The 2024 International Annual CANVAS Meeting (formerly American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and the Soil Science Society of America Meeting) took place in San Antonio, Texas, from November 10-13, 2024, bringing together thousands of professionals, researchers, students, and exhibitors for an opportunity to learn and network.
The Soil Fertility Lab team actively participated in CANVAS 2024, delivering two oral presentations and presenting two research posters.
Valeria Moreira, a visiting scholar, won 1st place in the Soils & Environmental Quality session’s poster competition for her presentation, Fostering Soil Health with Regenerative Agriculture in Ohio: Legacy of Crop Rotation and No-Tillage Practices Spanning Six Decades. You can read SENR’s full article here: https://senr.osu.edu/news/fostering-soil-health-regenerative-agriculture-wins-first-place
Her research focused on the Triplett–Van Doren Experiment, one of the longest-running agricultural studies in the U.S., established in 1962 in Ohio. This work examined how conservation practices like crop rotation and no-tillage improve soil health over time. Specifically, Valeria investigated soil aggregate stability, a key soil health indicator that reflects the soil’s ability to maintain its structure when exposed to environmental or human-induced forces. The study was conducted at two contrasting Ohio sites: Wooster, with silt-loam soil, and Hoytville, with clay-loam soil. Soil samples were analyzed for aggregate stability, and the results indicated that both crop rotations with forage crops and no-tillage significantly enhanced soil structure. Reduced disturbance and increased residue accumulation contributed to healthier soils, providing better conditions for root development and overall soil function.
Aline de Camargo Santos, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar, presented key findings on crop production from the Triplett–Van Doren Experiment in her talk, A Legacy of Resilience: Long-Term Impact of Crop Diversification and No-Tillage on Crop Yields. She discussed the experiment’s origins and how crop rotation and no-tillage have influenced yields over six decades. Her study showed that crop rotation – especially with forage crops – significantly boosted yields in Ohio. By incorporating weather data into the analysis, the study also revealed that no-tillage and diversified rotations enhanced crop resilience under extreme weather conditions, particularly in years with drought or excessive rainfall. These findings highlight the long-term benefits of conservation practices for sustainable crop production.
Louceline Fleuridor, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar, delivered an oral presentation titled Soil Health Legacy Effects of Alternative Approaches to Integrating Crop and Livestock Production. In her talk, Dr. Fleuridor hypothesized that the use of manure and diversified crop rotations, including perennials, could significantly improve the biological health of soil. She explored the legacy effect of various management practices such as the use of perennials, manure integration, cover crops and tillage impact soil biological health indicators like soil organic matter, active carbon (POXC) and Mineralizable C and N and Enzyme activities across 86 fields on 31 working Ohio farms. Her findings highlighted the importance of diversified crop rotations and manure use in promoting soil health.
Ben Robinson, a research associate, presented a poster and a 5-minute presentation titled: Organic Dual-Use Kernza: Impact of Defoliation Intensity on Grain and Forage Yield. During his talk, he highlighted the advantages of perennial systems and the unique dual-purpose benefits of Kernza for both grain and forage production. Over a four-year study, he evaluated the effects of varying soil types and defoliation intensities on yield. His findings suggest that defoliation intensity does not significantly impact grain or forage yields, allowing for more aggressive defoliations across seasons and years in Kernza dual-use systems. In closing, he emphasized that the key to maintaining high yields lies in stand age and location, ensuring productivity throughout the production cycle.
Authors: Aline de Camargo Santos, Valeria Moreira, Naiima Abdi, and Manbir Rakkar.