Category Archives: Projects

Agronomy, Fertiliser, Nutrients, Plant Health, Projects, Research, Vegetables

LandWISE 2020 – CANCELLED

IMPORTANT ANNOUCEMENT: LANDWISE 2020
CANCELLED

WE HOPE TO BRING IT TO YOU IN A DIFFERENT FORMAT. WE ARE ACTIVELY EXPLORING OPTIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES

The COVID19 beat LandWISE 2020. We were looking forward to an interesting two days filled with presentations from lead researchers and growers, networking, and practical demonstrations focussed on the theme of “Back to the Future”. But that cannot happen.

We regret this, but fully support the government’s initiatives and a fully complying at work, home and play. All registration fees have been refunded. We are working with our loyal sponsors to find ways to bring you the ustainable cropping messages we had lined up.

LandWISE staff are still working, so contact us by email or phone.

Dan, John and the LandWISE team

Agronomy, AgTech, Conference, Drainage, events, Innovation, LandWISE People, Precision Agriculture, Projects, Research, Robotics, Soil, Tillage

Nutrient Budgeting made easy…

We’re pleased to announce the release of our Nutrient Budgeting Templates.  Designed to support vegetable growers to budget fertiliser use according to good management practice guidelines the A4 pdf templates rely on nutrient recommendations from Reid & Morton (2019). Crop yield predictions and soil fertility testing are used to determine the optimum rate of Nitrogen and Phosphorus to apply, based on the best trial data NZ has for 12 different vegetable crops.

The LandWISE Nutrient Budget Templates bring together this resource along with FAR’s Nitrate Quick Test Mass Balance tool which allows growers to enter soil nitrate levels using the Nitrate Quick Test. This test can provide growers with soil nitrate levels in less than an hour for about $1. FAR’s tool reliably converts nitrate concentrations (ppm) into kg N/ha.

Nutrient budgets are becoming a necessary process to document the movement of nutrients on and off-farm, and justify fertiliser applications. Nutrient budgets can be used to develop a fertiliser plan, where each paddock or management unit has a clear strategy to maintain, build or mine soil nutrient levels.

View or download the templates below:

Phosphorus Budget Template 02-20

Nitrogen Budget Template 02-20

The Nutrient Budget Templates have been developed as part of Future Proofing Vegetable Production, a three-year project funded by MPI’s Sustainable Farming Fund, Ballance, Horizons, Gisborne District Council, and Potatoes NZ.

We are keen to hear from those using the templates so please get in touch if you have any questions or feedback.

Agronomy, AgTech, events, Fertiliser, Nutrients, Projects, Research, Soil, Vegetables

Nitrate Management Demonstrations – Gisborne 4 Feb

We had a good turn out at our Nitrate Quick Test and Alternative Application Technology Demonstrations in Gisborne on  4th February. Many thanks to Calvin Gedye and family for hosting the event.

Intended for Growers, Agronomists, and Fertiliser Reps, it was a chance to show and see some new technologies and talk about trials we are running in Gisborne and Levin. Attendees saw  demonstrations of:

TeeJet fertiliser nozzle on left, Stream Bar on right

Managing plant available nitrogen in soil is critical to ensuring crop yield and quality targets are met, and the risk of losses is minimised. However Nitrate-N, the main source of N available to plants is highly variable spatially and over time. Regular soil testing can help growers make better decisions about fertiliser use. Quick-N tests are affordable, easy to use and can give results in less than half an hour.

Why liquid fertilisers? In order to sidedress N more frequently and match crop demand closely, application needs to be efficient, even and easy. Liquid fertiliser application technology is progressing, and many attachments are now available to fit spray booms, in a variety of different spread patterns. Specialised nozzles do not mist, but apply large droplets that run off leaves and minimise risk of burning.

The dropper systems apply liquid direct to the soil alongside the plants, where root activity is greatest.

Dropper systems apply liquid fertiliser direct to the soil. We are trying various types for different applications such as potatoes or sweetcorn

This workshop was presented as part of our SFF project Future Proofing Vegetable Production.

Agronomy, events, Fertiliser, Nutrients, Projects, Research, Vegetables

Nitrogen Management Field Day – Levin 23 Jan

Many thanks to Woodhaven Gardens for hosting the Nitrogen Management Field Day we ran in Levin with VegetablesNZ. Thanks also to Antony for bringing hard copies of the new good practice guidelines, “Nutrient Management for Vegetable Crops in New Zealand“.  

We began the day with Luke discussing soil sampling strategies to make sure samples are representative. This involves taking at least ten samples, more from large areas, and ensuring samples taken fairly represent the variation across the vegetable bed and across the whole block or paddock.

Luke leads discussion about soil sampling methods to get good results

Georgia presented the Quick Nitrate Test method and the kit that is avaiable to growers. We use the test frequently in our trials and to guide nitrogen fertiliser use at the MicroFarm. We find the shaking of soil in the test-tube is important if reliable results are to be obtained. You must allow the extract solution to access all the soil to release the nitrate.

Georgia presents the Quick Nitrate Test

Woodhaven agronomist, Karen talked about their experiences using the Quick N-Test. They paired the quick test with standard lab testing while they learned how results are affected by soil variations and soil moisture levels. They don’t take the exact quick test result numbers, but use them to guide adjustments to their fertiliser application rates.

We demonstrated three alternative methods for applying liquid fertilisers; TeeJet, Stream Bar and home made Y-Drops. We think liquid fertiliser can offer significant benefits by enabling easier splitting and more accurate applications and reducing the risk of leaching while helping maintain excellent crop nutrition.

Droppers split near ground level and apply streams of liquid fertiliser to the soil beside row crop plants. This type of application is an alternative to banding dry fertilisers

The Y-Drop system is suited to row crops such as corn, broccoli or other brassicas. It drags soft hoses along the plant rows applying a stream to either one or both sides, close to the plant where uptake is most efficient. 

TeeJet nozzles (left) and Stream Bar (right) apply streams of coarse droplets that tend to run of plants and avoid risk of burning foliage. These are alternatives to broadcasting dry fertiliser

The TeeJet and Stream Bar systems replace standard spray nozzles, given a curtain of droplets along the boom. The TeeJet has diverging streams so application spacing can vary if the boom rises or falls. The Stream Bar tends to maintain a more uniform application. These systems are alternatives for crops such as baby leaf, baby beetroot and lettuces where dry fertilisers would be broadcast.

This field day was part of our Future Proofing Vegetable Production project and was held with support of Woodhaven Gardens, Pescini Bros and Vegetables New Zealand along with our major Project Sponsors.

events, Irrigation, Nutrients, Projects, Research, Soil, Vegetables, Water

Efficient Irrigation Workshop – Gisborne 22 Jan

The Efficient Irrigation workshop and IRRIG8 Quick bucket-test field demonstration we ran for Gisborne Irrigation Operators and Crop Managers was well attended. We were pleased to have industry and council staff also attending the day.

The key topics covered included:

  • What is Irrigation Efficiency?
  • Soil Water concepts
  • Testing Irrigation Application using the IRRIG8 bucket test

Many thanks to Leaderbrand for continuing their support for our Gisborne activities and setting up their irrigators for the bucket test demonstration. A great group of staff getting stuck-in and learning as much as possible about good practices.

We started the day with a slide presentation at the Bushmere Arms, discussing the many different definitions of “Irrigation Efficiency”. Efficient Irrigation is a critical input for high-value cropping systems. Getting it right or wrong can make or break crop yields, quality, and nutrient management targets. Dan noted that when most people are talking about efficiency they mean Application Efficiency: how much of the water applied to a field was held in the soil and avilable for plants for growth.

To get high application efficiency, application should be as uniform as practically posssible, and the depth applied should only be enough to refill most of the root depth. Low efficiency means excess water is applied, a sign that leaching risk is increased.

The IRRIG8 Quick calibration methods uses 20-24 9L buckets, spaced across the irrigation application area. Different bucket positions are used depending on the type of irrigation being tested. At this worshop, we tested one of Leaderbrand’s boom irrigators. 

We also demonstrated the IRRIG8Lite software that runs on a PC. This is a free resource from Page Bloomer Associates.  It takes care of all calculations required and produces printable reports including a graph of application depth across the irrigation area.

This Workshop was run with support from Leaderbrand and our project sponsors as part of Future Proofing Vegetable Production

Agronomy, LandWISE People, MicroFarm, Projects, Vegetables, viticulture

Welcome Kazi, our Summer Intern

Kazi Talaska is our summer intern at LandWISE. She is  studying the newly developed Bachelor of Horticulture at Massey University.

Kazi tending vines in our “Inverse Goblet” trial block

Kazi has come from an international background, originally from Bogor in Indonesia, spending her school years there, before deciding on New Zealand for University.

Bogor is just outside Jakarta the capital city, home to the country’s agricultural and fisheries university. Bogor also has the highest annual rainfall in Indonesia.

Kazi chose to study horticulture because:

“I have always had a strong affinity towards the natural environment. After an internship with a local nursery during high school, working with plants became a possibility. After graduating it seemed like the natural path to go to as horticulture itself looked so globally dynamic and interesting to me.”

Kazi’s role with us is to support our significant workload of summer trials in Levin and Gisborne as part of Future Proofing Vegetable Production and our ongoing management of the MicroFarm here in Hawke’s Bay. We are keen to expose her to the variety of work we undertake at LandWISE – from soil sampling and testing for growers, running field days and workshops on sustainable Nitrogen management, sprayer and fertiliser equipment calibrations.

So far Kazi has been busy maintaining our trial blocks – including all the trimming, leaf plucking, and wire tucking in the NanoVineyard. On regular trips  to Levin and Gisborne as part of FPVP, Kazi has assisted the LandWISE team in data collection, and Quick N soil testing in trial plots. She has also been working on the landscaping at the Centre for Land and Water.

“I’ve really enjoyed the grower engagement and field work we’ve been doing – I can grasp the whole system when we are able to listen to growers discuss their problem, and help them find the right solution.”

Kazi says the experience so far has helped her to understand the challenges the Horticulture industry faces, and bring significance to the concepts she’s learning at University.

“I can relate what I’m studying to what is important and potentially achievable for growers”

We look forward to working with Kazi for the rest of the summer, and supporting her to gain valuable skills for her career in the horticulture industry!

Conference, Membership, Projects, Uncategorized

Memberships 2019 – 2020

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Last week we sent out our annual print newsletter, along with membership renewal invoices to our LandWISE members. If you are a financial member but have not yet received this, please get in touch with us.

The annual newsletter this year includes:

LandWISE membership fees support our mission to promote sustainable production – your donations allow us to continue extending crucial research to New Zealand’s primary producers in Horticulture. We are proud to have been supporting growers to adopt sustainable practices for 20 years, thanks to our generous sponsors, and LandWISE members we hope to continue doing this work for many more years to come.

If you’re interested in becoming a member please fill out your details here, and we will send you and invoice ($100 + GST) for the year.

Agronomy, Fertiliser, Nutrients, Projects, Soil, Uncategorized, Vegetables

Spring and Summer Trials

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Spring has been a busy season so far for LandWISE staff and our Growers. We have been actively working with 10 growers based in Levin and Gisborne as part of Future Proofing Vegetable Production to test a variety of alternative management practices – particularly around fertiliser planning and application(s).

In Levin, we have 4 trials on Spring Brassicas testing standard grower practice for fertiliser rate and application timings with “Good Practice” prescriptive fertiliser planning based on the Vegetable Guidelines by Morton and Reid (2019). As well as reducing total N rates these trials will also assist growers to use Quick Nitrate Test Strips, and develop their understanding of how Nitrate fluctuates in the soil profile and over the course of a crop growth cycle.

One grower will be hosting several trials on his potato crops in conjunction with a PhD student from Massey University. One of the trials will focus on using liquid dribble bar applicators fitted to a spray boom to apply nitrogen fertiliser as split side-dressings. Another trial will look into the potential for biological products to improve the mineral N supply from soil to the crop. The overall aim with this work is to reduce the risk of N leaching by minimising the amount of available N, particularly nitrate, that is in the soil profile at any one time, and at risk of loss.

Several trials are planned in sweetcorn, the first of which will investigate the potential for current rotations to provide adequate soil nitrogen with reduced rsates of N applied at side dressings. At present one of our Gisborne growers is growing sweetcorn following winter cover crops and peas in spring. They want to know if the sweetcorn crop yield could be maintained or improved with reduced fertiliser N additions due to the previous crops which already provide improved soil structure and organic matter.

Another sweetcorn trial in Gisborne will focus on Phosphate in starter fertilisers. At present most growers in the area are using P in their starter fert blend, despite having optimum or above optimum Olsen P values in the soil. This trial will test the impact of removing P from starter fertiliser, on a high fertility soil whilst maintaining other key inputs (e.g. sulfur, nitrogen).

Finally, in a tomatoes crop LandWISE will assist another grower to test their current starter fertiliser rate against reduced rates (which are more in line with recommended inputs). Several more trials are still being finalised, and we will keep you updated as we confirm their designs. It’s set to be a busy summer!

 

Whilst it might seem straightforward to many of you that vegetable growers should be applying the recommended rates, and creating a fertiliser plan that achieves optimum crop yield and minimises nutrient loss risk – there is often a huge amount of risk associated with these systems.

Many of the growers we work with cite crop quality, unpredictable weather events, and processing/retailer contracts as major constraints to adopting sustainable practices around minimising nutrient loss. Not to mention until February of this year, the most recent soil nutrition guidelines for vegetables in New Zealand were published in the 1980s.

A lot has changed since then, and environmental compliance is now a top priority for our growers to remain farming in their catchments. That is why LandWISE through FPVP is proud to support growers test and accurately measure the impacts of alternative management practices on a small scale through on-farm trials. We are passionate about helping growers achieve economic and environmental sustainability in their businesses.

If you are keen to learn more about any of these trials please contact Luke Posthuma (Precision Agronomist).

Agronomy, Controlled Traffic Systems, Fertiliser, Nutrients, Precision Agriculture, Projects, Soil, Vegetables

Digging Holes: An Intro to Soil Assessment at Leaderbrand

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LandWISE visited Leaderbrand Gisborne earlier this week, where Nick Pollock, one of the Farm Production Managers there had invited us to hold a VSA, Fertiliser Equipment Calibration, and Quick N-Test Field Day. Nick ensured his tractor operators and crop managers were up to speed with good practice by encouraging them to take part in the day’s activities and share their experiences making day-to-day on-farm decisions regarding cultivation and fertiliser application.

Starting off the day with a fertiliser calibration, we were pleased to see the strong understanding of how to run a calibration test by their staff, and the use of practical charts to help drivers choose the right speed and revs for the field they’re working in and fertiliser product they’re applying.

Salad crops are a significant part of Leaderbrand’s production, and to accommodate this unique growing method, where planting densities are high, and crop maturity is reached in as little as 60 days, they have adopted new fertiliser application technologies which minimise waste. Calibration of these systems is especially critical to ensure uniformity of crop establishment during the short growing period and maximise the crop’s nutrient use efficiency. Using our calibration tool FertPlace, we were able to identify the application uniformity across the bed and calculate the application rate at a standard speed.

Visual Soil Assessment (VSA) – the process of assessing soil quality by eye and feel was developed by the soil scientist Graham Shepherd and has been around for a while (the first edition of the Visual Soil Assessment Field Guide was published in 2009).

Demonstrating this process in a nearby paddock, where Leaderbrand has been following controlled traffic systems for the past 5 years, showed some surprising results. The soil structure of the cultivated bed had significantly better porosity, stability of aggregates, and drainage characteristics when compared with the compacted “road” soil in the wheel tracks. The side-by-side comparison of the soil from the cultivated beds and a long term pasture soil from under a fence line in the same paddock showed that even a heavy Makauri Clay Loam soil can score well on the VSA when treated with care as Leaderbrand have committed to by adopting Controlled Traffic Farming.

Following this first look at soil characteristics under cropping, we visited a recently disestablished vineyard that is being leased by Leaderbrand for cropping in-between developments. The short break in production had allowed them to dig an impressive viewing hole that demonstrated the variability in soil structure, texture, and organic matter at different depths in the profile. As seen in the figure below, the Waipaoa Silt Loam profile has a buried topsoil (Matawhero Silt Loam) at 40cm depth, remaining from before the 1948 flood of the Waipaoa River.

To finish off the field day, a demonstration of soil sampling and using Quick-Nitrate Test Strips was completed for a Leaderbrand lettuce crop.

As part of FPVP, LandWISE is helping growers to adopt this tool as an in-field method to determine the soil supply of N during the growing season. More information about this test process and the proof of concept research, led by Plant and Food Scientist Matt Norris can be found here.

For those already using Nitrate Test Strips, the Quick Test Nitrate Mass Balance Tool which converts the Nitrate Test Strip results from ppm into a kg/ha Nitrate-N value can be found on the FAR website.

Our acknowledgement and thanks go to Leaderbrand Gisborne for supplying us with equipment to test, and setting aside their time to take part. We also gratefully acknowledge MPI’s Sustainable Farming Fund, and the co-funders of the Future Proofing Vegetable Production project for making field days such as this one possible.

 

AgTech, Drainage, events, Orchard, Precision Agriculture, Projects, Research, Soil

Orchard Drainage Field Day – Hawke’s Bay 15th August

On Thursday 15th August, we visited Evenden and Red Barn orchards to view the Smart Tools for Orchard Drainage trial blocks.

A few months have now passed since the various drainage treatments were implemented in the trial areas – the soil has settled and the grass is beginning to establish in the interrows.

A group of growers arrived to see the different treatments which we will continue to track to monitor their effectiveness and longevity. One of the main tools we are using is the RutMeter we developed for the project.

The RutMeter automatically measures rut depth and records the location using SBAS GPS for accuracy

After several months, regrassing, pruning and mulching, inter-row 1-2 is looking pretty good. By minimising soil movement during levelling, there is only a small rise/drop between the inter-row and the undertree row ground level.

The inter-row between rows 1 and 2 several months after levelling. been regrassed, then after pruning the branches were mulched. A few weeks for regrowth and the surface should be looking green again

Very good discussion among the growers covered the different treatments, how they affected orchard operations (especially use of hydraladas) and what future remediation they thought would be needed.

Orchard managers are happy with results to date. They think there may need to be work later after wet periods, but the foundation for better surface drainage in in place.

Many thanks to T&G and Bostocks for hosting the trials and the field walks. And project funders, MPIU SFF and NZ Apples and Pears Inc.