04/15/05 Alternatives to bluegrass field burning

Don Crawford is director of the University of Idaho Environmental Science program. Like nearly two dozen others he's working on alternatives to field burning. CRAWFORD "We're probably five years away from understanding what's going on well enough that we can really develop a full alternative process." Crawford is using bacteria to work against fungi that can develop in bluegrass fields in the absence of burning. CRAWFORD "Our microbial inoculate helps degrade the residues in the soil at a faster rate, helps protect the soil against the buildup pathogens in combination with other alternatives to field burning." Growers welcome alternatives but for now they say they have to burn to maintain hardy, health grass seed producing fields. CRAWFORD "And we're beginning like into year three soon. The early results are very promising that we can improve the number of years that a bluegrass field can be managed without burning and still produce enough seed yield to make it economic for the farmers." Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott