More than 90 percent of North Dakota's agricultural producers experience reduced yields as a result of salinity or sodicity, so it is an important issue in the state, according to Abbey Wick, NDSU Extension Service soil health assistant professor.
To provide producers with management options, a saline and sodic soil field day will be held on Aug. 22.
The day begins with registration between 8:15 and 8:45 a.m. at the Bagg Bonanza Farm near Mooreton, N.D. Morning and afternoon field tours will cover topics that were generated by producers.
Topics include:
- Detecting a soil issue: how to sample and interpret results
- Water management of sodic soils
- Whole-systems management of saline soils
- Vision of the SHARE (Soil Health and Agriculture Research Extension) farm
- Hydrology, salinity and soils
- Cropping response to salinity
- Root diseases on stressed crops
- Weed management in salt-affected areas
- Pest pressures
- Economics and salinity: how much do we gain with tiling?
"Salinity is not just a 'soil condition' because it affects every part of an agricultural system," Wick said. "We'll be taking a whole-systems approach by having state Extension specialists and researchers from multiple disciplines, such as soil, plant and weed sciences, entomology and applied economics, talk about how salinity influences their disciplines."
As part of the tour, a discussion on strategies for remediating saline soil conditions will be held at the Natural Resources Conservation Service/Richland County Soil Conservation District demonstration site near Wahpeton, N.D.
"We will leave time during the day for participants to have one-on-one conversations with NDSU research and Extension faculty, specialists and agents," Wick said.
To register, contact Niki Lynnes at 701-231-8881 or niki.lynnes@ndsu.edu.
Preregistering by Aug. 19 is encouraged but not required. The registration fee is $20, which includes a noon lunch and evening dinner.
The event is sponsored by the NDSU Extension Service, North Dakota Corn Council, Natural Resources Conservation Service and Richland County Soil Conservation District.
NDSU is recognized as one of the nation's top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.