Abstract Detail

Agronomy

Nelson, Alison [1].

Demonstration of precision irrigation management in Manitoba potato production.

Precision management of a crop production field allows for the optimization of inputs on a spatial basis, which can have economic and environmental benefits by improving input use efficiency and increasing crop production and/or quality. Variable rate irrigation (VRI) as a mitigation strategy for soil moisture variability is gaining commercial interest in irrigated potato production and some early adoption in Manitoba to ensure even yield and quality across an entire field, reduce production loss and improve the economic competitiveness of the local sector. This poster introduces a new project designed to demonstrate the collection of field-scale variability information, and evaluate various strategies for the successful operation of a VRI system using prescriptions. A 50-acre field at the Canada-Manitoba Crop Diversification Centre near Carberry, Manitoba with a lateral move sprinkler system was chosen as the test field. The field has a general surface soil texture of fine sandy loam, some topographical variability, and the irrigation system is being upgraded to variable rate technology. Previous potato trials have shown that crops grown in this field are very responsive to irrigation applications. A number of variability mapping strategies are being evaluated on the conditions found at the test field, including detailed soil sampling, topography and electrical conductivity mapping (both EM38 and Veris® technologies), Veris® OpticMapper™ and aerial imagery. These technologies and strategies will be used to collect data at multiple times during the study to compare the variation of data temporally and under different field conditions. Irrigation management zones will be created using the variability information collected. Variation of soil properties and moisture status within and among the defined management zones will be used to compare the accuracy of the various remote sensing techniques and timings. In subsequent field seasons, replicated plots of potatoes planted across defined irrigation management zones in the study field will be monitored and yield and quality of tubers under the different management zones compared. The test field and project activities will be a platform to demonstrate the tools and techniques identified in this project directly to interested producers. The use of VRI to reduce field moisture variability has potential to even out potato yield and quality across a production field.

1 - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Science and Technology Branch, 200-303 Main Street, Winnipeg, MB, R3C 3G7, Canada

Keywords:
Agriculture
Potato
agronomy
Irrigation
Precision Agriculture.

Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Topics
Session: P
Location: Hall D/The Shaw Conference Centre
Date: Monday, July 27th, 2015
Time: 5:30 PM
Number: PAG004
Abstract ID:1055
Candidate for Awards:None