CA ASA Plant & Soil Conference

February 6, 2019, Fresno, CA

Nicholas Clark, UCCE Agronomy & Nutrient Mgmt. Advisor - Kings, Fresno, & Tulare Counties

680 N. Campus Dr., Ste. A, Hanford, CA 93230; (559) 852-2788; neclark@ucdavis.edu

Presentation Outline

• Why forage crops?

• Why nutrient management?

• Macro-nutrient refresher

• Nutrient management planning

• Executing nutrient management

• Preliminary research results

Why Forage Crops?

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2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Cro

p v

alue

(mil

lions

of

doll

ars)

Har

ves

ted a

rea

(thousa

nds

of

acre

s)

Select SJV Forage Production Stats (CAC data)

Alfalfa hay area Corn silage area Almonds area Alfalfa value

Corn silage value Almonds value Milk value

• Grain wheat, Sac Valley ----27.2%

• Corn silage, SJV -------------23.1%

• Organic spinach ------------- 11.7%

• Pistachios, SJV -------------- 9.8%

• Almonds, SJV --------------- 9.0%

• SDI processing tomatoes ---7.8%

• Walnuts, SJV -----------------7.7%

• Romaine hearts -------------- 6.5%

• Wine grapes, Sac Valley ---- 2.9%

• Fresh market plums --------- 1.0%

N Fertilization costs as a proportion of total operating costs

Why Nutrient Management? $$$←(subtle hint)

High Value, Low-Tech

Groundwater Quality (GWQ) and CA Agriculture

• US-EPA National Primary Drinking Water Regulations set enforceable Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for NO3-N at 10 mg/L

• GWQ is found to be impacted by agricultural applications of nitrogen in manure and fertilizers in the Central Valley (CV)

Harter and Lund, 2012. Addressing NO3- in CA’s Drinking

Water. Report for SWQCB to Legislature.

2013 Dairy General Order (R5-2013-0122)• Latest iteration, includes Central Valley Dairy

Representative Monitoring Program (CVDRMP) provision

• Dischargers report individually or as a representative group (over 1,100 members)

• CVDRMP to submit 6 year Summary Representative Monitoring Report (SRMR)

• SRMR will “identify mgmt. practices…protective of GW quality for the range of conditions found at participating facilities,” or “…propose solutions and upgrades that will result in compliance” (R5-2013-0122). Slide borrowed from Veldhuis, 2012. Producer

perspective on CVDRMP

Importance of Macro-Nutrients in Plants - POP QUIZ

Phosphorus

• Nucleic acids (RNA, DNA)

• _____lipid bi-layer (cellular membranes)

• ATP, ADP (energy transfer, metabolism)

Potassium

• Osmoregulation (cell turgor – stomata guard cell movement, cell division)

• pH stabilization (within cells)

• Enzyme activation and protein synthesis (photosynthesis)

• Accounts for greatest uptake of mineral nutrients

• Nucleic acids bases (ATGCU) (RNA, DNA, for genetic coding)

• Component of amino acids (building blocks of proteins/enzymes, “workhorses” of the cell)

• Cation/anion balance and osmoregulator in vacuoles

Nitrogen

Nutrient Uptake Forms & Mobility

Nutrient Uptake form Mobility in Plant Mobility in Soil

Nitrogen NO3-, NH4

+ MobileMobile as NO3

-,

immobile as NH4+

Phosphorus HPO42-, H2PO4

- Somewhat mobile Immobile

Potassium K+ Very mobile Somewhat mobile

Adapted from Cornell

Elements of a Nutrient Management Plan • Yield goal – setting

expectations

• Inputs – fertilizers (organic & synthetic), soil supply, water

• Outputs – harvested nutrients, inefficiencies* 0

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Fresno Kern Kings Madera Merced San

Joaquin

Stanislaus Tulare

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erag

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nn

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Yie

ld

(to

ns/

acre

)

SJV Alfalfa Hay Yields (10 year average, 2008-17 CAC

data)

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Fresno Kings Madera Merced San

Joaquin

Stanislaus Tulare

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nn

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ld

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SJV Silage Corn Yields (10 year average, 2008-17 CAC

data)

fertilizer + soil + water =

harvest + inefficiencyB

lack

to w

hit

e sh

adin

g c

hro

no

logic

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rep

rese

nts

yea

rs 2

008 t

hro

ugh 2

017, re

spec

tivel

y

* “Inefficiencies” here refers to whatever

the plant doesn’t accumulate.

Executing a Nutrient Management Plan • Correcting – fertilize to meet crop N demand and to maintain sufficient

phosphorus & potassium

• Monitoring – in season tissue/soil testing

• Adjusting plan – need be, correct fertility in-season or augment next season’s plan

Click for soil and tissue testing presentation

Click for alfalfa fertilization presentation

Nutrient management

plan

Fertilize/ amend

Monitor

Adjust plan

Forage Corn-Wheat Manure NUE:Preliminary results

Bob Hutmacher, Nick Clark, Till Angermann, Jorge Angeles

Experiment Design & Conditions

Site Specifics

• Heifer ranch

• Regular manure largely from heifer coral scraping, less from pond

• GW & district irrigation

• Deep, uniform, Nord fine sandy loam

Experimental Design

• RCBD, 4X

• Three treatments

1. “0 N” Ctrl

2. Manure only (~18.5 tons/ac, ~70% DM, ~1.5% N)

3. Manure + fertilizer (75-100 lbs N/ac from synthetic fertilizer)

0 N Control

Manure + fertilizer

Manure only

Corn N Balance

0N Ctrl Manure only Manure + fert F p

Lbs N/ac

Irrigation water 76 80 66

Manure 0 376 387

Fertilizer 0 0 100

Total applied 76 456 553

Total removed 204 219 227 4.316 0.054

A/R 0.37 2.08 2.44

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Yie

ld (

ton

s/ac

@ 7

0%

MC

)Corn Yield Between Treatments

F = 9.19p = 0.008

b aba

31.4 33.5 32.5

Corn N, P, K Above-Ground Accumulation

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M Only

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So

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N 0

-24

” (

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M + F

Corn Seasonal N Accumulation and Soil Mineral N content

UN32 Sidedress, 100 lbs N/acSoil

Soil

Tissue

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O3

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O3

-N (

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Corn Post-Harvest/Wheat Pre-Plant

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Corn Pre-Plant

Soil Depth (in)

Seasonal Soil NO3-N Change with Depth

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tCorn Pre-Plant Corn Post-Harvest Seasonal Difference

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2017-18 Wheat Soil and Plant Macronutrient Uptake and Availability

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2017-18 Wheat Preplant Soil Macronutrient Concentrations

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Yiel

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)Wheat Yield between Treatments

F = 14.96p = 0.001

aa

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b

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2017-18 Wheat N, P, K Above-Ground Accumulation

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trie

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ove

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Wheat Seasonal N Accumulation and Soil Mineral N content

UreaUrea top-dress, 75 lbs N/acreSoil Soil Tissue

Continuing

• Collecting data

• Establishing greater N deficiency within plots

• Evaluating data

• Applying for more funding (focus on N mineralization)

Thank you

Nicholas Clark, UCCE Agronomy & Nutrient Mgmt. Advisor – Kings, Fresno, & Tulare Counties

680 N. Campus Dr., Ste. A, Hanford, CA 93230

(559) 852-2788; neclark@ucdavis.edu