E-Mail IMAGE: In the simulations, hay was reallocated onto landscapes most vulnerable to erosion and nutrient loss, such as the areas near streams, whereas corn-soybean rotations were reallocated onto less vulnerable areas.... view more Credit: Patrick Drohan, Penn State Growing the right crop in the right place within an impaired watershed can achieve significant water quality improvements, according to Penn State researchers, who conducted a novel study in the drainage of a Susquehanna River tributary in an agricultural area in southeastern Pennsylvania. The research may reveal a potential path for restoring the troubled Chesapeake Bay, said Patrick Drohan, associate professor of pedology in the College of Agricultural Sciences and one of the study's authors. The bay -- which long has been impaired in large part by nutrients and sediment washing off crop fields and getting into surface waters that feed it -- needs bold solutions, such as changing cropping systems, he suggested.