Illinois NREC Agronomy Videos
Click the links below to view videos covering research that was funded in part by the Illinois Nutrient Research and Education Council and conducted in collaboration with the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association. These videos were produced with support from the Illinois Soybean Association checkoff program and the Illinois Nutrient Research and Education Council.
Lowell Gentry, research agronomist and retired University of Illinois principal research specialist, discusses a 30-year record of nitrate concentrations and loads in the Upper Embarras River in Illinois, with a look at the long-term trend in nitrate loss. This is the first video in a five-part series that shares research findings on how to reduce nitrate loss from agricultural fields in Illinois.
What impact does the carbon and nitrogen ratio of plant residues have on plant-available nitrogen and tile nitrate losses? Lowell Gentry, research agronomist and retired University of Illinois principal research specialist, answers this question and how it all ties to soil nitrogen mineralization. This is the second video in a five-part series that shares research findings on how to reduce nitrate loss from agricultural fields in Illinois.
From 2015 to 2020, a replicated tile drainage study took place in Douglas County, Illinois, evaluating 4R fertilizer nitrogen (N) management and a cereal rye cover crop before soybean to reduce tile nitrate loss. Lowell Gentry, research agronomist and retired University of Illinois principal research specialist, shares significant results from the research. This is the fourth video in a five-part series that shares research findings on how to reduce nitrate loss from agricultural fields in Illinois.
Adding winter wheat and double crop soybean to a corn and soybean rotation with a cereal rye cover crop before soybean provides a multitude of benefits. Lowell Gentry, research agronomist and retired University of Illinois principal research specialist, shares research from Piatt County, Illinois, that demonstrates the advantages of diversifying the typical corn and soybean rotation. This is the fifth video in a five-part series that shares research findings on how to reduce nitrate loss from agricultural fields in Illinois.
Using cover crops as a nitrogen catch crop is not a new idea. Lowell Gentry, research agronomist and retired University of Illinois principal research specialist, shares insights from 1884 that hold true today, including the benefits of using cereal rye to tie up nitrate released from soil N mineralization during the non-crop growing season. This is the third video in a five-part series that shares research findings on how to reduce nitrate loss from agricultural fields in Illinois.