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In this project, we are investigating the economic potentials of ally cropping in northern California. The project includes:
1- Documenting the ongoing alley cropping practice of a local grower, Dax Kimmelshue, who has grown beans in young orchards for several years. 2- Study the feasibility of growing other annual crops in young orchards 3- Study the effect of annual crops on water status of of fruit trees |
Tree ET with ground cover
Quantifying almond evapotranspiration with and without ground cover (alfalfa and clover). Almond - and Mandarins- are grown in 50G lysimeters with and without alfalfa and clover as ground cover. The lysimeters are equipped with a self-watering system which will record the cumulative irrigation throughout the growing season. |
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We are investigating variation for agronomic quality, disease resistance, plant morphology, and biological nitrogen fixation traits in a diverse panel of 63 fava bean accessions from 25 countries. The trial is being conducted at CSU - Chico, CSU - Fresno, and Lundberg Family Farm over multiple growing seasons with the primary objective of identifying suitable fava bean genotypes for cover crop mixtures. The findings will also help guide ongoing fava bean breeding efforts by characterizing available plant materials and by identifying traits that are associated with improved crop performance.
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This Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education funded project aims to estimate the economic value and quantify potential soil nitrogen benefits of cover crop fava bean subjected to one or more fresh pod harvests. The trial will be conducted at CSU Chico, Terra Nux, LLC., Chico Flax, and Lundberg Family Farm over multiple growing seasons to quantify economic benefits of fresh pod harvests and soil health. In addition, this multi-disciplinary project will allow us to prepare and introduce foods that use fresh fava bean pods to northern California!
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Unlike many other plant nutrients, nitrogen is highly subject to loss from the plant-soil system. Rapid nitrogen mineralization results in the conversion of soil organic nitrogen to nitrate that is readily lost from the soil. This loss may result in degraded ecosystems (e.g. harmful algal blooms and eutrophication) and lead to groundwater contamination. However, nitrogen sources with a high carbon to nitrogen ratio undergo slower rates of nitrogen mineralization and are less likely to contribute to nitrogen pollution. In this study, we characterize a field pea population that was developed at Crop Development Center at the University of Saskatchewan for below- and above-ground nitrogen composition. We will measure nitrogen mineralization rates of pea shoot and root tissue over the growing season of the following crop. The results are expected to help direct future cover crop breeding by establishing strategies to develop cultivars with decomposition rates that are more suitable for sustainable farming.
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The response of alfalfa to three levels of salinity and four rates of nitrogen (N) was measured in a pot study at California State University, Chico. Alfalfa was grown in 5-gallon buckets filled with a mixture of soil, sand and peat moss, and placed in an open field. All plants received macro- and micro-nutrients, plus equivalent to 30 kg ha-1 starter N at the planting. After the first cut, plants received four levels of urea fertilizer (0, 30, 60, and 120 kg N ha-1) with the first irrigation. At the onset of salinity treatments, all plants were cut to just above the crown, and subsequently, the plants were watered with tap water, low salinity (EC=~5 ds/m) or high salinity (EC= ~10ds/m) water with the saline solutions prepared using NaCl, Na2SO4, MgSO4 and CaSO4·2H2O. Daily watering was based on the total plant evapotranspiration and the pot field capacity to eliminate leaching.
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