Video series focuses on soil health in California cotton
ment principles can improve soil struc- ture and overall production efficiency. One important lesson fromthe study is that growersmust be patient, as improve- ments in the soil occur gradually. “We did not see changes in many soil- health properties or indicators during the first eight or actually 10 years of our study,” Mitchell said. For soil health management systems for California cotton, a brief history, go to https://youtu.be/7DWIJ_3QIz8. For recent advances in soil health
management in California cotton pro- duction systems, go to https://youtu.be/ tRWk-d9F1I8. For local research base for soil health management in California cotton pro- duction systems, go to https://youtu.be/ AdqnsicuGYo. For regenerating soil aggregate stability in California cotton production systems, go to https://youtu.be/K2fsvPTmlF0. (This article was originally published by University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources.)
After more than a century of growing cotton in California, scientists and farm- ers have learned how to better manage soil health. To share their collective knowledge, they have produced a series of videos about cultivating better soil health in cotton fields. At i t s peak co t t on produc t i on , California harvested as many as 1.6 million acres of cotton in the late 1970s to early 1980s. Due to water shortages, growers harvested fewer than 200,000 acres of cotton in 2020. “A l t h o u g h c o t t o n a c r e a g e i n California has fallen off in recent years, some rather impressive advances in soil health management in San Joaquin Valley cotton production fields have been achieved in the past couple of years,” said Jeff Mitchell, University of California Cooperative Extension specialist, who formed the California Conservat ion Agr icul ture Systems Innovation Center with growers and production consultants. In partnership with the Soil Health Institute of Greensboro, North Carolina, the Conservation Agriculture Systems Innovat ion Center has released a four-video ser ies on soi l heal th in California cotton production systems. “The series of four videos chroni- cles not only the history of advanc- es in soil-health management in San Joaquin Valley cotton systems, but also some major progress that stems from both long-term research and very re- cent farmer and private-sector innova- tion with new production paradigms,” Mitchell said. “San JoaquinValley farmers have done some really impressive work in recent years to improve the ways that they care for the soil in their fields,” he added. To improve soil health, growers try to minimize soil disturbance, enhance biological diversity, keep living roots in the soil and cover the soil withplants and plant residue. They experimented with no tillage and cover crops. Res ea rche r s f ound t ha t co t t on fields using no tillage and cover crops achieved a higher soil aggregate stabil- ity score than standard tillage with or without a cover crop and no till without a cover crop. In no-till fields with cover crops, water infiltrated the soil in sec- onds rather than minutes. The soil health videos range in length from 10 to 21 minutes. The history video traces important contributors and breakthroughs during the 100-plus years that cotton has been grown in California. The second video features progress in improving soil health made by pro- duction consultant Cary Crum and cot- ton farmers he works with in the San Joaquin Valley. The thirdvideochronicles thegoals and findings of the 22-year soil research study
that has been underway in Five Points as one of the Soil Health Institute’s national programs of long-termNorth American soil healthstudy sites. It showswhat ispos- sible when core soil-health principles are implemented consistently in the region. The fourth video on the importance of soil aggregate stability shows how atten- tion to the dedicated soil-healthmanage-
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March 16, 2022 Ag Alert 17
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