Cover Crop Dos and Don’ts - Lessons Learned about Cover Crops, Corn Growth, Diseases and Pests

Dec 09, 2021

Iowa Learning Farms, in partnership with the Iowa Nutrient Research Center, and Conservation Learning Group will present a virtual cover crop field day on Thursday, Dec. 16 at 1 p.m. CST. The event will feature live conversation with Alison Robertson, professor and extension field pathologist in agronomy at Iowa State University, and Mark Licht, assistant professor and extension cropping systems specialist in agronomy at Iowa State University.

The field day will explore the potential benefits and impacts of planting corn into a living winter cereal rye cover crop. While the field day will primarily focus on the Iowa trial, the research project has replicated sites located in 15 states across the country. Building on existing research trials, the team is examining different termination dates, both before and after the planting of corn, to determine the impact on diseases, weeds, and both pest and beneficial insects.

Participants in Iowa Learning Farms virtual field days are encouraged to ask questions of the presenters. People from all backgrounds and areas of interest are encouraged to join.

Virtual field day access instructions

Source : iastate.edu

Video: Designing a Robotic Berry Picker

Since blackberries must be harvested by hand, the process is time-consuming and labor-intensive. To support a growing blackberry industry in Arkansas, food science associate professor Renee Threlfall is collaborating with mechanical engineering assistant professor Anthony Gunderman to develop a mechanical harvesting system. Most recently, the team designed a device to measure the force needed to pick a blackberry without damaging it. The data from this device will help inform the next stage of development and move the team closer to the goal of a fully autonomous robotic berry picker. The device was developed by Gunderman, with Yue Chen, a former U of A professor now at Georgia Tech, and Jeremy Collins, then a U of A undergraduate engineering student. To determine the force needed to pick blackberries without damage, the engineers worked with Threlfall and Andrea Myers, then a graduate student.