The biological dimension of cropped soils may be the next frontier for integrated crop management to enhance resource sustainability and the success of farmers. We need to learn more about the possibilities presented by better understanding the relationships between soil and crop management, the life of the soil, and sustainable crop production for Pennsylvania.
Soil quality represents the life of the soil.
Dr. Les Lanyon, professor of soil fertility, Dr. Laurie Drinkwater, adjunct assistant professor and director of U.S. programs at Rodale Institute, and Dr. Jon Chorover, assistant professor of environmental soil chemistry, are leading research teams that are exploring the impact of soil and crop management on the microbiological activity in Pennsylvania soils. Their goal is to develop simple tests or management guidelines that allow producers to better understand the condition of life in their farms' soils and to monitor trends in soil quality indicators over time. This can help in identifying practices that improve soil quality and long-term sustainability. In 1996, a wet, cool summer contributed to a statewide soybean white mold outbreak in Pennsylvania that caused a yield loss estimated at 10-20 percent. Dr. Barbara W. Pennypacker, associate professor of agronomy and senior research associate, is working diligently on methods to control white mold of soybeans, which is caused by the fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum.