Cover crops are a useful tool for farmers and provide benefits such as improving soil structure, nutrient cycling, and water infiltration. However, in the Upper Midwest long and cold winters limit time that a cover crop is in production, resulting in decreased biomass quantity. The objective of our work is to assess the extent to which soil hydrolytic extracellular enzymes change based on a warm season cover cropping treatment during the decomposition process from 0 to 90 days after termination. Given that cover crops can be an added nutrient source, we hypothesized that hydrolytic enzymes in cover cropped, and weedy plots would increase during the decomposition process. Our experiment included five cover cropping treatments: Crimson Clover, Buckwheat, Pea/Oat, weedy fallow, and weed-free fallow. Soil samples were collected at the following dates post cover crop termination: 0, 30, 60, and 90 days. To test for soil enzyme activity, we used a fluorometric approach quantifying four hydrolytic enzymes: beta-glucosidase (BG), cellobiohydrolase (C), phosphatase (P), and N-acetyl glucosaminidase (NAG). Findings indicate that enzyme activity is correlated with soil moisture percent and peak enzyme activity is 90 days following cover crop termination.

Potato is the world's fourth most important crop following rice, wheat, and maize. According to USDA statistics, Minnesota potato production in 2020 totaled 17.9 million cwt, ranked 6th nationally in potato production. Uncovering the genetic basis of agronomic traits in potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) is crucial for potato breeding. Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) is a research method used to identify genomic variants associated with a particular trait. To discover genetic architecture governing key agronomic traits in potatoes, yield and yield components, hollow heart presence, specific gravity, skin color, skinning, skin lightness, tuber roundness, and tuber length width ratio were evaluated for 133 potato varieties from the year 2021 at the University of Minnesota Sand Plains Research Farm in Becker, MN. The panel of varieties was genotyped using the Potato V4 Infinium single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker array. 19,481 high-quality SNPs were used to identify loci associated with agronomic traits using GWAS. Additive, 1-dominant, and 2-dominant models were tested for each trait with the R package GWASpoly. QQplot was used to evaluate the performance of each model. We have identified two markers associated with tuber weight on chromosome 4. We plan to calculate broad-sense heritability and get functional annotations of identified markers.

Urban agriculture is a valuable resource, as it provides a variety of environmental, economic and social benefits to its surrounding communities. However, urban soils have a higher risk of anthropogenic lead (Pb) contamination, which can dramatically change soil properties and influence human health. Prior studies have indicated that soil phosphorus influences soil lead speciation, which impacts how much lead is taken up by plants and animals. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate lead and phosphorus concentration in urban soils throughout Minneapolis and St. Paul, and determine whether or not they vary by land use. Soil samples (0-20 cm) were collected in triplicate from food producing and non-food producing sites (such as lawns, parks, and boulevards). Information on the association between lead and phosphorus in gardens and lawns can improve guidance on healthy management practices for urban growers.

Perennial ryegrass is very commonly used in athletic fields because of its high wear tolerance. Like other grasses and monocultures, perennial ryegrass requires many inputs such as nitrogen fertilization and intense irrigation practices. Nitrification leads to ammonium being converted to nitrite and nitrate via natural microbial processes, thus requiring more fertilizer. Nitrate can then be lost via water drainage, causing leaching to occur and thus, loss of available nitrogen and ground water pollution. Denitrification also occurs when nitrate is present due to bacteria converting nitrate to atmospheric nitrogen. However, Biological Nitrification Inhibitors (BNIs), which naturally hinder nitrification by secreting exudates which keep nitrogen soil-bound as ammonium, have been found in many forage grasses. The potential BNI capacity of New Zealand perennial ryegrass was evaluated by planting two sets of seven accessions and growing them from seed. The assay was based around recording the time point after a soil slurry solution was added to soil samples from each plant, and then after centrifuging, the supernatant was evaluated in the lab. Going forward, further experimentation and data can be used to ascertain which accessions have the best BNI capacity. Furthermore, recommendations can be given as to which grass accessions reduce nitrogen use.