Research Centers

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/13

The Department of Research Centers was created in 1994. The Department represents the faculty and staff that conduct research and outreach programs at 7 off-campus research centers.

Central Agricultural Research Center

Eastern Agricultural Research Center

Northern Agricultural Research Center

Northwestern Agricultural Research Center

Southern Agricultural Research Center

Western Agricultural Research Center

Western Triangle Ag Research Center

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Now showing 1 - 8 of 8

Soil bacterial community response to cover crop introduction in a wheat-based dryland cropping system
(Frontiers Media SA, 2022-11) Eberly, Jed O.; Bourgault, Maryse; Dafo, Julia M.; Yeoman, Carl J.; Wyffels, Samuel A.; Lamb, Peggy F.; Boss, Darrin L.
The incorporation of cover crops into cropping systems is important for enhancing soil health in agricultural systems. Soil microbes contribute to soil health by supplying key nutrients and providing protection against plant pests, diseases, and abiotic stress. While research has demonstrated the connection between cover crops and the soil microbiology, less is known regarding the impact of cover crops on the soil microbial community in semi-arid regions of the Northern Great Plains. Our objectives were to evaluate changes in the soil bacterial community composition and community networks in wheat grown after multi-species cover crops. Cover crops were compared to continuous cropping and crop/fallow systems and the effects of cover crop termination methods were also evaluated. Cover crops consisted of a cool season multispecies mix, mid-season multispecies mix, and a warm season multispecies mix, which were grown in rotation with winter wheat. A continuous cropping (wheat/barley) and wheat/fallow system were also included along with cover crop termination by grazing, herbicide application, and haying. Cover crop treatments and termination methods had no significant impact on microbial community alpha diversity. Cover crop termination methods also had no significant impact on microbial community beta diversity. Families belonging to the phyla Actinobacteria, Bacterioidota, and Proteobacteria were more abundant in the cool season cover crop treatment compared to the warm season cover crop treatment. Co-occurrence network analysis indicated that incorporation of cool season cover crops or mid-season mixes in a wheat-based cropping system led to greater complexity and connectivity within these microbial networks compared to the other treatments which suggests these communities may be more resilient to environmental disturbances.
Introducing cover crops as a fallow replacement in the Northern Great Plains: I. Evaluation of cover crop mixes as a forage source for grazing cattle
(Cambridge University Press, 2021-09) Wyffels, Samuel A.; Bourgault, Maryse; Dafoe, Julia M.; Lamb, Peggy F.; Boss, Darrin L.
Crop-livestock integration has demonstrated that cover crops can be terminated using livestock grazing with minimal negative impacts on soil health, however, provides little information on system-level approaches that mutually benefit soil health and both crop and livestock production. Therefore, the objective of this research was to examine the effects of cover crop mixtures on biomass production, quality and the potential for nitrate toxicity on a dryland wheat-cover crop rotation. This research was conducted at the Montana State University-Northern Agricultural Research Center near Havre, MT (48°29′N, −109°48′W) from 2012 to 2019. This experiment was conducted as a randomized-complete-block design, where 29 individual species were utilized in 15 different cover crop mixtures in a wheat-cover crop rotation. Cover crop mixtures were classified into four treatment groups, including (1) cool-season species, (2) warm-season species dominant, (3) cool and warm-season species mixture (mid-season), and (4) a barley (Hordeum vulgare) control. All cover crop mixtures were terminated at anthesis of cool-season cereal species to avoid volunteer cereal grains in the following wheat crop. At the time of cover crop termination, dry matter forage production was estimated and analyzed for crude protein, total digestible nutrients and nitrates as indicators of forage quality. All mixtures containing oats (Avena sativa) had greater (P ⩽ 0.03) biomass production than other mixtures within their respective treatment groups (cool- and mid-season). Forage biomass was influenced by cover crop treatment group, with the barley producing the greatest (P < 0.01) amount of forage biomass when compared to cool-, mid- and warm-season cover crop treatments. Total digestible nutrients were greater (P < 0.01) in the barley control compared to the cool- and mid-season treatment groups. Crude protein was greatest in the warm-season treatment group (P < 0.01) compared to the barley control, cool- and mid-season treatment groups. The barley control produced fewer nitrates (P ⩽ 0.05) than the cool-, mid- and warm-season treatment groups; however, all cover crop mixtures produced nitrates at levels unsafe for livestock consumption at least one year of the study. The relatively high and variable nitrate levels of all cover crop mixtures across years in this study suggest that forage should be tested for nitrates before grazing. In conclusion, our research suggests that in a dryland wheat-cover crop rotation that requires early-July termination, cool-season cover crop mixtures are the most suitable forage source for livestock grazing most years.
Does Elevated [CO2] Only Increase Root Growth in the Topsoil? A FACE Study with Lentil in a Semi-Arid Environment
(MDPI, 2021-03) Bourgault, Maryse; Tausz-Posch, Sabine; Greenwood, Mark; Löw, Markus; Henty, Samuel; Armstrong, Roger D.; O’Leary, Garry L.; Fitzgerald, Glenn J.; Tausz, Michael
Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations [CO2] are increasing steadily. Some reports have shown that root growth in grain crops is mostly stimulated in the topsoil rather than evenly throughout the soil profile by e[CO2], which is not optimal for crops grown in semi-arid environments with strong reliance on stored water. An experiment was conducted during the 2014 and 2015 growing seasons with two lentil (Lens culinaris) genotypes grown under Free Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) in which root growth was observed non-destructively with mini-rhizotrons approximately every 2–3 weeks. Root growth was not always statistically increased by e[CO2] and not consistently between depths and genotypes. In 2014, root growth in the top 15 cm of the soil profile (topsoil) was indeed increased by e[CO2], but increases at lower depths (30–45 cm) later in the season were greater than in the topsoil. In 2015, e[CO2] only increased root length in the topsoil for one genotype, potentially reflecting the lack of plant available soil water between 30–60 cm until recharged by irrigation during grain filling. Our limited data to compare responses to e[CO2] showed that root length increases in the topsoil were correlated with a lower yield response to e[CO2]. The increase in yield response was rather correlated with increases in root growth below 30 cm depth.
Genotypic variability in root length in pea (Pisum sativum L.) and lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) cultivars in a semi-arid environment based on mini-rhizotron image capture
(Wiley, 2022-01) Bourgault, Maryse; Lamb, Peggy F.; McPhee, Kevin; McGee, Rebecca J.; Vandenberg, Albert; Warkentin, Tom
Physiological breeding is an approach that complements conventional breeding by providing characterizations of traits present in breeding populations. This allows breeders the ability to choose crosses based on desirable and adaptive traits, an approach that may be more reliable than selection on yield alone. In this study, we determined how much genotypic variability was present in selected lines of modern field pea (Pisum sativum L.) and lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) cultivars from Montana, North Dakota, Washington, and Saskatchewan, Canada, and if root growth, particularly at depth, improves the fitness of lines to semi-arid environments. We conducted experiments at the Northern Agricultural Research Center of Montana State University from 2017 to 2019 inclusively to investigate root growth with mini-rhizotrons in 29 field pea lines and 25 lentil lines. Results suggest there is large genotypic variability in root length across the soil profile and the proportion of root length found below 30 cm in both crops, and these root traits appear independent of each other. In field pea, the highest yielding cultivars were intermediary in both total root length and the proportion of root length below 30 cm, suggesting large root systems and/or deeper root profiles are not necessarily beneficial in this environment. By contrast, in lentil, total root length and root length found below 30 cm was well correlated with biomass and yield. For breeders interested in in improved adaptation to semi-arid environments, it may be too early to optimize root systems, and above-ground traits may still yield a better return on investment.
Introducing cover crops as fallow replacement in the Northern Great Plains: II. Impact on following wheat crops
(Cambridge University Press, 2021-12) Bourgault, Maryse; Wyffels, Samuel A.; Dafoe, Julia M.; Lamb, Peggy F.; Boss, Darrin L.
Crop-livestock integration has demonstrated that cover crops can be terminated using livestock grazing with minimal negative impacts on soil health, however, provides little information on system-level approaches that mutually benefit soil health and both crop and livestock production. Therefore, the objective of this research was to examine the effects of cover crop mixtures on biomass production, quality and the potential for nitrate toxicity on a dryland wheat-cover crop rotation. This research was conducted at the Montana State University-Northern Agricultural Research Center near Havre, MT (48°29′N, −109°48′W) from 2012 to 2019. This experiment was conducted as a randomized-complete-block design, where 29 individual species were utilized in 15 different cover crop mixtures in a wheat-cover crop rotation. Cover crop mixtures were classified into four treatment groups, including (1) cool-season species, (2) warm-season species dominant, (3) cool and warm-season species mixture (mid-season), and (4) a barley (Hordeum vulgare) control. All cover crop mixtures were terminated at anthesis of cool-season cereal species to avoid volunteer cereal grains in the following wheat crop. At the time of cover crop termination, dry matter forage production was estimated and analyzed for crude protein, total digestible nutrients and nitrates as indicators of forage quality. All mixtures containing oats (Avena sativa) had greater (P ⩽ 0.03) biomass production than other mixtures within their respective treatment groups (cool- and mid-season). Forage biomass was influenced by cover crop treatment group, with the barley producing the greatest (P < 0.01) amount of forage biomass when compared to cool-, mid- and warm-season cover crop treatments. Total digestible nutrients were greater (P < 0.01) in the barley control compared to the cool- and mid-season treatment groups. Crude protein was greatest in the warm-season treatment group (P < 0.01) compared to the barley control, cool- and mid-season treatment groups. The barley control produced fewer nitrates (P ⩽ 0.05) than the cool-, mid- and warm-season treatment groups; however, all cover crop mixtures produced nitrates at levels unsafe for livestock consumption at least one year of the study. The relatively high and variable nitrate levels of all cover crop mixtures across years in this study suggest that forage should be tested for nitrates before grazing. In conclusion, our research suggests that in a dryland wheat-cover crop rotation that requires early-July termination, cool-season cover crop mixtures are the most suitable forage source for livestock grazing most years.
Early vigour in wheat: Could it lead to more severe terminal drought stress under elevated atmospheric [CO2] and semi-arid conditions?
(2020-05) Bourgault, Maryse; Webber, Heidi A.; Chenu, Karine; O'Leary, Garry J.; Gaiser, Thomas; Siebert, Stefan; Dreccer, Fernanda; Huth, Neil; Fitzgerald, Glenn J.; Tausz, Michael; Ewert, Frank
Early vigour in wheat is a trait that has received attention for its benefits reducing evaporation from the soil surface early in the season. However, with the growth enhancement common to crops grown under elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations (e[CO2]), there is a risk that too much early growth might deplete soil water and lead to more severe terminal drought stress in environments where production relies on stored soil water content. If this is the case, the incorporation of such a trait in wheat breeding programmes might have unintended negative consequences in the future, especially in dry years. We used selected data from cultivars with proven expression of high and low early vigour from the Australian Grains Free Air CO2 Enrichment (AGFACE) facility, and complemented this analysis with simulation results from two crop growth models which differ in the modelling of leaf area development and crop water use. Grain yield responses to e[CO2] were lower in the high early vigour group compared to the low early vigour group, and although these differences were not significant, they were corroborated by simulation model results. However, the simulated lower response with high early vigour lines was not caused by an earlier or greater depletion of soil water under e[CO2] and the mechanisms responsible appear to be related to an earlier saturation of the radiation intercepted. Whether this is the case in the field needs to be further investigated. In addition, there was some evidence that the timing of the drought stress during crop growth influenced the effect of e[CO2] regardless of the early vigour trait. There is a need for FACE investigations of the value of traits for drought adaptation to be conducted under more severe drought conditions and variable timing of drought stress, a risky but necessary endeavour.
The proportion of nitrate in leaf nitrogen, but not changes in root growth, are associated with decreased grain protein in wheat under elevated [CO2]
(2017-09) Bahrami, Helale; De Kok, Luit J.; Armstron, Roger; Fitzgerald, Glenn J.; Bourgault, Maryse; Henty, Samuel; Tausz, Michael; Tausz-Posch, Sabine
The atmospheric CO2 concentration ([CO2]) is increasing and predicted to reach âˆ¼550 ppm by 2050. Increasing [CO2] typically stimulates crop growth and yield, but decreases concentrations of nutrients, such as nitrogen ([N]), and therefore protein, in plant tissues and grains. Such changes in grain composition are expected to have negative implications for the nutritional and economic value of grains. This study addresses two mechanisms potentially accountable for the phenomenon of elevated [CO2]-induced decreases in [N]: N uptake per unit length of roots as well as inhibition of the assimilation of nitrate (NO3âˆ’) into protein are investigated and related to grain protein. We analysed two wheat cultivars from a similar genetic background but contrasting in agronomic features (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Scout and Yitpi). Plants were field-grown within the Australian Grains Free Air CO2 Enrichment (AGFACE) facility under two atmospheric [CO2] (ambient, âˆ¼400 ppm, and elevated, âˆ¼550 ppm) and two water treatments (rain-fed and well-watered). Aboveground dry weight (ADW) and root length (RL, captured by a mini-rhizotron root growth monitoring system), as well as [N] and NO3âˆ’ concentrations ([NO3âˆ’]) were monitored throughout the growing season and related to grain protein at harvest. RL generally increased under e[CO2] and varied between water supply and cultivars. The ratio of total aboveground N (TN) taken up per RL was affected by CO2 treatment only later in the season and there was no significant correlation between TN/RL and grain protein concentration across cultivars and [CO2] treatments. In contrast, a greater percentage of N remained as unassimilated [NO3âˆ’] in the tissue of e[CO2] grown crops (expressed as the ratio of NO3âˆ’ to total N) and this was significantly correlated with decreased grain protein. These findings suggest that e[CO2] directly affects the nitrate assimilation capacity of wheat with direct negative implications for grain quality.
Yield, growth and grain nitrogen response to elevated CO2 in six lentil (Lens culinaris) cultivars grown under Free Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) in a semi-arid environment
(2017-07) Bourgault, Maryse; Brand, J.; Tausz-Posch, Sabine; Armstrong, R. D.; O'Leary, G.L.; Fitzgerald, Glenn J.; Tausz, Michael
Atmospheric CO2 concentrations ([CO2]) are predicted to increase from current levels of about 400 ppm to reach 550 ppm by 2050. The direct benefits of elevated [CO2] (e[CO2]) to plant growth appear to be greater under low rainfall conditions, but there are few field (Free Air CO2 Enrichment or FACE) experimental set-ups that directly address semi-arid conditions. The objectives of this study were to investigate the following research questions: 1) What are the effects of e[CO2] on the growth and grain yield of lentil (Lens culinaris) grown under semi-arid conditions under FACE? 2) Does e[CO2] decrease grain nitrogen in lentil? and 3) Is there genotypic variability in the response to e[CO2] in lentil cultivars? Elevated [CO2] increased yields by approximately 0.5 t ha−1 (relative increase ranging from 18 to 138%) by increasing both biomass accumulation (by 32%) and the harvest index (by up to 60%). However, the relative response of grain yield to e[CO2] was not consistently greater under dry conditions and might depend on water availability post-flowering. Grain nitrogen concentration was significantly reduced by e[CO2] under the conditions of this experiment. No differences were found between the cultivars selected in the response to elevated [CO2] for grain yield or any other parameters observed despite well expressed genotypic variability in many traits of interest. Biomass accumulation from flowering to maturity was considerably increased by elevated [CO2] (a 50% increase) which suggests that the indeterminate growth habit of lentils provides vegetative sinks in addition to reproductive sinks during the grain-filling period.

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