The Cornell Agrivoltaics Research program is overseeing projects that will test the viability of a variety of crops grown around solar panels in New York. Of particular interest is how solar panels impact weed and pest pressure, disease occurrence, soil health and productivity. Cornell can be an objective third party that can provide unbiased information to help farmers, landowners and policymakers make decisions, according to Antonio DiTommaso, professor in the School of Integrative Plant Science’s Soil and Crop Sciences Section and associate director of the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station. DiTommaso who  leads the program.

Palmer amaranth populations in New York's Steuben, Genesee and Orange counties have resistance to glyphosate, the leading weed control chemistry used in soybean crops. The weed is native to the southeastern U.S. but has been spreading north as the climate warms. “We can use this information to let our growers know what to expect, so they can make good decisions about how to manage the species,” said Lynn Sosnoskie, assistant professor in the Horticulture Section of the School of Integrative Plant Science, one of the authors of the journal article reporting these findings. “We want to avoid these population blow-ups that become very difficult to control once they get going.”

Breeding grapes to survive cold winters also makes them more vulnerable to late bud-killing frosts in spring, according to a study by Cornell researchers.  “And this is kind of scary because for decades we’ve been breeding and planting grapes for deep midwinter hardiness, which brings along with it this trait of waking up early. But now our winters are getting warmer and more erratic, so those cultivars are more at risk for late frost damage,” said Jason Londo, associate professor in the Horticulture Section of the School of Integrative Plant Science.

Three Cornell researchers are working with industry partners to scale up a multiseed pellet technology allowing farmers to increase crop field biodiversity using their existing equipment to plant strips of milkweed or wildflowers next to their fields. The 3D-molding technology simulates the corn seed’s size and shape for smaller seeds -- formulations including milkweeds, purple coneflower, wild bergamot, and black-eyed Susans. Scientists and government agencies have long advocated for farmers to plant wildflower buffer strips to counter low biodiversity around crops, and this technology makes that feasible, say the researchers. 

Similar to charcoal, biochar is made from organic residues such as manure. Added to soil, it can retain nutrients, decrease manure storage costs, sequester carbon and reduce odors. “What’s going on at Spruce Haven Farm is quite amazing,” said biochar pioneer Johannes Lehmann, the Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor in the Soil and Crop Sciences Section of the School of Integrative Plant Science, of the 2030-cow dairy. “The farm has a large manure digester and ... they are integrating the idea of having multiple approaches to sustainability.” That includes developing a more circular nutrient process that prevents phosphates in manure from ending up in nearby Cayuga Lake or other waters and contributing to pollution and algal blooms, he added.