Soils & Fertility

Improving Soil Health in Diversified Agroforestry and Silvopasture Systems of NE Washington

Soil health in agroforestry systems is largely lacking in the literature and a great need for data-driven practices has been expressed throughout NE Washington by local foresters, landowners, and tribal units. Forested systems exhibit vastly differing soil biota and response to land management compared with established treatments for soil health improvement in other agroecosystems. Therefore, […]

A SmartChip for Pathogenic and Beneficial Microbes Underlying Soil Health

High-throughput, low-cost diagnostics for multiple aspects of soil health are a necessary component of maximizing the ability of researchers to understand soil health processes and farmers to effectively adopt soil health management practices. Across many growing regions of WA, soilborne diseases are a major limitation and given their patchy nature a large number of samples […]

Compost Teas for Enhanced Nutrient Cycling

With increasing fertilizer and fuel costs, producers are increasingly keen to improve on-farm nutrient cycling through biologically intensive methods. Currently, poor plant-soil-microbe interactions do not support healthy nutrient flow, which limits crop yield and favors fertilizer-dependent farming. Slow residue breakdown also inhibits direct seeding adoption and adherence since heavy residue at seeding time impedes direct […]

Building Soil Health Resiliency Through Vermicompost Tea Application

Agricultural intensification to meet the food needs of an increasing global population has placed tremendous pressure on our ability to maintain the health and quality of our soils. More holistic agricultural systems that encourage sustainable waste management and reuse are urgently needed to protect soil health and its roles in food production and security. Vermicompost […]

Tracking the Tango Between Tillage, Soil Health, and Weeds

Tillage is a crucial stage in annual agricultural systems that terminates overwintering vegetation, incorporates plant residues, and prepares the soil for crops. These activities degrade soil health and impact indicators such as soil microbial biomass, organic matter, and aggregate stability. Weed populations are also influenced by tillage as seed and vegetative parts are horizontally and […]

Selecting winter wheat for more than just yield: Improving soil health, microbial diversity, and grain micronutrient density across Washington State

There is much we do not know about the soil microbiome and little has been done to explore soil microbe x plant genotype x environment interactions. Classical wheat breeding strategies focus on yield and aboveground metrics, but recent work has identified soil and rhizosphere (area of the soil influenced by roots) characteristics that can be […]

A field evaluation of mycorrhizal inoculants on grapevine growth and nutrient uptake

As plant-mycorrhizal interactions are known to be context dependent, a better understanding of the conditions in which mycorrhizal fungi are beneficial to grapevine growth will help to inform vineyard management strategies aimed at incorporating biological inputs and improving agricultural sustainability. In a field experiment at WSU-Irrigated Agricultural Research and Extension Center (IAREC), I propose to […]

Improving Forage Quantity and Quality through Organic Fertilizer and No-Till Seeding in Western Washington

Forage production is the largest agricultural land use in western Washington supporting a diverse livestock industry. Poor grazing management and repeated hay removal, without amendment contribute to reduced productivity, encroachment of weeds, erosion, and inadequate forage quality to support animal health. This integrated research and extension project will address the WSU Sustaining Resources Grand Challenge. […]

Direct observation of sediment and carbon connectivity: evaluating degradation pathways, conservation implementation and true cost accounting

Soil erosion is the first order measure of agricultural soil sustainability. Clear economic incentives and accounting of public and private true cost are needed to identify pathways from conventional to transformational, biologically intensive management. Erosion occurs disproportionately from critical source areas, but the spatial distribution and temporal variability in erosion mechanisms are not well characterized. […]