Why is this research important for Alberta ag?
Scheduling irrigation based on information about weather, soil, and crop conditions optimizes yields and leads to increased water use efficiencies. The electrical activity of a plant is known to vary in response to biotic (e.g. growth or disease) and abiotic (e.g. day/night cycles and water or nutrient availability) factors.
Studies in trees and fruit & vegetable crops grown under greenhouse conditions have shown that analysis of a plant’s electrical activity over time can be used to identify situations of stress caused by both abiotic and biotic factors. The opportunity to use this type of sensor in large-scale field agriculture is poorly understood.
In this project, real-time crop monitoring based on plant electrophysiology, will be combined with monitoring of soil water potential and volumetric water content, to identify water stress conditions for a potato crop and resulting impacts on potato yields. The results of this project will be used to propose ways in which plant electrophysiological signals could be included in irrigation management of field crops.
What benefits can producers expect from this research?
If this proof-of-concept project is successful, researchers anticipate being able to show strong links between soil water conditions, crop water stress, and crop yields. These insights will help farmers assess links between environmental crop stress and irrigation regimes.
How will these research findings reach producers on-farm?
AgvisorPRO will be used to share learnings with Alberta potato growers and link scientists and agronomists with growers to assist in the implementation and trialing new practices.