Stevens Point News

Main Menu

  • Covid 19
  • Sports
    • Sports News
    • High School Sports Scores
    • Wisconsin Rapids Rafters
  • Crime
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Obits
  • Contact
    • Subscribe
  • Classifieds
    • View Ads
    • Place Ads
  • Legal Ads
    • Our Legals
    • Statewide
  • E-Edition
    • Stevens Point City Times

logo

Stevens Point News

  • Covid 19
  • Sports
    • Sports News
    • High School Sports Scores
    • Wisconsin Rapids Rafters
  • Crime
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Obits
  • Contact
    • Subscribe
  • Classifieds
    • View Ads
    • Place Ads
  • Legal Ads
    • Our Legals
    • Statewide
  • E-Edition
    • Stevens Point City Times
Outdoors & SustainabilityPortage CountyStevens Point
Home›Outdoors & Sustainability›Outside-the-box Experimental cultivation method could provide benefits

Outside-the-box Experimental cultivation method could provide benefits

By Taylor Hale
April 12, 2021
852
0
Share:

For the City Times
CENTRAL WISCONSIN – A two-year project funded through the University of Wisconsin Water Resources Institute is investigating an interseeding cultivation method for potato cropping that shows early promise to reduce nitrate leaching.
“When you look at impacts on the groundwater system from typical cropping systems in the Central Sands, they tend to leach nitrate,” said Kevin Masarik. “Potatoes are particularly challenging because the hill and furrow system tends to promote both (water) recharge, as well as nitrate leaching loss due to the high nitrogen demand of that particular crop.”
The researcher from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension is pursuing what he termed an outside-the-box idea—interseeding rye, oat and millet between the rows of potatoes to create biomass to take up excess nitrates.
In children six months and younger, nitrate promotes the oxidation of hemoglobin to methemoglobin that limits blood’s ability to bind and transport oxygen, depriving the infant of oxygen. Nitrate has also been linked to cancer, thyroid disorders, birth defects and hypertension. Both state health and agricultural officials name nitrate as the most widespread groundwater contaminant in Wisconsin affecting both municipal and private water systems. Because groundwater also makes its way to surface waters, rivers, lakes, streams and wetlands can see higher nitrate levels with one result being increased algae growth, disrupting ecosystems.
Masarik said for the last 20-30 years, when the cause and extent of nitrate in groundwater has been documented, there’s been a simultaneous gap. “We’ve been good at pointing out that there’s a problem, but we haven’t been good at pointing out what the solution is.”
“In the last five years, I’ve been trying to switch the questions that I’m interested in devoting my time and attention to, investigating potential solutions that significantly improve water quality. And that’s what this project was born out of.”
The project also needs to ensure that the potato harvest isn’t hindered nor yield significantly reduced by the additional vegetation between rows. Masarik is grateful for the cooperation of Portage County farmer Justin Isherwood who in 2020 provided a test plot.
“It’s (the study) giving me the book,” Isherwood said. “We know a lot of things in agriculture. There are a few things in agriculture we don’t know. Kevin is giving me those letters and the alphabet. He’s giving me the language of the landscape.”
Isherwood is game to again participate in the study this year.
“It’s exciting to be a part of the science and to be involved in the discovery,” he said.
Discoveries of last year will be applied. For example, rye is likely to be removed from the seed mix because it put early energy into root growth, resulting in slow above-ground growth. The rye was then shaded out by potato plants.
Oat and millet though, “(did) have some success. I think it showed that the amount of biomass accumulation and the amount of nitrogen that the interplanting, or that cover crop, was able to capture is significant enough that this could be viable,” Masarik said.

Tagsnitrate leachingPortage CountyUniversity of Wisconsin Water Resources InstituteUW-Stevens Point
Previous Article

Tuesdays with the Mayor: A weekly update ...

Next Article

PCLC hosts Words & Friends for Literacy ...

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Related articles More from author

  • News

    Some county wells over safe nitrate levels

    March 2, 2018
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS
  • Court AppearancesTop Stories

    Two Charged with Heroin Possession, Intent to Deliver

    December 16, 2015
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS
  • Community NewsTop Stories

    New County Communications Manager Named

    December 31, 2012
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS
  • Community News

    Partisan Meetings

    January 8, 2013
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS
  • Community NewsTop Stories

    Portage Co. Crime Stoppers: Help Us in Church Theft

    January 8, 2013
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS
  • Community NewsOpen Letters

    Portage Co. Alliance for Youth to Hold Dinner

    January 10, 2013
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS

Leave a reply Cancel reply

High School Sports

Go to High School Sports

Free SP Newsletter

  • Sports

  • Commentary

  • SPASH football

    Area football teams measure progress with scrimmages

    By Jacob Heid
    August 16, 2022
  • Wisconsin Rapids Rafters logo

    Rafters Weekend Roundup: Team finishes regular season, starts postseason

    By Jacob Heid
    August 15, 2022
  • Kristin Britz

    Kage retires, Britz joins WIAA staff

    By Kris Leonhardt
    August 13, 2022
  • Roisin Willis

    Former SPASH track star Willis presented with proclamation

    By Kris Leonhardt
    August 11, 2022
  • Rafters logo

    Rafters Weekend Roundup: Rapids splits the weekend with two wins

    By Kris Leonhardt
    August 10, 2022
  • Ice fishing contest Reels in $1,500 for Portage County Literacy Council

    By Taylor Hale
    March 17, 2022
  • Kemmeter Column: County celebrates year after quarantine

    By Taylor Hale
    July 12, 2021
  • Isherwood Column: Great engineering projects two

    By Taylor Hale
    July 11, 2021
  • Shoes News Graphic

    Show Column: Odd Jobs

    By Taylor Hale
    July 9, 2021
  • Looking ahead with Larry: July 2

    By Taylor Hale
    July 5, 2021

About Us


The Portage County Gazette is published every Friday by Multi Media Channels. It is locally-owned, locally-operated and locally-written. Subscriptions are $59 annually, delivered via the U.S. Postal Service.


To subscribe, go www.shopmmclocal.com/product/portage-county-gazette or call 715-258-4360

  • 2619 Post Road, Stevens Point, WI 54481
  • (715) 343-8045
  • News editor: [email protected]
Copyright © 2022 Multi Media Channels LLC.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied, modified or adapted without the prior written consent of Multi Media Channels LLC.
×