New Technology Offers Soil Fertility Benefits

OLIVIA MCCLURE

ST. GABRIEL, LOUISIANA

This year’s annual field day at the LSU AgCenter Sugar Research Station drew a large crowd of participants eager to hear updates on topics ranging from sugarcane varieties to crop management strategies.

One stop on the farm tour, led by AgCenter soil scientist Brenda Tubañaand postdoctoral researcher Bruno Nicchio, highlighted biostimulant research and practices that improve soil fertility.

Much of their work is funded by a grant from the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation. The grant supports soil fertility research using various best management practices to improve soil health on Louisiana sugarcane and grain crop farms. It is focused on keeping valuable nutrients in the soil where they belong rather than in water bodies.

Tubaña and Nicchio spoke about the importance of soil testing, one of the best management practices implemented on two model farms that are participating in the grant project. They also discussed research trials testing biostimulants, a technology that can enhance the benefits of other soil health practices.

“Using biostimulants is another approach in managing soil fertility to increase nutrient use efficiency and alleviate different plant stressors in the field. This can be paired with typical fertilizer programs of a given crop like sugarcane,” Tubaña said. “Our biostimulant trials will measure soil fertility, pH levels and plant nutrient uptake rates.”

Biostimulants are beneficial microorganisms intentionally added into fields or crops.

“Most of them contain materials used to promote crop growth and can also work as nitrogen fixers, organic matter decomposers, nutrient stabilizers and uptake enhancers,” Nicchio said.

Biostimulants can serve as a valuable tool for achieving high-quality, sustainable results, Nicchio said. But as a newer technology, many questions remain about the best ways to use them.

“There are limited studies, especially in sugarcane,” he said. “That is why it was important we started the biostimulant cluster trials.”

After the field tour, participants moved indoors to cool off. They heard from speakers who gave updates on other developments in the AgCenter and the agriculture industry.

For more information about the Taylor grant, visit www.LSUAgCenter.com/taylorgrant.   ∆

OLIVIA MCCLURE: LSU AgCenter