During a recent visit to UMES, Maryland State Senator Katie Fry Hester (D-Howard/Carroll) evaluated the university’s research relevant to nutrient management and water quality issues in the Chesapeake Region. She also discussed the relevance of the work to the implementation of the Maryland Phosphorus Management Tool (MD PMT), having been recently appointed to the MD PMT Advisory Board. Recent scientific findings at UMES and other institutions have led to modifications to the PMT, including representation of subsurface P transport as a result of research on ditch drainage and ‘legacy’ phosphorus.
With over 20 years of research focused on improving nutrient management on the Delmarva Peninsula to improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay, the UMES Chesapeake Water Quality Center has played a significant role in the progress toward achieving the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), which requires a significant reduction in nutrient and sediment pollution to the Bay by 2025. Specifically, UMES’ work is heavily aimed at helping farmers mitigate P runoff using low cost modifications to their drainage systems. Additionally, UMES’ ditch research, combined with its research on P leaching, has provided the foundation for the coastal plain component of the Maryland PMT. Finally, a new technique, called inversion tillage, that could be relevant to the PMT is currently being tested at UMES in collaboration with USDA-ARS scientists.
Drs. Eric May, associate professor of fisheries science, and Amy Collick, research professor of agriculture, food and resource sciences, led the robust discussion with the Senator that covered the following topics: phosphorus transport and losses in ditches, various research projects concerning P mitigation, gypsum curtains and sawdust walls/bioreactors, the Subsurfer, phytoremediation as it pertains to sorghum and energy beets, and deep tillage or P redistribution in the soil profile.
The field portion of the visit entailed brief tours of the UMES Research and Teaching Farm and the UMES Education and Demonstration Farm.
For a list of refereed publications, click here.
