No-Till Corn from Bromegrass: A Sustainable Shift Says ARS

The growing demand for biofuels may encourage farmers to plant corn in fields where grasses are now grown. Environmentally friendly grasses, such as bromegrass, have been used by farmers trying to save erodible soils, enhance habitats and increase soil organic carbon. But there's nothing to worry about. According to researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (ARS), those making the switch can still sequester soil carbon and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by not tilling the soil.

Ron Follett and colleagues spent six years monitoring levels of soil organic carbon in a Nebraska field where bromegrass was grown for 13 years and the field then was converted to no-till corn. The team found that although yields were decreased, the total amount of carbon didn't change. The rates of loss of soil organic carbon previously sequestered by the bromegrass were offset by similar rates of increase in newly sequestered carbon from the corn.

Follett and colleagues said that the grasslands in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) may be converted to grain crops for bioenergy. The USDA yearly spends some USD 1.8 billion to support the 35 million acres of bromegrass for its CRP project.

For the complete story, visit http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/090527.htm Follett's paper appeared in the recent issue of the Agronomy Journal. The paper is available for download at http://dx.doi.org/10.2134/agronj2008.0107