Soil Fertility and Management
Soil fertility is essential for plant growth and to optimize agronomic crop yield. Use Penn State Extension’s extensive resources on soil fertility and management of agronomic crops, including quality assessment and conditions such as crusting, compaction, and rill erosion. You’ll also find tips on levels of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus, crop rotation, and no-till yields.
Soil Health and Conservation Practices
Healthy soil is the foundation for profitable, productive, and environmentally sound agronomic production. There are many ways to optimize the health of the soil, but you first need to understand the soil's physical, chemical, and biological components if you want to manage them successfully.
There are lots of different things that can affect soil quality. Wet conditions in fall and spring, for example, can lead to problems with severe soil compaction during harvest or manure spreading. Soil compaction can drastically affect the growth of crops when their roots hit the compacted layer. It can also lead to issues with compaction infiltration.
Popular ways of improving soil health include using a no-till system and cover crops. Both bring many advantages, such as reduced soil erosion, improved soil physical properties and soil quality, and improved water quality. It requires careful management, in particular for livestock farms as continuous applications of manure can lead to high concentrations of phosphorus. Soil tests can measure these levels as well as levels of different nutrients.
Soil Fertility and Nutrient Management for Agronomic Crops
Nutrients are essential for maintaining soil health and soil fertility. Soil fertility can be improved by incorporating the 4Rs. These are:
- Right fertilizer source: matching fertilizer type to crop needs
- Right rate: matches the amount of fertilizer each crop needs
- Right time: allowing nutrients to be available when they are needed
- Right place: providing nutrients where crops can use them
Different crops take up nutrients in unique ways which means careful nutrient management is imperative. Much research is being done to discover how to optimize carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus management, because of the vital role these nutrients play. Potassium also has a critical role to play in crop production.
Nitrogen is present in the air that we breathe, but it can only be used by plants after it’s fixed, or taken from the air. A process called the nitrogen cycle controls levels in the soil. Two processes make up the cycle: immobilization and mineralization.
How much nitrogen is in the soil changes almost daily, making it difficult for producers to predict and manage levels. Two methods for testing nitrate levels are currently being researched: Pre-sidedress Soil Nitrate Test (PSNT) and the leaf chlorophyll meter test. Both allow producers to determine when to top-dress nitrogen or apply a nitrate fertilizer. Several other tools are available for in-season nitrogen management decision making, for example, the Late Season Stalk Nitrate Test for Corn.
The Managing and Predicting Soil Carbon and Nitrogen in Agronomic Cropping Systems workshop helps you understand the importance of managing soil carbon and nitrogen, in regard to maintaining soil health, improving crop yields, and protecting the environment.
- Articles
Tillage Erosion and Its Interaction with Water Erosion
Tillage erosion is the movement of loosened soil downslope due to gravity. It results in truncated soil profiles with reduced soil health and low productivity. In addition, it sets in motion processes increasing water erosion. - News
Winter Wheat Fields Are Greening Up Already
Date Posted 3/6/2024Spring green-up is an important time for assessing and managing winter wheat. - Articles
Prevalence of Highly Erodible Land (HEL) and Implications for Pennsylvania
Most Pennsylvania farmland is highly erodible. An implemented conservation plan or system is needed for farms with Highly Erodible Land (HEL) receiving USDA program support. Learn more about HEL and preserving land productivity. - Webinars
Manure Management
Length 4 hoursExplore manure regulations, storage, stacking, and application, get updates from the Center for Agricultural Conservation Assistance Training, and engage in a Q&A session. - Articles
Soil Erosion Threat Increasing with Climate Change
Warmer temperatures and more intense rainfall events in the Northeast increase the threat of soil erosion and make protecting soil with permanent cover increasingly important. - Articles
Soil Erosion Continues to be a Concern in Pennsylvania
The 2017 National Resource Inventory published by USDA showed that soil erosion on Pennsylvania’s cultivated croplands is still higher than what is desirable. - Articles
Planting Green 101: Penn State Research Summary
This article explains the "why" and "how" of planting green with corn and soybeans, including practical management recommendations based on results from 3 years of research across 5 locations in Pennsylvania. - Webinars
Monitoring Soil Moisture: A Climate Smart Ag Practice
Length 1 hourExplore the fundamentals of soil moisture monitoring for agricultural production, discover new data collection methods, and understand the economic and environmental benefits. - Guides and Publications
Starting at Free
2023 Agronomy Research Report
A research report highlighting the results of new, continuing, and completed agronomic projects conducted by Penn State investigators and their collaborators in 2023. - Articles
What Is Sewage Sludge and What Can Be Done with It?
In this document, "sewage sludge" will refer to wastewater treatment solids generally, and "biosolids" will refer specifically to material that is suitable for land application. - Articles
Effects of Biosolids on Soil and Crop Quality
Results of a three-year research project that investigated how agronomic biosolids utilization has affected soil and crop quality. - Articles
Biosolids Quality
Application of sewage sludge to farmland has been a common practice in Pennsylvania for many years and allows this material to be recycled, rather than incinerated or disposed of in landfills. - Articles
Use of Biosolids in Crop Production
Characteristics of various types of biosolids and discusses management, regulatory, and other practical issues regarding their use on cropland. - Articles
Nitrogen in the Chesapeake Bay - How are We Doing?
Nitrogen is one of the key ingredients causing eutrophication in the Chesapeake Bay besides phosphorus and sediment, and agriculture is a major contributor with limited options to meet reduction goals going into the future. - Articles
Maintain Proper Tire Pressure Critical to Avoid Soil Compaction
Proper tire inflation pressure is key to avoiding soil compaction and obtaining maximum equipment performance. - Articles
Winter Survival of Small Grains and Cover Crops at Risk
A warm fall and excessive growth can set up your small grains or cover crops for winter injury. - Articles
Maximize Grazing and Improving Soil Health
Grazing can be an excellent option to feed animals and by using some key principles you can maximize forage production and grazing season while improving soil health. - Articles
Avoiding Soil Compaction During Fall Harvest Season
Avoiding soil compaction this fall is going to be key to maintaining soil productivity. - Articles
Intensive Grazing Management of Cover Crops for Soil Health
With the new interest in grazing cover crops, are there effects on soil health and compaction? The results of an on-farm Pennsylvania study looking into this are presented here. - News
Consider the Cornstalk Nitrate Test to Assess Your Nitrogen Management
Date Posted 8/21/2023The corn stalk nitrate test is an end-of-season diagnostic tool to determine if the crop had optimal N availability during the growing season. - Tools and Apps
Nitrogen Recommendations for Corn That Credit Cover Crops and Soil Organic Matter
This tool allows you to make a prediction for how much nitrogen (N) fertilizer is needed for a corn crop based on credits that are given to soil organic matter and cover crop residues. - Articles
What is the Potential for Nitrogen Losses from Extreme Summer Rainfall?
The severity of nitrogen losses from extreme summer rainfalls, and how you react to them, depends on many factors. - Videos
Soil Sampling
Length 5:02In this video, learn how to take representative soil samples in agronomic fields. - Articles
How to Decrease Drought Risk in Crop Production
Soil type is one factor explaining severity of drought risk, while drought risk can be reduced by increasing crop diversity on the farm, maintaining mulch cover, and improving soil health. - Articles
Strategies to Improve Water Use Efficiency: Part 2
Increased yield with improved water use efficiency can be achieved by managing several soil properties.