LANGHAM, SASK. – Phase one results from the Discovery Farm Langham Water Management Project were unveiled during the 2022 Soils & Crops Virtual Conference by Blake Weiseth, applied research lead at Discovery Farm Langham and agriculture research chair at Saskatchewan Polytechnic.
The project is a two-year field study as part of the research work conducted in Blake Weiseth’s PhD program with collaborating scientists Dr. Jeff Schoenau, chair in soil nutrient management with the Ministry of Agriculture Strategic Research Program, and Dr. Jane Elliott, research scientist with National Hydrology Research Centre.
“In this study, we are evaluating several management practices to promote crop nutrient uptake while limiting losses in runoff water,” said Weiseth. “2021 was the first growing season for this project and we are pleased to report two relevant major observations in the rollout of phase one results.”
Weiseth explained how the results indicate that variable-rate fertilizer application was shown to be an effective management strategy to promote nutrient use efficiency. In 2021, flax yield of the variable-rate fertilizer treatment was not significantly different from fixed-rate fertilizer application, despite applying only approximately 90 per cent of the total nitrogen and phosphorus.
Additionally, it was observed that grain and straw yield varied significantly within each basin according to topographic position, with the highest yields observed in the lowslope and water-collecting areas of the basin.
“This observation was likely due to differences in soil-water dynamics across the typographic positions, and its ability to influence yield despite low rainfall over the growing season,” said Weiseth.
To watch the presentation from the 2022 Soils & Crops Virtual Conference, please visit here.
The Water Management Project is a collaborative effort with the following partners: Saskatchewan Water Security Agency, Saskatchewan Soil Conservation Association, Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Proven Seed, CropPro Consulting, Väderstad Industries and V-Wing.
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For more information, or to schedule an interview with Blake Weiseth, please contact:
Alexandra Blackwell
Discovery Farm
[email protected]
ABOUT DISCOVERY FARM
Glacier FarmMedia Discovery Farm is a hub of applied research, demonstration projects and knowledge transfer initiatives – all with
the vision of discovering practical solutions for Canadian farmers. Discovery Farm Langham, SK is home to Ag in Motion. Discovery
Farm Woodstock, ON is home to Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show. A more in-depth analysis of findings from the Discovery Farm
Langham 2021 growing season can be found in the Discovery Farm 2021 Field Report here.