Grainswest - Tech 2023

Tech 2023 grainswest.com 41 M. Derek MacKenzie raking compost onto a plot. Photo:Courtesyof theGatewayResearchOrganisation easily gather a representative sampling. “You have two million pounds of soil in one acre,” he said. “Soil testing, quite honestly, isn’t very representative. To be able to go out and get results in 30 seconds and not have to send in any soil or wait for it allows you to get more representative sampling across a field.” Interest in the probe has grown, particularly among project managers at carbon offset registries who wish to accurately quantify carbon sequestration, said Breton-Ménard. “There is very big demand for this kind of analysis, and delays can be three to four months in the United States and Canada. We offer a very scalable, cheap and accurate alternative for carbon quantification.” STUDY EVALUATES COMPOST FOR CROPS In recent years, regenerative agriculture has gained much attention in Western Canada. The term covers a variety of related practices such as no-till, intercropping, cover cropping and compost fertilizer that are employed to improve and preserve soil health. Compost may also have positive economic and environmental implications, as it requires less non- renewable energy to produce. Until recently, however, soil experts have been unable to recommend an application rate for compost used in crop production. It was also unclear as to whether commercial fertilizers are needed as a top-up in the event compost nutrients fall short. A recent University of Alberta study, led by M. Derek MacKenzie, professor of soil plant relations, and funded in part by Results Driven Agriculture Research, tested a variety of compost blends. Used with canola across various soil types, blended material included biochar, wood ash, gypsum and inorganic fertilizer. Key partners in the study include Innovative Reduction Strategies, an industrial equipment designer and fabricator that supplied biochar and Gateway Research Organization (GRO), a Westlock area applied research association. AltRoot supplied compost made from green waste produced by the City of Edmonton. Identical research plots were established in the Westlock, Camrose and Wetaskiwin areas. Each site included 13 treatments replicated three times. Microbial diversity was tested by extracting and sequencing DNA. Using a plant root simulator probe, MacKenzie and his team measured the availability of nutrients in the soil, including standard N-P-K-S values as well as calcium, magnesium and various micronutrients. They also measured CO2 and nitrous oxide emissions weekly. While the analysis of carbon sequestration and microbial diversity is not yet complete, MacKenzie was able to offer certain preliminary results. At the Westlock site, the combination of compost, synthetic fertilizer, biochar and ash offered the same productivity results as synthetic fertilizer alone and stimulated microbial activity. “We believe that it’s also going to affect carbon sequestration positively,” added MacKenzie. Similarly, at the Camrose site, the best results were seen when a combination of compost and synthetic fertilizer was used. Interestingly, at the site in Wetaskiwin, compost performed just as well as synthetic fertilizer on its own. “Productivity wasn’t affected, and yet Photo:CourtesyofChrysaLabs