2007 Annual Report 1a.Objectives (from AD-416) 1) determine the release rate of nutrients (mainly nitrogen and phosphorus) from three fish by-products in soil; 2) determine the nutrient uptake rate by crop plants from those materials; 3) determine the optimal application rate for each by-product for crop production; and 4) demonstrate the nutritional value of the by-products in organic producer's field. 1b.Approach (from AD-416) A laboratory incubation and three field experiments will be conducted. Analyses for soil samples: total N and P, NH4+, NO3-, Melhich 3 extractable P, K and micronutrients, pH, EC. (EC will be done at Soil Research Laboratory in Fairbanks, the rest will be done in the AFES Soil and Plant Analysis Laboratory at Palmer). Analyses for plant samples will include biomass, N, P, K, and micronutrients (all analyses except biomass will be done at the AFES Soil and Plant Analysis Laboratory at Palmer. Analyses for grain samples will be yield, test weight, N, P, K, minerals, acid detergent fiber (ADF) and neutral detergent fiber (ADF) (indicators of feed quality). The elemental analysis will be done at the AFES Soil and Plant Analysis Laboratory at Palmer, the rest will be done at Fairbanks. Documents SCA with University of Alaska Fairbanks. 3.Progress Report This report serves to document research conducted under a specific cooperative agreement between ARS and the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. Additional details of the research can be found in the report for the parent CRIS 5341-31410-003-00D, Converting Alaska Fish By-Products Into Value Added Ingredients and Products. The ADODR monitored project activities for this research with monthly updates, e-mail communications, and a site visit to the field plots on August 3, 2006. The expansion of organic farming in Alaska demands alternative nutrient sources for crop production. A project was conducted in 2006 to evaluate plant nutritional value of Alaska fish by-products. The project consisted of laboratory incubation, field research plots, and on farm demonstration. Over all, there were three objectives:. 1)to determine the rate of nitrogen(N) and phophorous(P) release from three fish by-products (fish meal, fish bone meal, and fish hydrolysate) in laboratory and field incubation;. 2)to determine optimal application rate for three fish by-products in the field; and. 3)to demonstrate the effectiveness of the three fish by-products on crop growth in comparison with the other organic N sources used by farmers. Incubation experiments were conducted in the laboratory. Soils samples were collected from Fairbanks and the Delta Junction area. During the incubation, soil samples were taken periodically. Field experiments were conducted in Fairbanks and the Delta Junction area with treatments of. 1)Control;. 2)N fertilizer at 100 kg N/ha;. 3)Whitefish bone meal, whitefish meal, and salmon hydrolysate slurry, each at 50, 100, and 150 kg N/ha. During the growing season, soil samples and plant samples were taken at plant anthesis and senescence. The on-farm demonstration plots were set up in Fairbanks for lettuce and in the Delta Junction area for potatoes. The major findings from the project in 2006 were. 1)N release from the three by-products followed a two stage release pattern, a fast release phase until seven days and a slow release phase thereafter;. 2)the apparent mineral N recovery in soil incubation at 56th day was 88% for fish meal and fish bone meal, but only 62% for fish hydrolysate;. 3)phosphorus release into soil from fish meals was not changed over the 56-day incubation time;. 4)there was no difference in crop dry mass production in Fairbanks due to high soil fertility at the tested site; but crop biomass responded to the rate of fish by-product application sampled at anthesis stage in the Delta Junction area, but no difference was found among the three fish by-products for biomass production at any rate;. 5)observation in farmers’ fields indicated that the fish bone meal (< 4 mm in size) was better than the fish meal. 4.Accomplishments None 5.Significant Activities that Support Special Target Populations None 6.Technology Transfer Number of non-peer reviewed presentations and proceedings 2