Soil Fertility and Nutrient Management Lab

Harnessing soil biogeochemical cycles and the latest in agricultural technology to promote crop production systems that optimize yield and environmental benefits

The Soil Fertility and Nutrient Management Laboratory focuses on managing nutrient limitations and excesses in crop production in Pennsylvania to maintain ever-advancing productivity while protecting and improving the environment.  To accomplish this, both research station and on-farm experiments are conducted in combination with laboratory analyses, computer simulation modeling, and innovative statistical approaches.  Lab members work with farmers, extension educators, researchers, and those in industry to further research objectives on a variety of soil fertility and nutrient management topics.  Our research objectives match the objectives of many producers, conservation groups, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the region: maintain profitably while limiting externalities on Pennsylvania crop and livestock farming operations in the environmentally sensitive Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Topics of current and past research include the improvement and validation of a new nitrogen recommendation framework for corn in Pennsylvania, testing of novel fertilizer products and technologies developed by industry, enhancing computer simulation models to better understand carbon and nitrogen cycling in the agroecosystem, and understanding how cover crop monocultures and mixtures affect nutrient management on Pennsylvania farms.