3-1 FB Cultivating Sugar Beets

 ctackle the question of whether switching from conventional tillage to a more environmentally friendly strip tillage could save money, minimize soil erosion and water use, and aid weed control without diminishing the value of crops produced.

 At work from the University of Idaho Twin Falls Research and Extension Center are weed scientist Don Morishita along with his team: Here he is: “This is a group effort, we’re teaming up with soil scientist Amber Moore, irrigation specialist Howard Neibling, entomologist Erik Wenninger, and plant pathologist Oliver Neher. UI agricultural economist Paul Patterson works from the Idaho Falls R&E Center. It sounds like the lead off to a joke but we’re gonna provide good information to sugarbeet growers.”

 The research team is studying strip tillage vs. conventional tillage in fertilizer placement and beet yields; learning whether strip tillage requires less water than conventional tillage; and seeking mixes of herbicides in weed control and sugar beet growth to control weeds without promoting herbicide resistance.