Field, Lab, Earth

"Synthesis, function, and genetic variation of sorgoleone, the major biological nitrification inhibitor in sorghum" with Drs. Sakiko Okumoto, Bill Rooney, and Guntur Subbarao

When we fertilize our crops, some of the nitrogen from that fertilizer gets converted into different forms through processes called nitrification and denitrification. When non-plant available forms of nitrogen exit the soil through water or as gas, it's a serious environmental problem. Thankfully, plants have some pretty nifty ways to prevent nitrification, such as biological nitrification inhibition or BNI, a process that manages the bacteria that cause nitrification. In this episode, Sakiko, Bill, and Guntur join me to discuss sorgoleone, a product of sorghum roots that plays a key role in the BNI process.

Tune in to learn:

· What sorgoleone is

· How it helps

· What challenges breeders face in increasing it

· What challenges researchers face in moving this research out into farms

If you would like more information about this topic, this episode's paper is available here: https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.70066

This paper is always freely available.

Contact us at [email protected] or on Twitter @FieldLabEarth if you have comments, questions, or suggestions for show topics, and if you want more content like this don't forget to subscribe. If you'd like to see old episodes or sign up for our newsletter, you can do so here: https://fieldlabearth.libsyn.com/.

If you would like to reach out to Sakiko, you can find her here: [email protected]

If you would like to reach out to Bill, you can find him here: [email protected]

If you would like to reach out to Guntur, you can find him here: [email protected]

If you would like to reach out to Megan Baker from our Student Spotlight, you can find her here: [email protected]

Resources

CEU Quiz: https://web.sciencesocieties.org/Learning-Center/Courses/Course-Detail?productid=%7bAB41759C-0E0D-F111-8406-0022480A5E44%7d

Transcripts: https://www.rev.com/app/transcript/Njk5NDlkNTQ3MGMxYTkxMWE5MmU5ODhhc2RIRkw0Vm9MSkJ5/o/VEMwMjQ2NTEyODQ4

AgriLife Today Article: https://agrilifetoday.tamu.edu/2024/09/12/texas-am-agrilife-researchers-identify-novel-approach-to-minimize-nitrogen-loss-in-crops/

BNI consortium conference: JIRCAS organizes International BNI-consortium meetings in Tsukuba, Japan, every two years. The next BNI-consortium meeting will be in the first week of December 2026. Most BNI-researchers working with JIRCAS BNI-team are invited for this meeting along with researchers who wish to enter into this research and establish collaborative linkages with other members of this group.

Field, Lab, Earth is Copyrighted by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America.

We're trying something a little bit different. In addition to our regular episodes with Abby, we'll be adding a monthly bonus episode with Jim Cudahy, the CEO of the Societies. In this first episode, Jim has a chat with the three Society presidents, discussing current challenges and opportunities for the Societies, including ways that members can get the most out of our programs, but guests will vary a lot from there! Please give a listen and let us know what you think. If there are specific guests or topics you want us to cover, let us know!

Contact us at [email protected] or on Twitter @FieldLabEarth if you have comments, questions, or suggestions for show topics, and if you want more content like this don't forget to subscribe. If you'd like to see old episodes or sign up for our newsletter, you can do so here: https://fieldlabearth.libsyn.com/.

If you would like to reach out to Jim, you can find him here: https://tinyurl.com/yeysfjw4

If you would like to reach out to Wade, you can find him here: https://tinyurl.com/864khur7

If you would like to reach out to Felix, you can find him here: https://tinyurl.com/39h2zy3a

If you would like to reach out to Aaron, you can find him here: https://tinyurl.com/4yanbf7y

Resources

Transcripts: https://www.rev.com/app/transcript/Njk3MjVkNWMzZWJkMTZmYTQzZTc5YTZmaXN3TVBMLWdkZlgz/o/VEMwOTU5NjUyMjUz

Societies homepage: https://www.sciencesocieties.org/

American Society of Agronomy: https://www.agronomy.org/

Crop Science Society of America: https://www.crops.org/

Soil Science Society of America: https://www.soils.org/

Field, Lab, Earth is Copyrighted by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America.

"The critical period of cover crop management: A framework for maximizing biomass potential and minimizing volunteers with buckwheat" with Dr. Andrew McKenzie-Gopsill

Buckwheat can be a powerful driver of ecosystem services in potato rotations grown in Canada, but with its long-lived seeds and ability to make a whole lot of them in a short time, it can also pose a serious volunteer problem. In this episode, Andrew joins me to discuss how creating a framework to reduce volunteers can help keep this helpful plant from turning into a fearsome weed.

Tune in to learn:

· How potato farming is done in Canada

· What ecosystem services buckwheat provides

· What qualities can turn buckwheat from a helpful crop to a difficult to control weed

· How combining tools from weed management can help keep buckwheat under control

If you would like more information about this topic, this episode's paper is available here: https://doi.org/10.1002/agj2.70097

This paper is always freely available.

Contact us at [email protected] or on Twitter @FieldLabEarth if you have comments, questions, or suggestions for show topics, and if you want more content like this don't forget to subscribe. If you'd like to see old episodes or sign up for our newsletter, you can do so here: https://fieldlabearth.libsyn.com/.

If you would like to reach out to Andrew, you can find him here: [email protected]

Resources

CEU Quiz: https://web.sciencesocieties.org/Learning-Center/Courses/Course-Detail?productid=%7bAEC405A7-85F1-F011-8407-6045BD006BB3%7d

Transcripts: https://www.rev.com/app/captions/Njk2OTMwMDM0NzRlNjAzMGE4ZTBiM2JlUGhMWW10UnF3c0h2/o/Q1AwODE3NDYyMDk1

Atlantic Grains Council: https://atlanticgrainscouncil.ca/

PEI Potato Board: https://peipotatoagronomy.com/

Canadian Weed Science Society, of which Andrew will be president as of Nov 6th 2025. https://weedscience.ca/

Agri-Food and Agriculture Canada: https://agriculture.canada.ca/en

New Brunswick Potato Board: https://www.potatoesnb.com/

Field, Lab, Earth is Copyrighted by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America.

"Within-family genomic selection in strawberry: optimization of marker density, trial design, and training set composition" with Dr. Joshua Sleper

If plant breeding were a poker game, you'd have to play a lot of hands to beat the house. Quantitative genetics hopes to give players an advantage by recognizing patterns that can point to future success. In strawberry, a genetically complex and labor-intensive plant, this is particularly important. This episode, Joshua join me to discuss his work using quantitative genetics to help give strawberry breeders a hand.

Tune in to learn:

· How some plants have "sticky cards" in their genetics

· What challenges strawberry breeders face

· How many clones are really enough

· What lies on the horizon for strawberry breeding

If you would like more information about this topic, this episode's paper is available here: https://doi.org/10.1002/tpg2.20550

This paper is always freely available.

Contact us at [email protected] or on Twitter @FieldLabEarth if you have comments, questions, or suggestions for show topics, and if you want more content like this don't forget to subscribe. If you'd like to see old episodes or sign up for our newsletter, you can do so here: https://fieldlabearth.libsyn.com/.

If you would like to reach out to Joshua, you can find him here: [email protected]

Resources

CEU Quiz: https://web.sciencesocieties.org/Learning-Center/Courses/Course-Detail?productid=%7b9908BAD4-89DB-F011-8544-000D3A3685DF%7d

Transcripts: https://www.rev.com/app/captions/Njk0NTVlNWFiMDVjNzQyMjA1Y2UzZGVmM3VIdF9Va0FSbGhF/o/Q1AwNjIzNzcwNTI2

Rex Bernardo's Essentials of Plant Breeding: https://www.abebooks.com/9780972072427/Essentials-Plant-Breeding-Rex-Bernardo-097207242X/plp

A Quarter Century of Genomewide Prediction - Dr. Rex Bernardo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K45M4N9mJBM&t=8s

Field, Lab, Earth is Copyrighted by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America.

"Cereal Rye Biomass Effects on Giant Ragweed Suppression Inform Management Decisions" with Guilherme Chudzik and Rodrigo Werle.

For farmers in the Midwest, giant ragweed can be a giant problem. In Wisconsin, where long emergence windows, aggressive growth, herbicide resistance, and power-packed seeds make suppression difficult, farmers are always looking for more hammers to hit this nasty nail on the head. In this episode, Guilherme and Rodrigo join me to discuss their work investigating cereal rye as an additional tool in this long-running fight.

Tune in to learn:

· What challenges farmer's face when trying to incorporate cereal rye for weed suppression.

· How much biomass is needed to suppress giant ragweed by 50%

· When to terminate cereal rye for the best impacts

· How implementing cereal rye is like a tiny hammer

If you would like more information about this topic, this episode's paper is available here: https://doi.org/10.1002/agg2.70023

This paper is always freely available.

Contact us at [email protected] or on Twitter @FieldLabEarth if you have comments, questions, or suggestions for show topics, and if you want more content like this don't forget to subscribe. If you'd like to see old episodes or sign up for our newsletter, you can do so here: https://fieldlabearth.libsyn.com/.

If you would like to reach out to Guilherme, you can find him here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/guilhermechudzik [email protected]

If you would like to reach out to Rodrigo, you can find him here: [email protected]

Resources

CEU Quiz: Coming soon

Transcripts: Coming soon

WiscWeeds new website: https://badgercropnetwork.com/

WiscWeeds X: https://x.com/WiscWeeds

Field, Lab, Earth is Copyrighted by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America.

"Fifteen years of findings: Advancements in spring dead spot research from 2009 to 2024" with Dr. Wendell Hutchens

Spring dead spot is a disease that lies in wait before going after your turfgrasses, transforming your favorite golf course into the set of your favorite PG-13 slasher. This episode, Wendell joins me to discuss the mega gains made in the last 15 years of spring dead spot research, in hopes that someday we can turn this slow-moving monster into just the stuff of legend.

Tune in to learn:

· What symptoms point to spring dead spot

· What methods are best to combat spring dead spot

· How spring dead spot spreads

· Where the future of spring dead spot research is moving

If you would like more information about this topic, this episode's paper is available here: https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.21367

This paper is always freely available.

Contact us at [email protected] or on Twitter @FieldLabEarth if you have comments, questions, or suggestions for show topics, and if you want more content like this don't forget to subscribe. If you'd like to see old episodes or sign up for our newsletter, you can do so here: https://fieldlabearth.libsyn.com/.

If you would like to reach out to Wendell, you can find him here: [email protected] https://www.x.com/HutchensWendell

Resources

CEU Quiz: https://web.sciencesocieties.org/Learning-Center/Courses/Course-Detail?productid=%7b8E8886F1-08B4-F011-BBD3-0022480989AC%7d

Transcripts: https://www.rev.com/app/transcript/NjhmYTU3NzFiNTllYWMyNmM4YjM4NzA5Ry0zb3pZSElDQS1a/o/VEMwNzU3NDY4Njgz

University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Spring Dead Spot fact sheet: https://www.uaex.uada.edu/publications/pdf/fsa-7551.pdf

Trade magazine articles: https://gcmonline.com/course/environment/news/what-weve-learned-about-spring-dead-spot

NCSU TurfFiles: https://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/diseases-in-turf/spring-dead-spot-in-turf/

A Practical Guide to Turfgrass Fungicides: https://my.apsnet.org/APSStore/Product-Detail.aspx?WebsiteKey=2661527A-8D44-496C-A730-8CFEB6239BE7&iProductCode=46734

The Compendium of Turfgrass Diseases, Fourth Edition: https://my.apsnet.org/APSStore/Product-Detail.aspx?WebsiteKey=2661527A-8D44-496C-A730-8CFEB6239BE7&iProductCode=46871

Dr. Nathan Walker at Oklahoma State University: https://experts.okstate.edu/nathan.walker

Dr. Lee Miller at Purdue: https://turf.purdue.edu/author/mill3054/

Dr. Jim Kerns at North Carolina State University: https://cals.ncsu.edu/entomology-and-plant-pathology/people/jpkerns/

Lee Butler at North Carolina State University: https://cals.ncsu.edu/entomology-and-plant-pathology/people/elbutler/

Dr. David McCall at Virginia Tech: https://spes.vt.edu/faculty-staff/faculty/mccall-david.html

Field, Lab, Earth is Copyrighted by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America.

"Genomic Selection: Essence, Applications, and Prospects" with Dr. Jianming Yu

Genomic Selection is a plant breeding innovation that aims to speed plant breeding by using predictions from a training model enabled by genomics and statistics to guide the breeding decisions. With around thirty years of history around this innovation, it was about time to develop a review on it. Enter Dr. Jianming Yu and his team of coauthors. This episode, we skate the surface of a topic that could go down for miles, covering key areas of genomic selection, what it is, how to use it, and where we can aim to go in the future.

Tune in to learn:

· How genomic selection was developed

· Why genomic selection should be seen as an innovation in rather than alternative to plant breeding

· Why growing out crosses still matters

· How AI could be integrated to further genomic selection

If you would like more information about this topic, this episode's paper is available here: https://doi.org/10.1002/tpg2.70053

This paper is always freely available.

Contact us at [email protected] or on Twitter @FieldLabEarth if you have comments, questions, or suggestions for show topics, and if you want more content like this don't forget to subscribe. If you'd like to see old episodes or sign up for our newsletter, you can do so here: https://fieldlabearth.libsyn.com/.

If you would like to reach out to Jianming, you can find him here: [email protected] https://www.agron.iastate.edu/people/yu-jianming/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jianming-yu-92b6617b/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/iowa-state-university-raymond-f-baker-center-for-plant-breeding/

Resources

CEU Quiz: https://web.sciencesocieties.org/Learning-Center/Courses/Course-Detail?productid=%7b001D06ED-D9AA-F011-BBD3-000D3A599510%7d

Transcripts: https://www.rev.com/app/captions/NjhlZmI3ODYwMWFmOTFkYzdlYWRiMjhhM29MVTM2MVduOEFD/o/Q1AwNDYyNDc5Mzkz

CSA News article: https://www.sciencesocieties.org/publications/csa-news/2025/november/essence-of-genomic-selection

Field, Lab, Earth is Copyrighted by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America.

"The Nitrogen Value of Cover Crops" with Dr. Guillermo Marcillo.

Cover crops are known for their ability to provide economic and ecosystem services to farmers, including, for example, impacting soil nitrogen. But how much nitrogen, exactly, can cover crops add or remove and how do we find out? In this episode, Guillermo joins me to discuss his work collating research data to get to the bottom of cover crop nitrogen replacement values.

Tune in to learn:

· What a nitrogen replacement value is

· Why negative nitrogen replacement values are sometimes a positive

· Which cover crops have, generally, which nitrogen replacement values

· How nitrogen replacement values can be reverse engineered from existing data

If you would like more information about this topic, this episode's paper is available here: https://doi.org/10.1002/ael2.70006

This paper is always freely available.

Contact us at [email protected] or on Twitter @FieldLabEarth if you have comments, questions, or suggestions for show topics, and if you want more content like this don't forget to subscribe. If you'd like to see old episodes or sign up for our newsletter, you can do so here: https://fieldlabearth.libsyn.com/.

If you would like to reach out to Guillermo, you can find him here: [email protected]

Resources

CEU Quiz: https://web.sciencesocieties.org/Learning-Center/Courses/Course-Detail?productid=%7b9A6669B5-C497-F011-B4CC-000D3A599510%7d

Transcripts: https://www.rev.com/app/transcript/NjhjYWFkNTBhZDQ3ZGFjZGUyZjMxYmQ4ajBOeXVVX3ZKb2t5/o/VEMxMDIwODkyMDA5

Water working group at West Texas A&M University: https://www.wtamu.edu/academics/college-engineering/water-working-group/people.html

Practical Farmers of Iowa: https://practicalfarmers.org/

Precision Sustainable Agriculture: https://www.precisionsustainableag.org/

Field, Lab, Earth is Copyrighted by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America.

"Toward sustainable compost use: Prediction of organic matter via smartphone image analysis" with Dr. David C. Weindorf

Compost needs to be regularly tested to ensure labels regarding organic matter, nutrients, and more remain accurate. However, getting compost tested is time- and cost-intensive. This episode, Dr. Weindorf joins me to discuss how developing a model to predict organic matter from cell phone pictures might make this process a whole lot easier.

Tune in to learn:

· Which factors best correlated with organic matter

· How the team collected 157 different compost samples

· How application can affect the acceptable window for success on accuracy

· What camera-related factors affected the methods and results

If you would like more information about this topic, this episode's paper is available here: https://doi.org/10.1002/agj2.70121

It will be freely available from August 15-August 31, 2025.

Contact us at [email protected] or on Twitter @FieldLabEarth if you have comments, questions, or suggestions for show topics, and if you want more content like this don't forget to subscribe. If you'd like to see old episodes or sign up for our newsletter, you can do so here: https://fieldlabearth.libsyn.com/.

If you would like to reach out to David, you can find him here: [email protected] https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-c-weindorf-43875b110/

Resources

CEU Quiz: https://web.sciencesocieties.org/Learning-Center/Courses/Course-Detail?productid=%7b91295D26-E579-F011-B4CC-000D3A599510%7d

Transcripts: https://www.rev.com/app/transcript/Njg5ZTBjNDZjMjFjM2ZlZThkNTdhYmJiWEhIRXQ0eUl3WlRi/o/VEMwMzgxNjg4NTA4

Compost Research and Education Foundation: https://www.compostfoundation.org/

Agronomy Journal: https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14350645

Compost Science and Utilization: https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/ucsu20

Waste Management: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/waste-management

Field, Lab, Earth is Copyrighted by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America.

"Early impacts of cover crop selection on soil biological parameters during a transition to organic agriculture" with Nick Boodages.

Incorporating cover crops is an important step in the transition from conventional to organic growing practices, but in Texas, limited resources can bring complications. In this episode, Nick joins me to discuss his work researching how to help farmers make the leap.

Tune in to learn:

· What challenges Texan farmers face when hoping to transition to organic agriculture

· Which cover crops perform best in the Texas high plains

· Which challenges Texan farmers face when growing cover crops

· How cover crops impact crop yields during the transition to organic

If you would like more information about this topic, this episode's paper is available here: https://doi.org/10.1002/agg2.20532

This paper is always freely available.

Contact us at [email protected] or on Twitter @FieldLabEarth if you have comments, questions, or suggestions for show topics, and if you want more content like this don't forget to subscribe. If you'd like to see old episodes or sign up for our newsletter, you can do so here: https://fieldlabearth.libsyn.com/.

If you would like to reach out to Nick, you can find him here: [email protected]

Resources

CEU Quiz: https://web.sciencesocieties.org/Learning-Center/Courses/Course-Detail?productid=%7b16FD85DA-8B61-F011-BEC3-6045BD0A85F5%7d

Transcripts: https://www.rev.com/app/transcript/Njg2ZTdhM2M3MTljMjMzZjYxOWE2ODlidXpYcmF2ZDF0Z04x/o/VEMwNzYxNzAyNjY3

Texas A&M AgriLife extension: https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/

Lewis and Burke Labs: www.txsoillab.com

Organic Transition-Cotton Peanut Rotation extension paper: https://agriliferollingplainsagronomy.org/2022/11/22/organic-transition-cotton-peanut-rotation/

Alternative Certifications for Organic Transition:

Quality Assurance Initiative (QAI)-Certified Organic Transition: https://www.qai-inc.com/certification-services/transitional.php/

Non GMO project: https://www.nongmoproject.org/

Certified naturally grown: https://www.naturallygrown.org/

Grazing Cover Crops in the Great Plains with Drs. John Holman and Augustine Obour: https://fieldlabearth.libsyn.com/grazing-cover-crops-in-the-great-plains-with-drs-john-holman-and-augustine-obour

Thank you to our volunteer Om Prakash Ghimire for help with the shownotes and other assets. Thank you to Cole Shalk from 12twelve Media for the Audio Processing on today's episode.

Field, Lab, Earth is Copyrighted by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America.