OSU SOIL STUDY ENCOURAGES

By | Jill Sell FREE LANCE WRITER KENT-RAVENNA RECORD COURIER

Above photos courtesy: School of Environment and Natural Resources, The Ohio State University

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HOPS TESTING

GroWers who don’t test their soil before they put in a hop yard are just asking for problems. the warning comes from steven Culman, Ph.D., assistant professor of soil fertility at the ohio state university’s school of environment and Natural resources. the hop (humulus lupulus) is a perennial plant with bines (not vines) and cone-shaped fruits that are best known for their importance in beer production.

“the growth and demand for ohio hops has increased over the past six years and looks to continue increasing well into the future as long as the growth of the craft beer industry increases,” said Brad Bergefurd, Culman’s colleague and extension educator. “ohio brewers now realize

“THE GROWTH AND DEMAND FOR OHIO HOPS HAS INCREASED OVER THE PAST SIx YEARS AND LOOKS TO CONTINUE INCREASING WELL INTO THE FUTURE AS LONG AS THE GROWTH OF THE CRAFT BEER INDUSTRY INCREASES.”

– BRAD BERGEFURD, ExTENSION EDUCATOR OHIO STATE’S SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES

we can grow high quality ohio hops with a special terroir, and that they can produce all-ohio ingredient beers for which the consumer demand is high. ohio hop growers continue to have more market demand than crop and continue to invest in increasing acreage.”

most hop research has concentrated on pests and diseases, as well as irrigation, according to Culman. Fertility studies have been “the missing piece” to knowledge about hop growth, he said. But he and Bergefurd hope to change that omission. the researchers are halfway through a two-year study, assessing soil Fertility and soil health in midwest hop Production, funded by the usDa. they hope to better understand soil fertility and the relationship between yield and quality of hop plants.

Culman describes the 2019 growing season as “a crazy year” with unusual amounts of rain and heat which made gathered data on hops production more difficult to analyze. he’s hoping for a more typical season this year for the second half of the study.

In addition, the researchers want to encourage ohio hop growers to do more advanced soil testing, including using petiole nitrate meters.

“the meter is a simple tool to use. But it takes some training to understand the readings, which we can provide,” said Culman. “It provides a measurement to see if the plant is getting enough nitrogen. We know hops are a heavy consumer of nitrogen. It’s a challenging, expensive nutrient to manage. and we know if we manage it better in hops, that it’s better for the grower and the environment.”

the researchers have a few more openings for hop growers in the study. those that qualify will also receive a free meter (valued at about $450 to $550) if still available to help in their soil amendments and hop data gathering. Culman believes by offering the meters (paid for with grant money) hop growers will have less of an initial investment in their hop operation and more advanced information through the use of technology.

the study will combine individual growers’ data to gain an overall view of soil health and hop fertility. Growers interested in joining the study can email Culman at culman.2@osu.edu.

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