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CONTACT INFORMATION
Research Agronomist
Phone: 406.433.9408
Fax: 406.433.5038
E-mail: rkolberg[at]sidney.ars.usda.gov |
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EDUCATION |
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B.A. Biology Education |
1978 |
Moorhead State
University, Moorhead, MN |
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M.S. Soil Science |
1991 |
North Dakota State
University, Fargo, ND |
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Ph.D. Soil Science |
1996 |
Colorado State University, Ft.
Collins, CO |
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CURRENT RESEARCH |
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Today’s agricultural
economy has forced a reexamination of the farming practices of summer
fallow and monoculture wheat production. Past research has shown that
summer fallow is an inefficient way of storing soil water, while
monoculture production promotes weed and disease problems, and a
reliance on agricultural chemicals. Dr. Kolberg is examining ways of
increasing the diversity of crops that can be grown in rotation with
wheat, as well as increasing the number of crops, i.e. cropping
intensity, that can be grown over a period of years, as compared to the
"every-other-year" production of a wheat-fallow rotation. A fundamental
principle that Kolberg applies in his research to accomplish these
objectives is to reduce or eliminate tillage. Since dryland farming
depends heavily on available soil water, successful production must
effectively capture what precipitation is received and use that
moisture as efficiently as possible. Past research has shown that
reducing tillage and leaving crop residues on the soil surface can
markedly increase the soil’s ability to capture and retain winter snow
and rainfall, as well as greatly reduce soil erosion, another major
concern in today’s agriculture.
Specific questions that Dr. Kolberg
seeks to answer are: 1) How can crops be sequenced in a rotation so that
soil fertility and crop nutrient requirements, especially nitrogen, are
efficiently managed? 2) How also can crop sequencing be done to
facilitate management of weeds and reduce herbicide inputs? |
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RESEARCH EXPERIENCE |
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Dr. Kolberg began his research career at
the Sidney lab in 1982 when he was hired as a Biological Aide for Dr.
Don Tanaka, a soil scientist working in conservation tillage and residue
management research. He eventually was able to fill a permanent position
as an Agricultural Research Technician for Dr. Tanaka until 1987. At
that time, he decided to pursue a master’s degree in soil science at
NDSU in Fargo, ND working on the fate of two insecticides, carobfuran (Furadan)
and terbufos (Counter), under irrigated corn. In 1989, he accepted a
position as Research Associate in the Soil and Crop Sciences Department
at Colorado State University with the intent of also pursuing a
doctorate in soil science. His research involved studying the management
of nitrogen and how it cycles through no-till cropping systems in the
semi-arid eastern Colorado plains. As Research Associate while at CSU,
he also worked within the soil fertility and crop/soil management
program of the Department and assisted several other graduate students,
as needed, with their research projects. |
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RELATED WEBPAGES |
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 Alternatives
to Wheat-Fallow Rotation
Dryland
Corn at Rasmussen Site
From the Ground
Up: Managing Soil for Increased Crop Productivity
(.pdf)
Profitable
Alternative Cropping Systems on Dry and Irrigated Land
Sunnhemp |
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SELECTED PUBLICATIONS |
Papers in Scientific Journals:
- Kolberg, R.L., N.R. Kitchen, D.G.
Westfall and G.A. Peterson. 1996. Cropping intensity and nitrogen
management impact of dryland no-till rotations in the semi-arid
western Great Plains. J. Prod. Agric. 9:517-522.
- Kolberg, R.L., B. Rouppet, D.G.
Westfall and G.A. Peterson. 1997. Evaluation of an in situ net soil
nitrogen mineralization method in dryland agroecoststems. Soil Sci.
Soc. Am. J. 61:504-508.
- Kolberg, R.L., D.G. Westfall and G.A.
Peterson. 1999. Influence of cropping intensity and nitrogen
fertilizer rates on in situ nitrogen mineralization. Soil Sci. Soc.
Am. J. 63:129-134.
- Kolberg, R.L. and L.J. Wiles. 2002.
Effect of steam application on cropland
weeds. Weed Tech. 16:43-49.
Technical Reports:
- Kolberg, R.L., M.J. Weiss, L.D.
Prunty, and J.R. Fleeker. 1989. Influence of irrigation and rainfall
on the movement of insecticides through a sandy loam soil. p. 447-456.
In D.L. Wiegmann (ed.) Proc. National Conf. Pesticides in Aquatic and
Terrestrial Envir., Richmond, VA. 11-12 May, 1989. Virginia
Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA.
- Kolberg, R.L., D.G. Westfall, G.A.
Peterson, N.R. Kitchen and L. Sherrod. 1993. Nitrogen fertilization of
dryland cropping systems. Tech. Bull. TB93-6. Agr. Exp. Stn., Colorado
State University, Fort Collins, CO.
- Peterson, G.A., D.G. Westfall, L.
Sherrod, R.L. Kolberg and B. Rouppet. 1994. Sustainable dryland
agroecosystem management. Tech. Bull. TB94-1. Agr. Exp. Stn., Colorado
State University, Fort Collins, CO.
- Westfall, D.G., R.L. Kolberg, and
G.A. Peterson. 1993. Nitrogen fertilizer use efficiency in dryland
no-till crop rotations. p. 153-163 In Proc. Fluid Fert. Found. Symp.,
March 1993, Scottsdale, AZ.
- Westfall, D.G., G.A. Peterson, and
R.L. Kolberg. 1994. Fluid systems for dryland agriculture. p. 129-134
In Proc. Fluid Fert. Found. Symp., 27 Feb.-1 Mar. 1994, Scottsdale,
AZ.
- Westfall, D.G., R.L. Kolberg, and
G.A. Peterson. 1994. Nitrogen management for intensified dryland
agroecosystems. p. 12-17 In J.L. Havlin (ed.) Proc. Great Plains Soil
Fertility Conference, 7-9 March, 1994. Denver, CO.
Abstracts:
- Sherrod, L.A., G.A. Peterson, D.G.
Westfall, and R.L. Kolberg. 1995. Carbon and nitrogen dynamics as
affected by rotation intensity in the Great Plains. Agron. Abstracts
p. 25. Amer. Soc. of Agron., Madison, WI.
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P.O. Box 463 Sidney, MT 59270 PH: 406.433.2020 FAX: 406.433.5038
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