Farmers can use a DIY test—requiring scissors and a garlic press—to check nitrogen levels in crops. This simple method helps boost yields and reduce fertilizer costs and pollution linked to nitrogen overuse.
Doctoral student Valentina Roel is testing compost-based fertilizers from food and yard waste as eco-friendly nitrogen alternatives. Early results show similar crop yields to synthetic fertilizers, offering climate and soil benefits.
UC Davis named Eduardo Blumwald a 2023 Innovator of the Year for his team’s gene-editing discovery that reduces fertilizer use in cereal crops like rice by enhancing nitrogen-fixing bacteria—cutting costs and pollution globally.
Rain in May, especially in the amounts we have seen this year, is far from ideal for rice growers. It makes establishing seedlings, nitrogen management, and weed control extra challenging. Here are three scenarios and some ideas on how to best manage nitrogen fertilizer.
Deciding the right amount of phosphorus to apply and how to apply is important, said Linquist, who is assistant Cooperative Extension specialist and faculty member in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of California, Davis.
