McGee, R.

Rebecca McGee

High-throughput screening of forage crops for environmentally sustainable crop production

Improving the sustainability of agriculture requires a wide range of research from the basic to the applied, from molecular to whole organism, and from field to system level. In-field studies are irreplaceable for gaining knowledge of best practices, varieties, rotations, crop mixtures, and other factors that will make real differences in agricultural productivity and environmental […]

Bi-Functional Crops: Fall-sown cool season grain legumes provide cover crop attributes

Cool season food legumes (CSFL) harvested as seed are important rotational crops in the Palouse region of WA and ID and western WA as they provide fixed N to subsequent crops and break weed and disease cycles. In organic systems, fall-sown CSFL can serve as winter cover crops to reduce soil erosion, improve soil health […]

The Search for Acid-tolerant Rhizobia to Improve Pulse Production

Soil acidification is a growing challenge in Washington’s agricultural soils due to long term application of ammonia-based fertilizers. Acidic soil is detrimental to legume-rhizobia symbioses and nitrogen fixation. We seek to find acid tolerant and effective strains of Mesorhizobium spp. and Rhizobium leguminosarum, which associate with chickpeas and dry peas/lentils, respectively. The ultimate mission of […]

Development of winter pea lines for intercropping purposes

The project addresses the first FY12 program area for biologically intensive and organic approaches to sustainable management of fertility and plant nutrition. The objective of the project is to identify pea lines that can be fall planted and will fix the maximum amount of nitrogen by early spring. Such lines would be suitable for intercropping […]

Lentil Selection to Reduce Dietary Intake of Arsenic

This proposal addresses the BIOAg priority area: Breeding, varietal selection, management practices, processing, or marketing practices to increase food quality, nutrition, safety, or access. Arsenic contaminates soil and water in many areas around the world. Fruit growing areas of Washington are contaminated from lead arsenate use as an insecticide. Other regions have natural deposits or […]

Intercropping, Precision Weed Management, and Pea Breeding for Organic and Conventional Cropping Systems

Research conducted in the 2009-10 and 2010-11 growing seasons had three main components: a winter wheat-winter pea intercropping study, developing an inter-row cultivator with precision guidance for in-season weed management, and a new pea breeding project. (1) Intercropping: The potential use of winter peas as a nitrogen (N) resource for winter wheat was evaluated in […]