cycling and nutrient acquisition. However, there's still much to learn about how the work these little helpers do is affected when paired with...

" Grazing cover crops: How does it influence soils and crops? " with Drs. John Holman and Augustine Obour. Cover crops have a lot of uses depending on where you live and what you grow, but in some regions like the Great Plains, it can take a little extra help to make sure they're as helpful as they can be. In this episode, John and Augustine join me to discuss the advantages and challenges of graz...

"Soil degradation and crop yield declines persist 5 years after pipeline installations" with Theresa Brehm. Underground pipeline installations are crucial for energy supply, helping to meet rising demand. However, these installations can significantly impact agricultural lands due to soil excavation, heavy machinery use, and resulting soil disturbances. Although companies typically offer support t...

"Invasive sorghum aphid: A decade of research on deciphering plant resistance mechanisms and novel approaches in breeding for sorghum resistance to aphids" with Drs. Somashekhar Punnuri, Karen Harris-Shultz, Joseph Knoll, and Xinzhi Ni. Sorghum is an important crop in the United States, grown for grain, forage and bioenergy purposes. However, its production is facing several challenges due to abio...

"Upscaling soil moisture from point scale to field scale: towards a general model" with Dr. Tyson Ochsner Field scale soil moisture measurements can be difficult to attain. Point scale data can be too small to give field scale advice, and data gathered from satellites often lack important specificity. In this episode, Tyson joins me to discuss a new method to upscale point data into field scale so...

"Mixing things up! Identifying early diversity benefits and facilitating the development of improved variety mixtures with high throughput field phenotyping" with Flavian Tschurr and Corina Oppliger. With increasing yield instability in monocropping systems due to diseases, pests or climatic factors, crop diversification is a potential strategy to improve crop performance and yield stability. Howe...

" The effects of different biochar-dairy manure co-composts on soil moisture and nutrients retention, greenhouse gas emissions, and tomato productivity; observations from a soil column experiment " with Dr. Touyee Thao. Increasing food production needs can sometimes put a strain on the environment. Waste from crop and animal production can exacerbate this problem. But, when waste can be turned int...

"Shallow water habitat management influences soil CO 2  efflux from agricultural fields in the Lower Mississippi River Basin (LMRB), USA" with Amitava Chatterjee. The Lower Mississippi River Basin (LMRB) serves as a critical stopover habitat for migratory birds traveling between Canada and Central and South America, presenting both challenges and opportunities for habitat conservation. To support...

" Leaf mold compost for better soil and crop health" with Kyle Richardville Growing vegetables in urban gardens is becoming a popular and ever more important option for supporting families with nutritious and healthy produce. However, the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides can cause negative impacts on soil, crop, and human health. To reduce these negative impacts, there is a growing inter...

It's our birthday! That means it's time for our annual birthday blooper reel! Enjoy our favorite flubs from the previous year and thank you again for listening! Remember that if you like our show, rating, reviewing, and sharing with friends are the best ways you can show your support. Contact us at podcast@sciencesocieties.org or on Twitter @FieldLabEarth if you have comments, questions, or sugges...

"Efficacy of novel water-absorbing polymer amended soil for improving drought resilience of Solanum lycopersicum" with Dr. Sanandam Bordoloi. Drought can be a major problem for tomatoes, particularly in changing climates. Water-absorbant polymers can help water stay in the soil to help tomatoes thrive, but costs can make it hard for farmers to use them. In this episode, Sanandam joins me to discus...

"Can we simultaneously decontaminate and cultivate? An urban cherry tomato story" with Marie-Anne Viau and Dr. Adrian Paul Contamination of various kinds can make it difficult to ensure healthy and safe food crops in urban agriculture. Phytoremediation is a strategy where we may be able to use plants' incredible natural abilities to help with this problem. This episode, Marie-Anne and Adrian join...

"A practical method to improve the efficiency of pollination in maize breeding and genetics research" with Dr. Dylan Schoemaker Mismatched pollination times can make desirable genetic matches beyond the reach of practical plant breeders. Storing pollen is one solution, but limitations in cost and feasibility can make viable pollen storage tricky. This episode, Dr. Dylan Schoemaker shares his work...

" Comparative productivity of six bioenergy cropping systems on marginal lands in the Great Lakes Region, USA " with Dileepa Jayawardena. Bioenergy crops present a promising source for biofuel production, offering a potential solution to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. However, they face criticism for potentially encroaching on arable land essential for food production to sustain growing populati...

"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...

"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 ni...

"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 im...

"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...

" 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, lenti...

"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 holisti...

" 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 alon...

"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 packagin...

"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...

"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 communi...