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Horticultural Issues
Horticulture provides healthy foods, aesthetic landscapes, improved air, water and green space, and Maryland’s livability. These goals are accomplished by: 1. conducting research in managed horticultural systems 2. collaborating with industry leaders, agencies, and stakeholders to improve production efficiencies, environments, livelihoods and human well-being, and 3. delivering statewide education programs through improved communication, research, and teaching techniques.
Vegetable production is changing rapidly worldwide. Major factors driving change are globalization, environmental protection, and urbanization. Globalization introduces new models of business and competition requiring global perspectives and innovation to maintain viable markets. Environmental issues demand research and implementation of production practices to achieve healthy neighborhoods and farm systems. Consumers are increasing their demand for a safe, secure, affordable local food system. Maryland’s vegetable growers have considerable opportunities to adjust rather than remain threatened with globalization and urbanization.
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Water Quality and Nutrient Management in Maryland
Maryland was placed at the forefront of national efforts to protect water quality when in 1998 it passed The Water Quality Improvement Act. This important piece of legislation is designed to protect the health of Maryland's citizens and its waterways by establishing both short and long-term strategies for reducing nutrient levels in streams, rivers and the Chesapeake Bay.
The goal of this management system is to minimize edge-of-field release of nutrients and minimize leaching of nutrients from the root zone. Nutrient management is pollution prevention achieved by developing a nutrient budget for the crop, applying nutrients at the proper time, applying only the types and amounts of nutrients necessary to produce an economically viable crop, and considering the environmental hazards of the site.
A significant feature of the Water Quality Improvement Act is a provision requiring all Maryland farmers grossing $2,500 or more annually or raising 8,000 pounds or more of live animal weight to run their operations using a nutrient management plan that addresses both nitrogen and phosphorus inputs. But this far-reaching legislation also touches a number of other interests, including people who apply nutrients, poultry growers and companies, and Maryland-certified nutrient management consultants, who must now begin writing nutrient management plans based on both soil nitrogen and phosphorus. For more information see: http://www.agnr.umd.edu/users/agron/nutrient/
ShareThisFor more information, contact Dr. Gerald Brust
Last updated: 03/10/2009