Canopy Development Week 2 – 13

Pest Management

In mid-January we started to see holes appearing in tomatoes, caused by corn ear worm/tomato fruit worm. The first insecticide application we used (Benevia) is registered for chewing insects, so caterpillars were targeted early in the season. However, subsequent insecticides have predominantly targeted sucking insects (psyllid/thrips/aphids/whitefly). We applied Uphold (spinetoram) across all treatments to control fruit worm. The crop was inspected five days after application, and found no active caterpillars. Additionally, we still haven’t seen any psyllid on the sticky traps in the field, which is positive!

Nutrient Management

We have been regularly monitoring soil nitrate levels using the Nitrate Quick Test method. Nitrate levels have been declining since side dressing, which indicates that plant demand is exceeding supply of nitrogen. Fruit set has been good and we want to ensure there is enough energy in the canopy to increase fruit size (and yield).

Additionally, we have been doing monthly leaf tests to look at nutrient levels in the tomato leaves. There have been signs of leaf rolling, and purpling along the leaf margins in all treatments in January. This was more distinct in the Regen treatment. This is an indication of low phosphorus or potassium causing plant stress.

Leaf tests showed lower than optimum Nitrogen percentages in the leaf for this stage in the season, as well as low P and K percentages (graph below showing N%). The Operations Advisory Group decided to apply a late application of fertiliser across all treatments. The Regenerative treatment has appeared stressed compared to the other treatments in recent weeks. There has been concern as to whether the canopy is big enough to size the fruit already set. The OAG used the information available to make a justified ‘grower decision’ to address the apparent nutrient deficiencies.

Nitrogen concentrations in the leaf were lower in the Regen treatment than the other two treatments, so we decided to apply a higher rate of N, to support the plants to harvest. The OAG decided to apply YaraRega 9-0-27.5. The Conventional and Hybrid treatment had 9kg N and 27.5kg K applied (100kg/ha). The Regen treatment had 18kg N and 55kg K applied (200kg/ha). This is somewhat counter intuitive for the Regen treatment, however all of the treatments have now received the same amount of N, around 90kgN/ha. Even with this application the Regen plots have had much less potassium applied compared to the other two treatments.

Drone Application

Fertiliser applied late in the season is normally done using a tractor mounted spreader. However, because our plots are 12m wide, we are unable to get the desired spread width this way. We worked with Airborne Solutions to apply the fertiliser with their drone, to be more targeted with our application, plus avoids damaging the plants by driving over with a ground spreader. The spread of the product was uniform and spread to the 12m width of our plots. The drone carries 40kg of product so was a quick job to get done on our 1.5ha.

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Please register at Eventbrite

Once again, we are opening the gates and doors to the public for a Carbon Positive at the MicroFarm field walk to view and discuss the Heinz-Wattie’s process tomato crop.

We’ve been making nutrient, irrigation and crop protection decisions – come along and discuss our strategies and apparent effectiveness!

Please register at Eventbrite

The post Carbon Positive at the MicroFarm – February 2024 Field Walk appeared first on LandWISE - Promoting sustainable land management.

Compare these images with last month’s post here>

Operations

Summary

The below table provides an overview of the three treatments and the main management decisions to date.  

Weed control

Due to continued wet weather we missed the window for our second Sencor (herbicide) application. Watties mechanically weeded with their Rototiller on the 1^st of December, which supressed weed growth in the interrow ahead of side dressing. Andy Lysaght then weeded between the double row of tomatoes with one of his mechanical weeders. This was completed across all treatments.

The Badalini (multi-row rototiller) came through at side dressing, completing a shallow cultivation in the interrow and incorporated a pre-emerge herbicide to supress weeds. The operations team decided we would exclude the pre-emerge herbicide from the regen treatment, with the view that we can mechanically weed again if weeds do get out of control.

Disease management

The weather has generally been cooler and overcast through the early part of the season, perfect conditions for late blight and bacterial speck in tomatoes. Our the spray programmes for the Conventional and Hybrid treatments have been the same and have included regular applications of Kocide Opti (copper) to protect against disease. These treatments have also had two Ridomil Gold MZ applications (protectant fungicide for blight). We are trying to exclude copper applications from the Regen treatment, replacing the coppers with Aureo Gold, a bio-bactericide to control disease (mostly used in kiwifruit). Only one Ridomil application has been applied to the Regen treatment as the canopy was smaller early on and had better air movement around the plants.

Insect pest management

All treatments have had one application of Benevia insecticide. A second application is planned for the Conventional and Hybrid treatments later this week. This is mainly to protect plants against Tomato Potato Psyllid (TPP), however also controls aphids and thrips. Some Biological Control Agents (BCAs) have been released in the trial area to help control insect pests (more detail on this in subsequent post).

Nutrient management

Fertiliser decisions are made by the operations group, along with Mark Redshaw from Yara. A high rate of YaraMila Complex (full N, P, K, S, Mg, B, Fe, Mn, Zn) was applied to the Conventional treatment, with a slightly lower rate of Complex applied to the Hybrid treatment. As the background fertility of the plots is in theory high enough to support a crop of tomatoes, it was decided that the Regen treatment would have an application of nitrogen only, so had YaraLiva Nitrabor applied (N, Ca, B). We have been monitoring Nitrate-N levels using the Nitrate Quick Test every two weeks. Results for the top 15cm is displayed below.

Side-dressing

Fertiliser was applied in bands at side dressing through the Badalini (single pass with herbicide application), and worked into the interrow, close to the rows of tomatoes. The Hybrid treatment interrow surface was particularly hard and had two passes with the rototiller to break up the surface.

Foliar nutrition

All treatments had foliar nutrition with YaraVita Bud Builder applied in early November. Regular foliar applications to both the Hybrid and the Regen treatments are planned and bio-stimulants in the mix have been advised. Caution is being when these products are included with other sprays to minimise the risk of burn. In some cases, crop protection and foliar nutrition products are being applied separately.

Irrigation

Management

Irrigation has started with a 15mm application on 16 December that, after the heat and evapotranspiration over the weekend, barely changed soil moisture in the top 200mm where most of our root activity is currently. A second 15mm application was made immediately after the first, and a third is due.

Bucket test

We did an IRRIG8 bucket test and found a DU = 0.88 which is good.

We will make minor changes to the sprinklers on each end and expect an improvement as a result. At the inlet end, a 180 sprinkler is over-applying (orange line) and at the far end a sprinkler is underapplying.

Now is a great time to check irrigation using the bucket test – it is easy to do, it doesn’t take long, and it costs very little. Have a look at the guidance in our Irrigation Management online learning resource. You will need to login – it is free although we welcome paying members to help run the organisation!

“Carbon Positive” is a project running in partnership with the Hawke’s Bay Future Farming Trust. It is funded by the Ministry for Primary Industries, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, Kraft Heinz Watties, McCain Foods, and BASF Crop Protection with in-kind support from many others.

The post December in the MicroFarm Tomatoes appeared first on LandWISE - Promoting sustainable land management.

I have grown up in Hawke’s Bay. I have always been interested in the environment and the processes taken place around me. This is why I am currently studying a Bachelor of Environmental Science at Massey University. The main topics I have enjoyed learning about are soils and water quality. From working at LandWISE, I hope to get a better idea of what job I would like after I graduate.

Olivia has been running a soil aggregate slaking trial, drying peds, and capturing images over time to determine the degree of collapse in water. This is a relatively new test but the first we know of that can be done with minimal equipment using a standard methodology. A phone app “Slaker” does the image analysis and calculates the spread of peds. We’ll do a post on the results of this preliminary study once the number crunching is done.

Olivia is also becoming experienced in soil sampling, sample preparation and quick nitrate testing among other things! More to follow as the season unfolds.

The post Olivia, our 2023-2024 Summer Intern appeared first on LandWISE - Promoting sustainable land management.

This project is built on the previous Future Proofing Vegetable Production project and presents a series of on-line workshops and tutorials and make the lessons available to the wider fresh vegetable production industry.

We previously published our first courses and have seen uptake. Give them a try.

• Course 1 Nutrient management for vegetable crops has three main sections: Nutrient management principles, Taking representative samples, and Nitrogen (a special case).
• Course 2 Run an on-farm fertiliser trial, follows our Ten Step Plan for a successful trial you might run to compare alternative fertiliser rates for your crops on your farm. 

We have published the next two courses in our series of online learning resources. There are notes and videos to guide your learning journey!

• Course 3 Fertiliser application equipment explains different types of application equipment and the factors you need to get right to apply the right amount evenly. 
• Course 4 Irrigation Equipment Performance considers irrigation efficiency, soil water management and assessing irrigation systems using the IRRIG8Lite tool.

Course 5 is on its way. It covers nutrient budgeting, determining how much nutrient your crop is likely to require, how much is available and how much extra is justified.

You can access the free online courses here, but you do need to be registered.

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We have not had time to analyse all the data yet, so can’t say how the different treatments performed. We are grateful to our friends at On-Farm Research for their help drying all the corn plant material for us! We can confirm harvesting 48 trial plots was a big job and appreciate the extra effort of Alan Palmer from Massey University who came to give us a hand.

Next Steps

We are arranging cover crop establishment and will have some different options for viewing at LandWISE23. We’ll do a post on that soon.

2023-2024 is a “Heinz-Watties year”, and we are working with their team to organise the planting of process tomatoes in our three farm systems – conventional, hybrid and regen. We met Tobi Euerl from live2give who is trialing a vegetable transplanter designed to establish seedlings through thick cover mulches. That will be presented at LandWISE23 as well, and we hope to use that in our regen treatment.

The post Carbon Positive Update appeared first on LandWISE - Promoting sustainable land management.

Can we regenerate soil carbon in soils used for intensive field cropping?

To scientifically test regenerative farming principles within a typical New Zealand cropping system, we have established a six-year trial on the Heretaunga Plains. The trial at the LandWISE MicroFarm is a collaboration with the Hawke’s Bay Future Farming Trust. The information produced will increase understanding of benefits, impacts of conversion, support the development of decision-making tools, and increase confidence in regenerative farming principles through the value chain.

Our trial is a systems comparison, evaluating differences between a conventional high input, high output cropping system and a system producing the same crops managed according to regenerative practice principles. A third ‘hybrid’ treatment can adopt practices from either system, evaluating the effectiveness of selecting only some new practices, or aiming to model a transitional approach to conversion from conventional practice to a regenerative one.

Strict definition of regenerative cropping has been deliberately avoided in favour of adherence to generally agreed principles: minimise soil disturbance, keep the soil covered, keep living roots in the soil at all times, grow a diverse range of crops, and introduce grazing animals. Additional principles are to minimise the use of artificial fertilisers and sprays. Importantly, there is no “ban” on any practice should it be deemed an appropriate management response.

The trial site has moderately degraded soils after almost ten years continuous cropping. It has been split into 12 mini-paddocks, each 12 m wide and 90 m long. This provides four replicates of each treatment. The width enables use of conventional process cropping machinery, fitting 12 m, 6 m, 4 m, 3 m or 2 m equipment. The length ensures equipment is functioning correctly and sampling can avoid ends of rows.

Key parameters measured include soil factors such as carbon stocks, labile carbon, visual soil assessment (VSA), aggregate stability, and worm counts. Also measured are crop development, yield and quality, and profitability assessed via gross margins using input costs and standard contractor rates.

Project establishment saw baseline measurement via an EM map at 50 and 120 cm, and VSA soil quality assessments. Carbon stocks and labile carbon (HWEC), total nitrogen and labile nitrogen (HWEN) and Olsen P were measured to 90 cm in four depth bands. The EM map shows a high degree of homogeneity across the trial site. The VSA tests were also consistent, showing the soils to be in “moderate” condition, neither good nor poor. This allows for the imposed management to either further decrease quality or regenerate it.

The first crop planted was process sweetcorn for McCain Foods, an industry partner. Land had come out of 18-month pasture that was sprayed out. Everything was strip-tilled, then the conventional treatment also power harrowed. Compost, Trichoderma and biostimulants were added to the regenerative plots. The crop emerged quickly and evenly in all treatments, although slugs and pükeko caused some early damage. During Cyclone Gabrielle, the site was inundated with relatively clean flood water for less than a day. The crop remained healthy.

After winter cover crops, a Kraft-Heinz Watties tomato crop is planned for 2023-24. The project is supported by McCain Foods, Kraft-Heinz Watties, BASF Crop Protection and others.

More information at the Carbon Positive page

Members wanting more involvement, contact Alex, the Project Manager

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We have also written a series of learning courses on our new website. You’ll have to sign up (for free) to access them because a login is needed to keep track of your progress. And there are some self-test questions to help reinforce the messages if you’d like to check your understanding.

Course 1 Nutrient management for vegetable crops covers nutrient management principles, taking representative samples, and nitrogen as a special case.

Course 2 is “How to run an on-farm fertiliser rate trial”. It is based on the “On-Farm Trial Guide” and covers the 10 point plan for running a successful trial.

Our next section is focused on fertiliser equipment calibration. We’ve already got some video in the can thanks to Extremekid Productions.

The post Vegetable Production Nitrogen Management appeared first on LandWISE - Promoting sustainable land management.

We are delighted to have Alex on board, with her strong background in nutrient management and a focus on sustainable production systems.

The local farms are part of the second year of our “Best Management Practice of Nitrates in Process Cropping” project funded by MPI through the Sustainable Farming Fund, with co-funding and support from Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, Kraft-Heinz Watties and McCain Foods. As with everyone else, the wet spring has delayed many plantings, but we have six trials established, with two more green bean crops to be planted in January.

We began an extension to our “Future Proofing Vegetable Production” project in July. That is making a series of online learning resources, based on the lessons from the Future Proofing Vegetable Production work in Gisborne and Horowhenua. Alex stars in two new videos, which can be viewed on our new-look website.

Alex is also managing a new trial that will be announced shortly. A lot of preliminary work behind the scenes and a huge amount of baseline sampling in the field has kept everyone very busy for the last few months.

The post Welcome Alex appeared first on LandWISE - Promoting sustainable land management.

Together with the New Zealand Asparagus Council, we were fortunate to obtain funding from “Our Land and Water” to investigate nitrate best practice management.

We surveyed a number of growers about fertiliser and nitrate management practices. We find growers generally have good management for transport, handling and storage. We see a wide range of practices for nitrate management including rates and timing, and this is what we are trying to understand.

We have established five trials, two in Hawke’s Bay and one each in Mangaweka, Manawatu and Mid-Canterbury. We are monitoring nitrate levels in soil, roots and fern, to build a picture of how the amounts move between these pools. 

As part of the project we offered fertiliser application equipment calibration, and the machines tested were doing an acceptable job. We used the fertspread tool to complete calculations and produce reports.

While a large number of samples have been sent to the Eurofins lab for analysis, we are also using the Nitrate Quick Test to assess nitrate in the soil at three depths in each plot.  When we compare the results of the quick test with lab results, we find a good agreement. The key is making sure the soil sampling is done correctly so it is representative.

Many thanks to the growers hosting and supporting the trials, and the NZAC and Our Land and Water for support and funding.

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