California Ag Network

Tag: Soil Health

  • UC Davis Nematologists Share International Spotlight

    UC Davis nematologists shared the international spotlight at the 64th annual meeting of the Society of Nematologists (SON), held recently in Victoria, British Columbia.

    Doctoral candidate Alison Blundell of the laboratory of associate professor Shahid Siddique, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, received the 2025 John M. Webster Outstanding Student Award from the Society of Nematologists at its recent meeting in Victoria, British Columbia. As the recipient of the $1500 prize, she presented a 30-minute talk on her research,   “Overcoming Resistance: Unraveling The Mechanisms Behind Root-knot Nematode Evasion of Tomato Mi-1 Gene.”

    Siddique delivered a keynote address, “Biotechnology and Genomics for Sustainable Nematode Management” in the international symposium series, which was sponsored by a grant received from the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) and Co-Operative Research Programme: Sustainable Agricultural and Food Systems. It centered on the SON conference theme,  “Nematodes on the Move: Building Resilience and Sustainability through International Collaboration and Better Policies.”

    Siddique presented his keynote address under the realm of the symposium, “Reducing the Global Movement of Plant-Parasitic Nematodes and Rethinking Control Strategies,” Part 2.  Part 1 focused on “Understanding the Impact of Plant-Parasitic Nematodes on Global Food Security and Trade in a Changing World.”

    Siddique was one of 14 keynote speakers from 11 countries across 5 continents participating in the discussion, which consisted of three plenary sessions.

    Two doctoral candidates in the Siddique lab, Veronica Casey and Alison Blundell each won a travel award to attend the conference. Casey received the Hubbard Ag Science Award, and Blundell, the Bayer Award.

    Presenting talks were UC Davis Distinguished Professor Steve Nadler, former chair of the Department of Entomology and Nemtology; Amanda Hodson, assistant professor, and two postdoctoral researchers in the Siddique lab, Vera Putker and Bardo Castro.

    Nadler discussed “Phylogenetic Inference and the Diversity of Animal-Parasitic Nematodes”;  Hodson,  “The Relationship Between Nematode Indicators and Soil Carbon Pools across Managed and Unmanaged Landscapes in California”; Putker, “GPA2-Induced Selection Pressure Does Not Select for 187S Allele of the Effector GPRBP-1 in Virulent Globodera Pallida Populations,” and Bardo, “Biotechnology Approaches Against Root-Knot and Root Lesion Nematodes.”

    Blundell is the first UC Davis student to win the Webster award, launched in 2007 to recognize “a graduate student who has demonstrated outstanding accomplishments in his/her thesis research in nematology as well as other skills necessary to be a well-rounded scholar.”

    Blundell, who anticipates receiving her doctorate in 2026, joined the UC Davis doctoral program in 2020. She is completing her dissertation on “Trade-Offs Between Virulence and Evading Resistance in Root-Knot Nematodes.”  She investigates how root-knot nematodes overcome Mi-1 in tomatoes and is testing for susceptibility associated with resistance breaking. Mi-1 is a crucial gene in tomato plants that confers resistance against root-knot nematodes, which are parasitic nematodes that can and do severely damage crops.

    In addition to her scientific contributions, Blundell is involved in professional services with SON, including oral and poster presentations and as vice chair of the SON Graduate Student Committee. She engages in teaching, mentoring, and public outreach on the UC Davis campus. She promotes science education and agricultural awareness by volunteering at the annual UC Davis Picnic Day and the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day.

    Blundell, formerly Alison Coomer, holds a  bachelor of science degree in biology and a bachelor of arts in chemistry (2020) from Concordia University, Seward, Neb., where she received the Outstanding Graduate Student in Biology Award.

    The conference drew 179 attendees. The group experienced “a slightly lower attendance due to Visa concerns among foreign students attending U.S. universities,” a spokesman said. SON was formed in 1962 to advance the science of nematology in both its fundamental and economic aspects. Its membership stands at 356.

  • What Weeds are Telling You About Your Soil Health with American Vineyard Live

    Join Stetcyn Maldonado and Tom Johnson from Project Apis m. as they explore how weeds can serve as powerful indicators of vineyard health—often revealing potential problems before they become critical. In this insightful episode of American Vineyard Live, you’ll discover what different weeds can tell you about your soil and how they reflect the overall condition of your vineyard. As soil health takes center stage in sustainable agriculture, understanding these natural signals is more important than ever.

    Special thanks to Ag Bio Fusion for sponsoring this event.

  • American Vineyard Live: What Weeds are Telling you About your Soil Health

    Join Stetcyn Maldonado and Tom Johnson from Project Apis m. on May 9th at 10am as they discuss how to understand vineyard soil conditions better by the weeds that are thriving. Strategies for remediation and scouting tips will be a primary focus. Walk away with several actionable items to improve your soil health!

    Register to attend the free webcast at: https://americanvineyardmagazine.com/register-live/

  • Six Barriers to Expanding Soil Health Practices in California

    Soil health is at once the foundation of productive farmland and a tool for conserving California’s valuable water resources. Our climate pendulum of extreme drought and floods means sustainable agriculture practices must be part of our solutions toolbox – especially in the state’s most water-restricted regions.

    To help growers, water managers, and policymakers understand the direct and measurable positive impact of healthy soils on water sustainability, Sustainable Conservation published “Collaborative Solutions for California’s Climate-Resilient Agriculture: Harnessing the Water- Related Benefits of Soil.”

    Six Barriers to Adoption

    This report blends an in-depth literature review with an extensive grower survey that pinpoints six key, actionable barriers to widespread adoption of healthy soil practices.

    By marrying research insights with on-the-ground perspectives, the report unveils the pivotal role soil health can play in building a more resilient water and climate future — while protecting California agriculture’s viability.

    Soil Health is Our Health

    Why “soil health” if Sustainable Conservation focuses on water? In our work to enhance water quantity, quality, and ecosystem health for all, soils are critical to each of these goals. Healthy soils not only improve water use efficiency and capture and store more water when it’s available, but also improve the quality of the water that our ecosystems and communities rely on.

    Despite these benefits, and the momentum around soil health for carbon sequestration and human health, relatively little has been done to better understand and leverage the soil-water nexus.

    Cultivating a Resilient Future

    With only 5% of California’s arable land applying compost, planting cover crops, or reducing tillage, the potential impact of these practices at scale is enormous. This report is just one step on the road to a resilient water, climate, and agricultural future. Sustainable Conservation’s Solutions in our Soils program is dedicated to finding innovative solutions, furthering our collective learning, and overcoming barriers to promote and incentivize soil health.

    The next steps will be taken together as we incorporate healthy soils’ water benefits into the great work of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service, and local Resource Conservation Districts. Only by working across sectors, with partners new and old, and using the most up-to-date science, will we be able to make soil health practices accessible in California.

    The Sustainable Conservation Solutions in our Soil team acknowledges the invaluable input from partners, growers, researchers, and interviewees that made the report possible.

    About Sustainable Conservation

    Founded in San Francisco in 1993, Sustainable Conservation helps California thrive by uniting people to solve the toughest challenges facing our land, air, and water. A sustainable water future for California that supports a thriving economy is achievable. But a future in which nature and people have access to clean, affordable, and reliable water is possible only by working with – not against – each other.

    Every day, we bring together business, landowners, scientists, government, nonprofits and community representatives to steward the resources that we all depend on in ways that are just and make economic sense. For more information and to connect with Sustainable Conservation, visit suscon.org.

  • Techniques in Organic Farming that Influence Soil Health

    Soil organic matter has long been known to benefit farmers. The carbon in this organic matter acts as a food source for soil microbes, which then provide other nutrients to the crops grown. Microbes, insects and small soil critters produce materials that can improve soil structure and water retention. It’s a healthy ecosystem every farmer wants to encourage.

    Measuring changes in soil organic matter can be a challenge in intensively tilled soil that is used for vegetable production. Even in production systems with less soil disturbance, soil organic matter changes slowly. But, Eric Brennan and Veronica Acosta-Martinez are testing for soil enzymes as early indicators of improvements in soil health in a long-term systems study.

    Brennan manages the study in an area of California known as the “Salad Bowl of the World.” The Salinas Valley has high-input, organic vegetable production systems. “Farms in Salinas usually need to produce two or more vegetable crops per field annually to be profitable,” says Brennan. “This production intensity complicates the adoption of winter cover cropping. This is why many farmers in this region prefer to use compost to add large amounts of organic matter to the soil.”

    Specifically, the team compared farming systems that received different amounts and types of organic matter. The sources were from compost and cover crops. They recently published their results in the Soil Science Society of America Journal.

    “Our results on soil enzyme activity illustrate the importance of frequent cover-cropping in tillage-intensive, organic vegetable production,” says Brennan. “This raises questions about the sustainability of organic and conventional vegetable systems if cover crops are seldom used. We need to find innovative strategies to help farmers increase cover cropping. The practice is shown to improve soil health. It also provides other benefits like reducing nitrogen leaching into ground water.”

    It’s not that organic or conventional farmers in this region are against cover cropping. It’s that their use can complicate many aspects of vegetable production.

    Brennan’s study showed that cover cropping annually – no matter the type of plant grown – greatly benefits the soil. The study found that annual inputs of compost have relatively small benefits. There was an increase in microbial activity with compost, but not as much as with annual cover crops.

    There are some caveats in the study. This research was conducted in a loamy sand soil in Salinas Valley. Organic farmers in different regions may have different results. Using different types of fertilizers could impact results, as well.

    “The growing body of information from this long-term trial challenges the overly-simplistic notion that certified organic management improves soil health or quality,” says Brennan. He adds that the USDA organic standards require that certified farms show that their tillage and cultivation practices maintain or improve soil conditions. This refers to physical, chemical and biological factors. It also refers to minimizing soil erosion, which can worsen with intensive tilling.

    The team hopes that future research will focus on different soil types, such a clay or loam soil. Evaluating changes over shorter increments would provide useful data, too. The soil enzyme data tells one part of the interesting story of this relatively long-term experiment.

    Read more about this research in the Soil Science Society of America Journal. This research was funded primarily by the USDA-ARS, but also received 2 years of initial funding from a Specialty Crops grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

    To watch a 5-minute video of Eric Brennan explaining the Salad Bowl of the World, visityoutube.com/watch?v=M-8tCXXKqNA.

  • New Studies Show Soil Health Practices Increase Farm Profitability

    Today, American Farmland Trust (AFT), the organization behind the national movement No Farms No Food®, is releasing four case studies that show that healthier soil on farmland brings economic benefits to farmers and environmental benefits to society. These case studies were developed in partnership with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

    AFT Water Initiative Director Dr. Michelle Perez, the lead researcher on the project, is unveiling the case studies at the Soil and Water Conservation Society annual conference today. The case studies were developed as part of a 2018 NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) project, “Accelerating Soil Health Adoption by Quantifying Economic and Environmental Outcomes and Overcoming Barriers on Rented Lands,” and feature farms in California, Illinois, Ohio and New York.

    “Increasingly, we understand that better soil health – and specific practices aimed at building soil organic matter, fostering microbial life in the soil, reducing nutrient loss, and protecting soil from erosion – lead to higher net income for farming operations. These case studies contribute to the growing body of quantitative evidence that improving soil health increases farmer profitability,” said Dr. Perez.

    The two-page case studies focus on corn-soybean production in Illinois and Ohio, almond production in California and a diversified rotation (sweet corn, alfalfa, corn for silage or grain) in New York. The four farmers featured implemented soil health practices like no-till or strip-till, nutrient management, cover crops, compost, and mulching.

    “When it comes to conservation, producers have to make decisions based on what makes the most sense for their operations,” said NRCS Chief Matthew Lohr. “These case studies provide information on the economic benefits of using soil health management systems, demonstrating the value of adopting these systems.”

    With soil health management, producers can increase their yield, decrease their risk and input costs, and improve their profits, all while conserving our nation’s resources for the public at large, on their farms, in their watersheds, and beyond. Soil health management systems are good for farmers and for the public.

    “Increased implementation of soil health is critical to AFT’s holistic approach to saving the land that sustains us. Ensuring a sustainable future for this planet and our society requires we value the land, the practices on the land and the people who steward that land. AFT’s case studies showcase farmers who took the risk and are now enjoying the benefits of implementing practices that will support food production for a growing population while improving our environment and sequestering carbon. Farmers across the country can now embrace these practices and, with the help of staffers from AFT and our partner NRCS, put them into practice with greater confidence and profitability,” says John Piotti, AFT president and CEO.

    Highlights from the case studies include:

    • All four of the farmers profiled saw improved yields ranging from 2% to 22% that they attributed, in part, to their soil health practices. The average return on investment was 176% for the four farms in the study and ranged from 35% to 343%. The study accounted for other factors at play in increased yield such as improved seed varieties and increased seeding rates.
    • All four farmers saw improved water quality outcomes, both by witnessing reduced soil and water runoff and as estimated by USDA’s Nutrient Tracking Tool (NTT). NTT estimated that nitrogen reductions ranged from 40% to 98%, phosphorus reductions ranged from 74% to 92%; and sediment reductions ranged from 76% to 96% from specific fields in each farm.
    • All four farmers saw improved climate outcomes, as estimated by USDA’s COMET-Farm Tool. The tool estimated that total greenhouse gas emission reductions from specific fields in each farm ranged from 16% to 560%, corresponding to taking three-fourths of a car to 17 cars off the road.

    All four farmers have been implementing different soil health practices over different time frames and a variety of cropping systems. With these case studies and the ones that will be released in the fall, AFT is building a diverse library of on-farm examples of soil health investments that have led to economic gain.

    We hope that farmers who have been considering adding soil health practices to their operation will be able to use these case studies to approach their existing landowners, from whom they rent their land, to discuss sharing the risks and rewards of the soil health investments. We think farmers may be able to use the case studies with a new landlord to add new fields. Should that materialize, we hope farmers will also share the case studies with their bankers to secure additional financing for the farm expansion.

    Farmers across the country can reach out to their local NRCS and Soil and Water Conservation District staff to help them implement soil health practices on their farm. In the watersheds featured in the four case studies, farmers can reach out to both the local NRCS and SWCD staff as well as the four AFT authors of the case studies.

    We hope our conservation partners at NRCS, SWCD and Extension, plus our partners in the private sector, crop consultants, cover crop seed dealers, and strip-till equipment providers, use these case studies with their customers to help answer questions about the costs and benefits of adopting soil health practices.

    AFT’s first four case studies can be found on AFT’s “Accelerating Soil Health” webpage.

    American Farmland Trust is the only national organization that takes a holistic approach to agriculture, focusing on the land itself, the agricultural practices used on that land, and the farmers and ranchers who do the work. AFT launched the conservation agriculture movement and continues to raise public awareness through our No Farms, No Food message. Since our founding in 1980, AFT has helped permanently protect over 6.5 million acres of agricultural lands, advanced environmentally-sound farming practices on millions of additional acres and supported thousands of farm families.

    USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) mission is “Helping People Help the Land.” NRCS helps America’s farmers, ranchers and forest landowners conserve the nation’s soil, water, air and other natural resources. All programs are voluntary and offer science-based solutions that benefit both the landowner and the environment.