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Title: Remediation/Restoration of Degraded Soil to Improve Productivity In The Central Great Plains Region

Author
item Mikha, Maysoon
item STAHLMAN, P - Kansas State University
item Benjamin, Joseph
item Vigil, Merle
item GEIER, P - Kansas State University
item Poss, David

Submitted to: Meeting Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/15/2010
Publication Date: 3/2/2010
Citation: Mikha, M.M., Stahlman, P.W., Benjamin, J.G., Vigil, M.F., Geier, P.W., Poss, D.J. 2010. Remediation/Restoration of Degraded Soil to Improve Productivity In The Central Great Plains Region. Proceedings of the Great Plains Soil Fertility Conference. Pages 229-235. March 2-3, 2010. Denver, CO.

Interpretive Summary: The experiment is being conducted on two sites. The first site is on a farmer’s field near Akron, Colorado and the second site is at the Agricultural Research Center in Hays, Kansas. Tillage practices include conventional tillage (CT) i.e. sweep tillage and no-tillage (NT). Two N-sources (manure, M; and commercial fertilizer, F) are used and applied at two rates. The preliminary data suggest that manure additions have a potential of increasing the productivity of eroded soils in the central Great Plains Region.

Technical Abstract: The quality and productivity of some farmlands in the central Great Plains Region (CGPR) have been lost through wind and water erosion induced by tillage and poor soil management. Productivity of degraded/eroded soils can be restored using organic amendments such as manure and improved crop and soil management. Our objectives are to: (i) identify optimal rates of manure to supply nutrients to typical dryland crops in the CGPR; (ii) determine the rate of improvement of crop yield associated with dryland manure management of eroded soils; and (iii) quantify the advantage of restoring eroded soils using manure as an amendment versus managing those same soils with chemical fertilizer. The experiment is being conducted on two sites. The first site is on a farmer’s field near Akron, Colorado and the second site is at the Agricultural Research Center in Hays, Kansas. Tillage practices include conventional tillage (CT) i.e. sweep tillage and no-tillage (NT). Two N-sources (manure, M; and commercial fertilizer, F) are used and applied at two rates. The experimental design is a randomized complete block with four replications. The preliminary data suggest that manure additions have a potential of increasing the productivity of eroded soils in both sites studied. In subsequent years it will be important to determine the improvement in different soil parameters and to document yield effects from different management practices. Several additional “benchmark” measurements (physical, chemical, and biological) are being made on the soils in these plots and measurements will be repeated periodically throughout the duration of the experiment.