Read the
magazine
story to find out more. |
![Photo:Compost pile being raked in Jordan. Link to photo information](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090509201724im_/http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/graphics/photos/mar09/d1383-1c.jpg) ARS scientists are
working with colleagues and growers in Jordan to help determine how best to
compost and use large quantities of poultry litter to increase soil organic
matter and water retention and decrease purchased fertilizer use in Jordanian
crop production. Click the image for more information about
it. |
![For further reading](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090509201724im_/http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/graphics/For-further-reading.gif)
|
ARS Teams Up to Help Farmers in Jordan
By Sharon
Durham March 10, 2009
Agricultural Research Service
(ARS) scientists and cooperators in Jordan have teamed up to develop ways to
better manage poultry litter and to make the most efficient use of water in
crop production.
One collaboration between ARS and Jordan has led to installation of a
research instrument known as a "weighing lysimeter," an underground device that
measures how much water plants use. Building on knowledge gained from 59 other
lysimeter installations, ARS soil scientist
Steve
Evett in Bushland, Texas, designed and collaborated in building this
lysimeter--the most advanced yet--for Jordan. It was placed in a research field
where, in 2008, sweet corn was the first crop tested.
Evett predicts a great yield of knowledge due to the lysimeter's
ability to very accurately measure plants' water use when that use occurs, and
in terms of how plants respond to weather changes. With the information from
the lysimeter and a measure of how much ground is covered by each crop's leafy
canopy, combined with local weather data, scientists can tell Jordanian farmers
how much water each crop will need in this arid and water-scarce region,
according to Evett.
In other research, research leader
Matt
Smith and microbiologist
Walter
Mulbry at the ARS
Environmental
Management and Byproduct Utilization Laboratory in Beltsville, Md., visited
Amman, Jordan, to help determine which practices would best manage large
quantities of poultry litter. Training programs on composting were developed to
increase soil organic matter, increase water retention, and decrease purchased
fertilizer use.
During their first visit to Jordan, Smith and Mulbry went to six farms
to conduct on-the-ground fact-finding in preparation for upcoming training
programs. They found that the Jarash Valley area of Jordan has intense
production of poultry and olives. The researchers obtained details about
poultry production and determined whether other resources, such as olive tree
clippings, would be available for use in composting the litter.
Mulbry set up compost piles for further study and conducted workshops
to equip farmers and poultry producers in Jordan with the knowledge and tools
necessary to solve their agricultural problems and pass that information on to
others.
Read
more about cooperative research among ARS and international collaborators
in the March 2009 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.
ARS is the principal intramural scientific research agency of the
U.S. Department of
Agriculture.