From Chemical Ecology to Agronomy: Cropping Systems in the Humid Northeast

SUMMARY

Crop production in the northeastern North America poses unique challenges in that soils tend to be cool and wet in the spring, and there is only a brief period each summer when sufficient heat is obtained for the growth of the main crops produced in the area. This paper reviews seven areas of crop production and ecophysiology research in the context of the geo-climatic conditions of the extreme North American humid northeast. The seven areas are: (1) intercropping systems, (2) leafy reduced-stature corn, (3) intensive cereal management, (4) production of C₄ grasses, (5) development of a chronic injection system for physiology research, (6) legume-to-rhizobia signals and inhibition of soybean nodulation, and (7) rhizobia-to-legume signals and crop growth. Progress has been made in each area and there is now a longer-term need to integrate some of these findings at the cropping system level.

KEYWORDS:

• Intercropping
• leafy reduced-stature corn
• intensive cereal management
• C₄ grasses
• chronic injection
• legume-rhizobia signals