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Research

De lab is passionate about agronomy, soil, and environmental science research. The broad theme of De Lab research is to harness soil ecology for enhanced ecosystem services with a focus on understanding soil nutrient cycling (e.g., carbon and nitrogen) and minimizing its losses (via. leaching, tile drainage, and surface runoff) to enhance productivity and environmental sustainability of agricultural systems employing different soil health management practices. These practices may include but are not limited to using annual and perennial cover crops, no-tillage, reduced tillage, crop rotations, manure, organic soil amendments, and crop-livestock integration. De Lab is involved in designing and conducting various field and laboratory-based experiments; all focused on soil ecology, soil health, soil biogeochemistry, soil management, sustainable crop production (e.g., corn, soybean, oat, alfalfa, and perennial cover crops), and water quality.

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Project 1: Evaluating Soil Health and Farm Profitability with Perennials and Poultry in Corn Production Systems

Corn growers are always looking for new management techniques to improve soil and environmental health while also improving farm profitability. Integrating perennial ground cover (PGC) and poultry (P) in corn production systems has the potential to achieve that goal. The proposed project will determine the impact of corn grown with PGC alone and/or PGC–P systems (60″ row width) on soil health, crop yield, and farm profitability over three growing seasons in an on-farm setting. We hypothesize that corn grown (60″ row width) with PGC and/or PGC–P systems will increase soil health, grain yield, and farm profitability compared to conventionally grown corn (30″ row width) without PGC and P. The knowledge gained will be shared with producers and researchers via field days, social media, extension blogs, presentation at an ag-based conference and a peer-reviewed journal publication. The proposed project hopes to increase the adoption of an innovative and sustainable corn production system with PGC and P suitable for Minnesota corn growers to serve our communities and customers better while positively impacting soil and environmental health.

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PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

  • Quantify and evaluate the changes in physical, chemical, and biological soil health indicators with PGC and P integration. 

  • Quantify and evaluate the impacts on crop performance.

  • Conduct a cost-benefit analysis to compare the return on investments among the treatments and determine the success of the financial aspect of the study. 

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Please see the FLIER to learn more about the FIELD DAY Event - PERENNIAL COVER CROP & TURKEY INTEGRATION ON FARMLAND

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ORAL Presentation (*Undergraduate students): 

 

POSTER Presentations (*Undergraduate students):

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MEDIA Coverage:

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Project 2: Evaluating the Impacts of Microplastics on Soil and Plant Health: A Greenhouse Pot Experiment

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Microplastics (MPs) have been studied extensively in terms of their impacts on marine life, but there is a much smaller body of research targeting the impact of MPs pollution on terrestrial ecosystems. This is particularly important given that many terrestrial plants form the basis of our economy and our diet. Furthermore, the presence of high concentrations of MPs can alter soil physical and chemical properties, which in turn may have negative effects on soil biological communities and their functions and plant growth and performance. Here, we conducted a greenhouse pot experiment to investigate the effects of three different types of MPs, two sizes, and two concentrations on cherry tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants and the biological, chemical, and physical properties of soils. Three types of MPs, polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and a 50/50 proportion of PE + PP mixture, were used with two MP size ranges (0.5 – 1.0 mm and 2.5 – 3 mm), and two concentrations of MP suspensions (1% and 5%; w/w). The large red cherry tomato was selected as a model species since it is a widely grown horticultural crop in the United States (especially great for Minnesota's hot summers). Tomato plants were initially grown in single seed cells for an incubation time of 14 days. After incubation, the healthy tomato plants were transferred to the one-gallon pots. Plant growth measurements (shoot length, flower/fruiting number) were taken weekly, and aboveground plant parts were harvested at the end of the study to measure plant biomass. Several chemical (e.g., pH, electrical conductivity, soil organic matter, macro- and micro-nutrients), and biological (e.g., microbial biomass, soil respiration, and mineralizable nitrogen) soil health indicators. The knowledge from this study will increase our understanding of soil and plant health due to MP contamination in terrestrial ecosystems.

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POSTER Presentation (*Undergraduate students): 

*Galuska, C.M., *V.K. McKnight, C.T. Ruhland and M. De. 2022. Evaluating the impacts of microplastics on soil and plant health: A greenhouse pot experiment. 2022 Undergraduate Research Symposium at Minnesota State University, Mankato, April 12.

 

MEDIA Coverage:

"Small Wonders". Elements Magazine, Issue 5, 2024, CSET, Minnesota State University (MNSU), Mankato (see pages # 8-11).

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Project 3: Use of Biocompatible Polymer – Graphene Oxide-Based Nanomaterial to Reduce Nitrate Nitrogen Loss from Agricultural Soils

 

Over the past few decades, developments in nanomaterials such as graphene oxides (GO) have received wide attention in a range of industries due to their excellent electrical properties, colloidal properties, and large specific surface area. These superior properties allow GO to bind to more nutrient ions (e.g., NH4 and NO3) that plants and microorganisms compete to consume. Supply and demand for soil N by microorganisms is regulated mainly by carbon (C) availability. The addition of exogenous C (GO in this case, is made up of C, oxygen, and hydrogen atoms and its structure is relatively similar to that of soil organic C) can be an important management strategy to reduce the mobile form of soil N (i.e., NO3–N) which can cause impaired water quality and be an economic loss to farmers. Adding a C source should induce immobilization or the conversion of NO3–N to organic N in the microbial biomass (MB) and N would eventually be released after MB turnover. To test this, we conducted a 100-day laboratory-based soil incubation study where soil samples were treated with polymer nanofiber scaffolds of various weight percentages with different GO concentrations.

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MEDIA Coverage:

"An Unlikely Pair". Elements Magazine, Issue 4, 2022, CSET, Minnesota State University (MNSU), Mankato (see pages # 8-9).

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Project 4: Evaluating Soil health in a Minnesota Apple Orchard: The Effects of Apple Tree Rootstock and Cultivars

 

Apple orchard soil health is influenced by the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil which support productive trees over time without negatively affecting the surrounding environment. Hence, by increasing our understanding of soil health (i.e., physical, chemical, and biological properties), we may improve root health, increase nutrient and water uptake through weed control, and increase the yield potential of our orchards. In this experiment, we will investigate the impact of two apple varieties (Honeycrisp® and Zestar®) and their interaction with two rootstock sizes (semi-dwarf and dwarf) on soil physical, chemical, and biological health indicators in a Minnesota apple orchard. Understanding soil health indicators would help orchard farmers and policymakers to adopt sustainable soil management practices to improve soil and root health, increase the yield potential of our orchards, and thus may lower production costs.

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Extension Publication (*Undergraduate student): 

*Rogers, A.V., T. Bera, and M. De. 2023. The effects of apple tree rootstocks and cultivars on soil health in a Southern Minnesota apple orchard. Crops & Soils Magazine | January–February 2023. https://doi.org/10.1002/crso.20242 

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POSTER Presentation (*Undergraduate student):

*Rogers, A.V., T. Bera, and M. De. 2022. Evaluating soil health in a Minnesota apple orchard: The effects of apple tree rootstock and cultivars. 2022 Undergraduate Research Symposium at Minnesota State University, Mankato, April 12, 2022.

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Project 5: Farm-to-Fork: Educating Youth in Sustainable Agriculture for Healthy Food and a Healthy Environment

 

It is a pivotal moment for youth to understand the importance of sustainable agriculture for ensuring sustainable food systems and a healthy environment. In collaboration with the NRCS, Blue Dart Farm, Tesdell Century Farm, and Grass-Fed Cattle Co, our proposed project will educate high school students about different sustainable agricultural practices for healthy food and a healthy environment. Youth will gain hands-on experiences in soil and water quality testing, farm visits, have discussions with the farmers, local food market, and understand how the integrated crop-livestock system, economics, and farm-to-fork establishment can work together towards the sustainability of agricultural systems.

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Project objectives:

  • Engage and educate youth about sustainable agricultural practices, integrated crop-livestock systems, and local food systems through lectures, discussion, and hands-on work sessions with farmers, ranchers, and NRCS staff.

  • Develop skills in how to measure soil health and water quality.

  • Give youth hands-on experience through farm visits and discussions with the owners of sustainable farms and farm-to-fork establishments.

  • Introduce youth to sustainable agriculture career opportunities through meetings with farmers, ranchers, and NRCS staff.

  • Increase awareness about sustainable agriculture among the youth and extended community through presentation(s), social media, movie nights, weblinks, a YouTube channel, and field days.

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Please see the FLIER, the PROMOTIONAL VIDEO, and THE PROJECT REPORT to know more about the program.

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POSTER Presentation:

Mahal, N.K. and M. De. 2022. Farm-to-Fork: Sustainable agriculture program for youth. 2022 ASA-CSA-SSSA International Annual Meeting, November 6-9, Baltimore, MD, USA.

Media Coverage:

Farm to Fork: Sustainable Ag for Minnesota Teens​

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Project 6: Soil Health Characterization under Diverse Land Uses

 

Removal of atmospheric CO2 and sequestering it as soil organic carbon (SOC) can be a potential strategy to improve soil health and mitigate global climate change. However, land-use changes have resulted in soil organic matter (SOM) losses by 30 to 50% (25–40 Mg C ha−1) in the past century and have thereby negatively affected soil health by altering soil microbial communities and nutrient cycling (e.g., carbon, C; nitrogen, N). Previous studies have focused on insensitive soil health indicators (e.g., total SOC and N pools) and have reported inconsistent findings in evaluating the impact of land use change on soil health. Thus, the proposed study will evaluate the variations in management-sensitive soil health indicators such as microbial biomass (i.e, the eye of the needle through which all SOM entering the soil must pass) and potentially mineralizable N (PMN; a proxy for microbial N cycling), taking into account of surface soils (0-15 cm depth) from three land uses: forest, prairie, and agriculture. The results from this proposal will be a valuable input towards the development of effective land use strategies to enhance soil ecosystem services (e.g., habitat for organisms, nutrient cycling) using scientifically robust soil health indicators.​​

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POSTER Presentation (*Undergraduate student):

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