Roots in Research LESREC - Poplar Hill and Salisbury Facilities - Yield Year 2023

Poplar Hill and Salisbury Weather Stations

Weather data for Poplar Hill and Salisbury are displayed on our website. The information can be displayed by month, or by the year in a printable format. To compare weather data averages by the month or year, check out our website! If your research requires this data in a different format, please contact Sheila Oscar and she will help to get the information you are requesting.

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EPA/USDA Tour at LESRECEPA/USDA Tour at LESREC

June 21st was the EPA/USDA Tour which included a stop at LESREC. We hosted a well- rounded tour including researchers in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia as well as a Maryland farmer’s market that grows and sells their own produce. We heard from the farmers what some of their challenges were. This was a tour to remember because on that day there was torrential rain and winds gusting to 40 miles per hour. The show went on though with lots of scrambling to keep participants relatively comfortable and dry. It is regrettable that many of the activities had to be replaced with indoor presentations. Nevertheless, plenty of educational material was offered to personnel of EPA and USDA.  

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Findings from 2023 at UMD-LESREC

David Armentrout, Facility Manager

Annually, at the UMD Lower Eastern Shore Research and Education Center located in Salisbury, MD and in Quantico, MD I believe it is important to implement trials to better the practice of producing popularly grown crops of the region. In doing so, I as the Facility Manager, can increase my team’s knowledge and experience in successfully perfecting the cultural practices needed for crop production. In 2023, I specifically looked at demonstrating Pumpkins (‘Pumpkin Variety Trial’), Sweetcorn (‘Sweetcorn Comparison, Seeding Date and Insecticide Timing Trial’) and Cantaloupe/Watermelon (‘Transplant timing of Cantaloupe and Watermelon’). In 2023, I also continued working with Dr. Jeff Pettis looking at ‘Strategies and Evaluation of Honeybee Survival at LESREC’.

Like most years there were some challenges in crop production in 2023. However, our demonstration trials performed exceptionally well producing very respectful yields of sweetcorn, pumpkin, cantaloupe and watermelon. Honeybee winter survival was below average going into the 2023 growing season but our hives rebounded well. The experience and knowledge gained in implementing such demo-trials allows myself to better suit the needs of researchers in growing similar or related crops in future trials. In addition, such demo-trials are an added bonus during Facility tours.

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Summer Squash Organic Insecticide Trial

Emily Zobel - UMD Extension Educator, Dorchester County
Haley Sater - UMD Extension Educator, Wicomico County

Many small organic farms struggle to control common insect pests on their summer squash plants, such as squash bugs and squash vine borer. A pesticide trial was conducted to determine if Neem oil or insecticide soap effectively controlled common insect pests on summer squash. Small plots of 12 plants were planted in a random block design, with 4 replications. Treatments included neem oil, insecticide soap, water, and a control. Plants were sprayed weekly and inspected for insects. Once fruit was produced, plots were harvested. The fruit was inspected, sorted, and weighted. Due to the field flooding, there was widespread plant death halfway through the season, so no outcome or conclusion has been made. However, this experiment will be repeated in 2024.

Dr. Haley Sater, Ag and Food Systems agent for Wicomico County, weighting harvested squash. Squash fruit was sorted into marketable, damaged, and cull. The number of fruit and weight for each plot was recorded.

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The Importance of Tidal Marshes to Bat Foraging Habitat and Diversity

Jeromy Green, BS, Teachers Assistant, Biological Sciences Department, Salisbury University

Abstract
Bats are a species that are rapidly declining through the United States due to multiple threats like White-nose syndrome (WNS), wind turbines, and habitat destruction. Recent studies suggest that wetlands may be an unrecognized habitat that support a large abundance of bats with drinking water and prey availability. However, few studies have assessed the value of tidal marshes, in particular, in supporting bat populations. The purpose of this study is to fill this gap by using acoustic monitoring in a mixture of driving transects and long-term passive monitoring to directly compare habitat use and diversity of bats in tidal marshes compared to forests and cropland habitats on the Delmarva Peninsula. Additionally,  Read more>>>

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Sweet Corn Sentinel Monitoring Network: 2023 Results and Trends

Galen P. Dively, Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, et al.

Starting in 2017, the sweet corn sentinel monitoring network has been tracking changes in corn earworm (CEW) susceptibility to Cry and Vip3A toxins expressed in Bt corn and cotton. Each year, Syngenta and Bayer-Seminis provided sweet corn seed that is repackaged and distributed to volunteer collaborators to establish sentinel plantings of Bt hybrids (expressing Cry1Ab, Cry1A.105+Cry2Ab2, and Cry1Ab and Vip3A) planted side by side with non-Bt isolines. All collaborators used the same sampling and data collection protocol to generate metrics showing differences in control efficacy between Bt and non-Bt plots, expressed as the percentage of ears damaged, density of surviving larvae per ear, and the amount of kernel area consumed per ear. Read more>>>

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UMD Bee Lab and the New UMD Bee Squad

The Honey Bee Lab at the University of Maryland has diverse personnel with multidisciplinary scientific backgrounds who bring a fresh perspective to solving problems. Research in the laboratory is focused on an epidemiological approach to honey bee health. We are proud to share our research into the major mechanisms that are responsible for recurring high loss levels in honey bee populations, such as pests and pathogens associated with honey bees, loss of natural forage habitat due to large monocultural croplands, and pressure from human induced changes in the environment.

Our team has led and managed the USDA APHIS National Honey Bee Disease Survey since 2009. We are also a major partner and founding member of the Bee Informed Partnership (BIP), who collaborates closely with beekeepers from across the country to study and better understand the loss in honey bee colonies in the United States.

You can find Realtime results about these efforts at our database portals: https://research.beeinformed.org/state_reports/ .  Click here to purchase UMD Honey

Donations If you are able to help support our mission to improve honey bee health, we greatly appreciate whatever you can give. You may donate online using the University of Maryland "Giving to Maryland" Honey Bee Lab Donation Site.             Thank you for your support!

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Update from IR-4 Field Research Center (LESREC)

Marylee Ross, IR-4 Field Research Director and N.E. Region Coordinator                                                                                    Megan James Hickman, IR-4 Field Research Director , N.E. Regional Assistant Coordinator

2023 Trial Summary 

In 2023, there were 17 Magnitude of Residue (MOR) trials placed at the University of Maryland’s LESREC in Salisbury, MD. There were 6 greenhouse trials and 9 field trials.

We had another successful field season at LESREC. It was the third year working with industrial hemp and the first year that we established a healthy, successful crop. It is truly a challenging crop. Work on hemp is in high demand because of the limited number of registered pesticides. The LESREC farm manager, David Armentrout, assisted with the planting and establishment of the crop. Spraying and harvesting it proved to be difficult, but we were able to provide fiber samples to the lab.  Read more>>

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Poplar Hill - Effect of Saltwater Intrusion on Nutrient Release

Kate Tully, Associate Professor, Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, UMD Alison Schulenburg, Agroecology Research Scientist, University of Maryland 

As sea levels continue to rise and high tide flooding events increase in frequency, researchers and farmers alike are looking for solutions to adapt to and mitigate the effects of saltwater intrusion (SWI). This phenomenon alters nutrient cycling and damages crop yields. Some landowners on the Lower Eastern Shore of Maryland respond to SWI by taking land out of agriculture. For example, they may 1) attempt to remediate salt-damaged soils (e.g., planting switchgrass, Panicum virgatum), 2) restore native marsh grasses (e.g., planting saltmarsh hay, Spartina patens), or 3) abandon fields altogether (e.g., allow for natural recruitment of weeds). This study focused on the survival of target species under saltwater-intruded conditions and the potential for these plants to survive and alter cation concentrations (e.g. calcium [Ca], magnesium [Mg], potassium [K], and sodium [Na]) in soil.  Read more>>

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Preplant Burndown Options for Glyphosate Resistant Italian Ryegrass

Kurt M. Vollmer, Ph.D., Extension Specialist, Weed Management  

Italian ryegrass is a winter annual weed found throughout the United States. This species is most problematic in small grain production, but can be a problem if not managed prior to planting corn and soybean. Uncontrolled, Italian ryegrass can reduce corn yields as much as 65% and soybean yields as much as 37% (Steckel and Bond 2018). Italian ryegrass resistant to Group 1 (ACCase-inhibiting) herbicides was first reported in Maryland in 1998 (Heap 2024). In 2017, a population of Italian ryegrass from southern Maryland exhibited resistance to both Group 1 and Group 2 (ALS-inhibiting) herbicides. In 2021, a population of Italian ryegrass from Maryland’s Eastern Shore exhibited resistance to glyphosate, clethodim, and pyroxsulam. It is recommended that Italian ryegrass be controlled in the fall with residual herbicides or tillage. Read more>>>

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Salisbury - Cover Crops and Switchgrass for Anaerobic Digestion

Kate Tully, Associate Professor, Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, UMD
Jonathan Cummings, Chair and Professor, Department of Natural Sciences, UMD Eastern Shore
Andrew Moss, Technical Director, Planet Found Energy Development, LLC
Stephanie Lansing, Professor, Environmental Science and Technology, University of Maryland
Alison Schulenburg, Agroecology Research Scientist, University of Maryland

The Delmarva Peninsula (Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia) makes up the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. It is predominantly rural and, especially from mid-Delaware south, heavily dependent on agriculture, which dominates the region’s economy. The area is also economically distressed and home to a large, historically underserved minority population. It is an area in need of support and implementation of new approaches to sustain and diversify agroeconomic production. The project objectives are to explore the potential environmental and socioeconomic benefits of incorporating cover crops – both winter covers and perennials – into the Delmarva Region’s agricultural cash crop rotation in order to serve as an additional cellulosic feedstock for anaerobic digesters. The work will assess the potential for an agro-economy in which perennial and/or winter crops are grown by underserved farmers to sequester carbon, reduce nutrient leaching/runoff, and produce a salable harvest and valuable co-digestion feedstock for poultry litter anaerobic digestion (AD). The AD systems will generate renewable energy from the feedstock and return the digested solids back to the fields. We will use life cycle analysis to track greenhouse gasses, carbon, nutrients, and energy flows from the field to the final digestion products. The work will also explore the difference in greenhouse gas emissions between traditional poultry litter management practices and the new system incorporating AD. The purpose is to create a cyclic and sustainable system harnessing waste to improve crop production and create new commodities to support small, underserved farmers. We will also engage in dialogue with these producers to ensure economic and environmental justice in the implementation of the new production strategies. The project consists of field trials at the Lower Eastern Shore Research and Education Center (LESREC) in Salisbury, MD as well as on Millennium Farms in Pocomoke City, MD. We are also actively seeking new farmer partners who are interested in planting ryegrass and/or switchgrass to be harvested and used as co- feedstock for anaerobic digestion of poultry litter. Farmer partners will be financially compensated (by the acre) for participation in the project. We will be ramping up research activities in the spring of 2024 and the project will run through August 2028.

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Watermelon Variety Fusarium Trial

Alyssa Koehler Betts, PhD, Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist, Plant Pathology UD

Utilizing the LESREC watermelon Fusarium wilt screening field, trials were conducted to investigate management options for Mid-Atlantic watermelon producers. Watermelon seed companies are interested in breeding for resistance to Fusarium wilt. A trial was conducted to assess genetic material in company breeding pipelines for resistance to Fusarium Wilt. Data from this trial will aid genetic selections and breeding efforts for this disease. Companies have interest in developing fungicides for application at planting via drip line. A trial was conducted to assess efficacy of fungicide products applied through the drip line at planting and/or 14 days after planting. This work will support future labeling of promising products for the Mid-Atlantic region.

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It is the policy of the University of Maryland, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station, and University of Maryland Extension that all persons have equal opportunity and access to programs and facilities without regard to race, color, gender, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital or parental status, or disability.