Where do Pulse Crops Fit into Soil Health? The Role of Pulse Crops in Improving Soil Health

Physical Water Characteristics Compaction Soil Structure Chemical Salts Sodium ph Nutrients Biological Insects Microbes Plants Biological Activity Organic Matter

N Credits Previous Crop Soybean Edible Bean Pea Lentil Chickpea Harvested Sweat Clover Credit 40 lbs N/acre

Cover Crops Reduce erosion Add N Build Organic matter Residue management Enhance nutrient cycling Improve soil structure Livestock Feed

Mandan ARS

Root Architectures

C:N Ratio SOM ~ 10:1 C:N 30:1 = Immobilization C:N 20-30:1 = No Effect CN 20:1 = Mineralization

Field Pea Relay Cover Crop Encourage volunteer pea growth Cover Crop Biomass (lbs/ac) Percent N of Cover Crop (%) Total N in Plant Tissue (lbs/ac) 3026 4.3 130 1582 4.0 63 1877 3.7 69 Blaine Schatz & Yvonne Lawley, 2009

Field Pea Relay Cover Crop Fostering Methods Seeding Rate (seeds/ft 2 ) Pea Cover Crop Biomass (lbs/ac) Total Nitrogen in Cover Crop Biomass (lbs/ac) Wheat Test Crop Yield (bu/ac) None 6 334c 12.9b 53.9b Disk with Harrows Disk with Harrows 6 1844b 71.7a 56.4b 12 2215a 88.5a 59.6a Blaine Schatz & Yvonne Lawley, 2009

Late Season Cover Crop Timing Pea Harvest (Late July Early August) Lentil (Mid August) Chick Peas (September) How dry are you? Might want to do sight-specific.

Late Season Cover Crop N Benefits If soil has N, no nodulation will occur. Legumes in a mix may not have time to Fix N

Late Season Cover Crop N Benefits Green dry plant matter ~ 4% N Yellow-Green dry plant matter ~ 2.5% N ~33% mineralized in conventional till ~20% mineralized in no-till

Late Season Cover Crop N Benefits 100% ground cover Annual legume 6 inches high ~2,000 lbs dry matter Each additional inch ~150 lbs dry matter

How Much Dry Matter? Collect plant material in 1ft x 1ft Dry then Weigh 1gm/ft 2 ~ 96lbs of dry matter/ac

Salts Make Plants Think They are in a Drought Non-saline soil solution Cell plasma Saline soil solution Cell plasma Water Water A Cell wall B Cell wall

Salinity, Sodicity, Alkalinity??? Normal Soil Saline Soil Sodic Soil Saline-Sodic Soil EC < 4 ds/m EC > 4 ds/m EC < 4 ds/m EC > 4 ds/m SAR < 13 SAR < 13 SAR > 13 SAR > 13 ph < 8.5 ph < 8.5 ph > 8.5 ph > 8.5

Soil Salinization Needs 5 Things Water Water Soluble Salts NaCl, Na 2 SO 4, MgSO 4, CaSO 4, Recharge Area Water enters the soils Discharge Area Ground water becomes surface water Evaporation

Managing Saline Soils in North Dakota, David Franzen

Impermeable Layer Saline Seep Recharge Evaporation Discharge Throughflow

Recharge Discharge

Ditch Effect Evaporation Road S S Discharge

Discharge Discharge Wetland Salinization Evaporation Recharge Throughflow

Photo Courtesy Google Earth

Courtesy of Dr. Dave Hopkins and Mike Ulmer

SALINE AND SODIC SOIL MANAGEMENT Analyze the soil for Electrical Conductivity. Analyze the soil for Sodium Adsorption Ratio or Exchangeable Sodium Percentage.

Dry Down The Soil! Don t Dry Up! Conventional Till No-Till

Dry Down The Soil! Don t Dry Up! Deep Rooted High Water Use Crops Drain Tile

Impermeable Layer Saline Seep Management Recharge No Discharge. Salts have moved. Water Movement

Ditch Effect Management No Discharge. Salts have moved. Road S S

Wetland Salinization Management No Discharge. Salts have moved. No Discharge. Salts have moved. Recharge Water Movement

AGVISE LABS, 2011

Discharge Recharge Recharge Photo Courtesy Google Earth

START WITH A SALT RESISTANT CROP SATURATED PASTE ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY (ds/m) CROP 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 PERCENT OF MAXIMUM YIELD POTENTIAL Alfalfa 100 85 71 56 42 27 12 0 Barley 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 Canola 100 87 61 35 9 0 Corn 96 72 48 24 0 Dry Beans 81 43 5 0 Flax 96 72 48 24 0 Soybeans 100 90 50 10 0 Sugarbeet 100 97 85 73 61 49 37 25 13 0 Sunflower 100 97 87 77 67 57 47 37 27 17 7 Durum 100 96 88 80 72 64 56 48 40 32 Wheat 100 92 84 76 68 60 52 44 36 28

Summary Early harvest can allow late season cover crops N fixing from cover crops may or may not happen Get something growing Salinity management is water management Think landscapes!

QUESTIONS? Chris Augustin (701)857-7682 Chris.Augustin@ndsu.edu www.facebook.com/soilhealth