A traditional flooding practice showed promise for reducing pesticide use in Massachusetts cranberry beds. The 4-week long spring flood, termed “late water,” checked pressure of two of the most prevalent and severe management problems, cranberry fruitworm (CFW) and fungal finit rots (CFR). Fruit rot generally was equal or lower and infestation of fruitworm was consistently lower at the late water beds compared with unflooded beds, even though no fungicides were used for CFR control (standard practice is two or three applications per season) and insecticide applications for CFW were cut by almost 70%. Although there were no significant reductions in yield in two of the years studied, a significant decline (about 25%) occurred on late water beds in one year for unknown reasons.

The soil erodibility factor (K) of the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation is currently considered a constant for all soils in the same type, regardless of production practice. To examine the effect of alternative production systems on the K-factor we compared pairs of alternatively and conventionally farmed fields on a Judson silt loam (Fine-silty, mixed, mesic Cumulic Hapludolls), a Yutan silty clay loam (Fine-silty, mixed, mesic Mollic Hapludalf), and a Wann fine sandy loam (Coarse-loamy, mixed, mesic Fluvaquentic Haplustolls). Soil cores were taken from the surface 10 cm and analyzed for organic matter, permeability, structure, and texture. These data were used to estimate K-factors from a nomograph. All soils in the study had a fine granular structure. Organic matter content and permeability were significantly higher for the alternatively managed field at every location, except for no difference in permeability on the Judson soil. However, the K-factor was significantly lower for the alternative system on the Judson soil. Of all the parameters, texture has the greatest influence in determining K-factors within the nomograph, with soils higher in silt being more erodible than soils higher in sand or clay. Thus, the influences of alternative production systems affected the Judson soil to a greater degree than other textures because of its higher inherent susceptibility to erosion. This study shows that alternative production systems affect the K-factor of some soil types and can reduce soil erodibility, and therefore should be considered when developing conservation plans.

The long-term effects of cropping practices on plant-available micronutrient concentrations in soils of the northern Great Plains of North America have not been adequately determined. We measured micronutrient uptake by wheat in a crop rotation experiment established at Lethbridge, Alberta in 1911. Phosphorus application at low rates (20 kg P ha-1 yr-1) since 1972 suppressed uptake of Zn, Cu, and Ca in the two years in which they were measured, 1991 and 1993. Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi are plant symbiotic fungi that are known to increase the uptake of relatively immobile micronutrients such as Cu, P, and Zn. The functioning of these fungi is known to be affected by high-levels of P fertilization. Assessment of wheat roots showed that low-level P fertilization had significantly reduced the length of root colonized and the percentage of roots colonized by VAM fungi. The results show the importance of considering microbial ecology when assessing the effects of agricultural practices, including low-input practices, on soil productivity and crop nutrient value.

The Illinois Soil Quality Initiative (ISQI) is a multidisciplinary effort to develop accurate, practical, and meaningful measures of soil characteristics that farmers can incorporate in strategies to sustain soil resources over the long term. We discuss how the project integrates soils and social research and involves farmers and others in guiding its research activities. A board of farmers, farm managers and conservation agency personnel and a panel of soil scientists, agronomists, and social scientists established ISQI's goals and monitors its progress. ISQI technical staff gather data at 35 participating farms to assess the accuracy and practicality of several measures of physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of soils under varying tillage and environmental conditions. They communicate findings to farmers and the ISQI board through regional farmer meetings, a project newsletter, and statewide conferences. Participating farmers assess the measures' meaningfulness and practicality, suggest strategies for communicating soil quality information, and recommend new directions for research. These observations have been made at the end of ISQI's first year: definitions of and beliefs about soil quality vary widely, making it inadvisable to think of “soil quality” as a single, inclusive concept; farmers and other land managers want to understand better the relationships among soil qualities, productivity, and sustainability, and to ham how to enhance their soils' structural and biological characteristics; soil quality measures must be accompanied by research and education on how soil qualities are affected by management practices or systems and how they affect yields and the environment; many farmers are only mildly interested in self-administered soil quality measures, preferring instead to purchase such data from commercial sources.

In March 1997 an international conference was held in Boston, Massachusetts, on the ways that the nutritional value and quality of foods are affected by how they are produced. It was organized by the School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, and was attended by people from 19 countries.

The conference theme was interpreted broadly, with “quality” encompassing not only biological and chemical characteristics such as nutrient content, but also social and political consequences of different production systems. In all, 46 papers were presented, the abstracts of which are printed here, followed by the closing address. The 20 papers marked with * are included in the proceedings volume.

Although I admire the scientific discipline, I frequently find myself wondering whether the traditional approach to science involving testable hypotheses, replication, statistical significance and repeatability is adequate to meet the challenge of understanding such things as the complexity of whole ecological systems without taking apart and destroying the very object of the study.