Information Resources from Decode 6
In an early-May blog post on this website, a link was provided to the website for Decode 6. This site provides information to the agricultural sector about carbon [C] and ecosystem services that are important topics related to the future of agriculture. The article penned here provides links to some of the most recent resources that can be accessed on this website.
Can growing cover crops with corn systems increase soil carbon? It is universally accepted that cover crops [CC] are grown to sequester carbon in the soil, which is credited to the residue that is left following their termination–i.e. they are not grown to be harvested. The author of this article, Deepak Joshi, summarized results from field studies [reported in 61 peer-reviewed articles] that showed that soil organic carbon [SOC] was increased by an average of 7.3% when CC’s were grown following corn. As expected, greater CC biomass production was associated with greater SOC increases, and the SOC increase was greater in coarse-textured or sandy soils vs. fine- and medium-textured soils. Overall, growing CC’s following corn is a promising management practice that will result in increased SOC through increased sequestering of atmospheric CO2.
Improving On-Farm Return on Investment by Measuring Soil Biology podcast [click here for transcript] by Meri Mullins. According to the author, soil biology is one of the three key pillars of soil functionality, along with soil chemistry and soil physics. Soil biology is the connecting force that drives soil functionality, which includes nutrient mobilization, stress adaptation, hormone production, and pathogen resilience. So, then, measuring soil biological activity is important for understanding if this activity is sufficient or deficient for supporting plant functions that rely on the soil for components that are necessary for optimum plant performance. And finally, “when it comes to plant health and yield performance, understanding what’s going on with soil microbes–i.e. both fungi and bacteria–could be the key to maximizing nutrient input uptake by plants and improving on-farm return on investment [ROI]”. According to the author, understanding soil biology through its measurement can find new efficiencies in farm management, which in turn can increase the ROI from inputs.
Benefits Farmers Can Reap from Agroecosystem Management video by Marshall McDaniel. In this presentation, the author explains the benefits farmers can realize from incorporating conservation practices such as reduced tillage, diversified crop rotations, and cover crops into their production system(s). Implementing whole-ecosystem management in all agricultural production systems can improve biodiversity and increase agriculture’s resilience to climate change.
Click here to access the June 2023 Content Roundup from Decode 6. Click here to subscribe to the monthly Decode 6 Newsletter. Midsouth soybean producers are encouraged to bookmark the Decode 6 website so they can access its content that deals with carbon and agroecosystem services that are related to agriculture.
Composed by Larry G. Heatherly, July 2023, larryh91746@gmail.com