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Soil solarization at an organic farm: effects on weed emergence, soil nutrients and soil microbial communities

Caleb Trammell1, Joyce Eberhart1, Jennifer L. Parke1 1. Dept. of Crop and Soil Sciences, 2. Dept. of Botany and Pathology, Oregon State University, Corvallis OR 97331 Contact: Jennifer.Parke@oregonstate.edu Weed management is one of the main challenges for organic agriculture. Soil solarization has been shown to be an effective mitigation strategy for weeds and soilborne plant pathogens(1) but few studies have been conducted in cooler climates such as the Pacific Northwest(2). Introduction Materials and Methods A field experiment was conducted in summer, 2016 at Gathering Together Farms, Philomath, OR. Plots (0.91 m x 30.48 m) were installed in a fallow field on 7/13/16. Solarized and non-solarized plots were established with four replicate plots per treatment. Soil temperatures were monitored with iButtons at 5 and 15 cm depths. Soil samples were collected at the beginning and end of the four week trial at depths of 5 and 10 cm. Subsamples were frozen and DNA extracted for microbial community analysis with Illumina MiSeq. Remaining soil was submitted for nutrient analysis. Solarized plots were covered with 1.5-mil clear plastic film; non-solarized beds were left uncovered. Immediately after the plastic film was removed, plots were disked and seeded with Sudan grass. Two weeks later, the number of weeds in the Sudan grass crop was determined. Temperature Results