Rainfall runoff following fertilizer applications on farm fields can cause nutrient loss, potentially polluting waterways.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. A grant of $484,000 will support a joint Penn State/U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service project designed to help farmers improve water quality by making better decisions about when and where to apply fertilizer. The funding, from USDA's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, will enable scientists to develop the Fertilizer Forecaster, a Web-based decision-support tool that producers can use before applying fertilizer to assess the risk of nutrients running off in surface water. "Mandated nutrient-management plans are designed to provide guidance for farmers that can help them make prudent decisions," said project director Patrick Drohan, assistant professor of pedology in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. "But these plans may not provide the day-to-day support required to make operational decisions - particularly when and where to apply nutrients in the short term," he said. "These short-term decisions can make the difference between whether the nutrients impact water quality or are efficiently utilized by crops." Rainfall that infiltrates the soil on the heels of a broadcast fertilizer application is beneficial, Drohan explained, because it washes soluble nutrients into the soil where they can be used by crops.
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