Ag-Institute Hosts Annual Field Day
By Aaron Thomas
On July 29 at the Experiment Farm, UAF’s Agricultural Institute hosted a field day for the farmers, researchers, and gardeners of the Interior. Despite the pouring rain which continued through most of the day, dozens of people braved the elements to see the various educational talks and discuss agriculture related questions with researchers.
Photo by Aaron Thomas
Caley Gasch demonstrates soil composition.
The attendees included researchers, students, home gardeners and farmers from across the state of Alaska who were looking to expand their research, improve their growing practices, or educate themselves on agriculture.
The event began at the entrance of the Experiment Farm which lies slightly to the west of the botanical gardens. Several booths from various community organizations showcased their work and handed out promotional pamphlets. The Alaska Songbird Institute, a local non-profit research group dedicated to documenting and conserving bird populations in the interior, was present. The organization hosts numerous community events in Fairbanks and manages Creamer’s Field, which serves as a refuge for migrating waterfowl. The Alaska Harvest Collaborative had a tent set up at the entrance. This is a collective initiative between the Georgeson Botanical Garden, the UAF Office of Sustainability, The Institute of Agriculture Natural Resources, and Extension Vegetable Variety programs. Their mission is to better educate gardeners, combat food insecurity, and promote healthy life choices. They displayed locally grown vegetables and handed out information to those looking to get involved in their community outreach.
The research presentations were divided into several stations that groups of attendees cycled through over the course of the day. These stations included topics such as pest management, farming’s effects on permafrost, trials to see how different varieties of grains and vegetables perform in Alaska’s 2a interior climate, the benefits of cover crops, and tours of the botanical gardens.
Magdi Elsayed, a research assistant professor specializing in crop physiology and agronomy, talked about pest management and how Alaska presents unique challenges to farmers. He explained that not only does the state of Alaska have very few approved herbicides and pesticides, but its rapidly warming climate is making invasive species that were not historically an issue more widespread.
Elsayed said that to properly address this growing problem, it is important to understand what qualifies as a “weed”. Weeds are commonly thought of as a specific type of plant, but the term is defined by what is being farmed on a given plot of land, not the species of plant itself. If wheat grows in a cornfield, then it is considered a weed despite the fact that wheat is a crop elsewhere.
Photo by Aaron Thomas
Gino Graziano showcases his cover crop trials.
Because different types of weeds have different lifecycles and hosts, Elsayed said that integrated pest management is needed. This strategy seeks to understand a pest’s lifecycle, hosts, habits, and then use this information to tailor a method to eliminate them. He stressed that there is no singular method to eliminate weeds. Shepherd’s Purse will require a different approach than German Chamomile, both of which are common weeds in the Interior.
Gino Graziano, an invasive plants specialist, presented an ongoing experiment that tests to see if cover crops can help protect against root maggots. Root maggots are one of the most common pests in Alaskan home gardens. Larvae can decimate a crop and render it unacceptable to sell in a farmers market. Even in crops where the root itself is not consumed, the damage to the plant can drastically reduce the size and quality of the harvest.
At the Experiment Farm, Graziano set up a series of cabbage plots with varying ratios of radish and clover cover crops to test if it would have an effect on the pest. Each plot was set up with an adhesive fly trap and a buried insect trap to help tally root maggots. He said the roots of the plants will also be analyzed post-harvest to get a complete picture of the maggots.
One of the primary issues when dealing with this pest is its long-term persistence in the soil. One strategy that is typically used is to rotate crops following a year of infestation. Because of this, Grazino plans to run variations of this experiment with different crops over the course of several years to ensure its replicability and see if it allows lasting eradication.
Caley Gasch, a professor of soil science, gave a presentation on how farming affects permafrost in Alaska. She showcased a soil pit to reveal how the permafrost depth of developed farmland differs from typical forested areas in the Interior. Permafrost is typically sustained by a layer of peat moss that acts as an insulator. When a plot of land is developed for farming, this layer is removed which warms the soil significantly. This allows roots to better develop and renders the soil more productive. While most permafrost in the forests surrounding the Experiment Farm is at a depth of about one to two, the permafrost in the cropland rests at a depth of around eleven feet.
Gasch also spoke about how to improve soil health in land that was previously boreal forest. Alaska lacks the typical rich topsoil that is present in the agricultural belt in the Midwest, so different approaches are required to enrich the soil.
Perennial cover crops such as alfalfa allow for deeper root growth than annual crops, which helps better develop the soil. The plot of land that Gasch displayed in her soil pit had a special variety of alfalfa that was more suitable for the Alaskan climate.
“Every state has a state soil,” Gasch said. Farmers from different regions across the US have to tailor their farming practices to whatever type of soil their land has.
The Tanana soil type is the most common in the Interior, which is the Alaska state soil according to Gasch. This is a silt rich soil that is typically formed over permafrost, with relatively poor drainage. While it is not an initially ideal soil for farming, processes such as crop rotation, introduction of mulch and organic matter, and utilization of cover crops can help revitalize the soil and increase nutrient availability.
As the day came to a close, the rain became more intermittent and people regrouped at the entrance for a final visit with the researchers, who were mostly drenched from the day’s weather. The annual event represented the culmination of numerous summer projects and allowed farmers to reflect on the results of their season.