Research Library
EFAO’s research library is an open access resource where you can find all of EFAO’s research protocols, reports and publications, and other on-farm research guides.
As part of the Living Lab–Ontario project funded by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Brett Israel tested strategies to make reduced tillage more scalable for organic field crop production systems in southern Ontario by double cropping soybeans with small grains and forages and adding N-fixing forages to his corn rotation.
In a Nutshell
Over two years of trials, the most promising systems that emerged from his investigations included:
- Overwintered cereal rye harvested for forage before planting soybeans
- Winter barley planted ahead of short season soybeans
- Spring-planted alfalfa harvested for forage and then incorporated as the sole nitrogen source for the following corn crop
Hans was interested in finding a starter mix that can produce healthy and vigorous seedlings without the use of peat moss.
In a Nutshell
- Both biochar and coco coir mixes performed comparatively well to ProMix BX by Hans’ observation
- Hans prefers the potential of biochar mixes over coco coir, given that biochar can be locally sourced or produced
- More on-farm trials are needed to assess the viability of alternative starter mixes
- More research is needed into the life cycle assessment of both peat moss and biochar
L’objectif de Becky était de voir s’il était possible d’établir des lieux de cultivation sans labour qui remplacerait de pâturages permanents existants pour la production de fleurs coupées.
En Bref
- Le paillis de résidus de cultures, du compost profond et le travail du sol (témoin) n’a donné aucun résultat appréciable par faute d’une mauvaise germination dans la répétition de son essai.
- Becky a eu de la chance en cultivant des tournesols dans deux parcelles de démonstration qu’elle a bâchées pendant 12 mois et 2 mois, respectivement.
- Becky recommande d’utiliser des bâches pendant de 2 à 12 mois avant de tenter la cultivation dans des pâturages permanents
To prevent chlorosis in chestnuts, Derick compared broadcasting and localized application of nutrient amendments to no amendment controls. After a year of growth, he measured tree height and leaf nutrient status.
In a Nutshell
- Derick detected no difference in plant health or leaf nutrient status between the two amendment methods. Given the extra labour involved with the localized treatment, he will not broadcast any amendments moving forward.
- He detected higher leaf potassium levels in the amended trees, which is important for iron availability in the plant.
To reduce tillage for crops that are direct seeded, Jason tested different composts in a no-till deep bed system in one trial each of lettuce and carrots.
In a Nutshell
- The substrates for deep compost mulch differed with respect to growing lettuce and carrots, but bare ground control produced the highest seedling count for lettuce and the greatest yield for carrots.
- Optimizing the use of deep bed compost requires a systems approach since seeding depth and irrigation rate, etc. differ by substrate. It was not practical, however, for Jason to test each substrate in a systems- context which limits the applicability of these results.
To further explore no-till techniques, Matt compared no-till tomatoes three ways: compost + landscape fabric, compost + cover crop + landscape fabric, and compost + cardboard + landscape fabric.
In a Nutshell
- He detected no difference in cumulative or monthly tomato yield among the three methods.
- He also detected no difference in water infiltration, an indicator of soil health, among the three methods.
- This data indicates that adding cardboard or cover crops to compost and landscape fabric does not improve yield for no-till tomatoes; and cardboard and cover crops may be a useful means of further building soil without negative effects on yield.
To try to hasten emergence and improve yield of no-till planted spring cereals, Ken compared liquid amendment, biological amendment, a combination of amendments and a no-amendment control.
In a Nutshell
- There was no observable difference in emergence due to amendments.
- There was no significant difference in yield among the different treatments.
Ryan et Isabelle ont testé si une culture de couverture sertie de seigle et de vesce velue réduirait le travail du sol, l’entretien de la culture et l’irrigation pour leur récolte de brocolis d’automne.
En Bref
- Par rapport au travail du sol, les résidus de culture de couverture ont fourni suffisamment de paillis pour réduire consid rablement le temps de d sherbage et augmenter l’humidité du sol tout au long de la saison de croissance avec 11% plus d’humidité que la parcelle de contrôle. Les pluies étaient suffisantes, de sorte qu’ils n’avaient pas besoin d’irriguer les parcelles de labour.
- Le brocoli cultivé dans le paillis créé par la culture de couverture serti avait environ la moitié du rendement commercialisable par rapport aux parcelles labourées.
- La perte de rendement combinée à l’absence de différence dans la main-d’oeuvre totale a rendu ce systéme sans labour, tel que testé, non viable pour la production de brocoli.
In a Nutshell
- Jeff found no difference in onion yield (weight) between the tillage treatments.
- Seeing no adverse effects from using only shallow tillage gives Jeff confidence to try more minimum tillage for bed preparation in the future.
- Yankee variety outperformed Norstar by an average of 20% more by weight.
Suite à leur essai de brocoli sans labour en 2020 avec des cultures de couverture, Ryan et Isabelle ont testé du brocoli sans labour avec du tissu couvre-sol en 2021.
En Bref
- Le brocoli cultivé en utilisant le traitement sans labour du tissu couvre-sol avait un rendement inférieur et nécessitait plus de maind’œuvre.
- Malgré la faible performance du brocoli sans labour utilisant des paillis, Ryan et Isabelle croient toujours que le brocoli d’automne dans le nord-est de l’Ontario peut être cultivé avec succès dans un système sans labour, et essaieront probablement le brocoli sans labour sans système de paillis (culture de couverture ou tissu) en 2022.
Becky’s goal was to see if it was possible to establish land for cut flower production on existing perennial pastures using no-till methods.
In a Nutshell
- Poor germination across her replicated trial comparing cover crop mulch, deep compost mulch and tillage (control) resulted in no appreciable results to note.
- Becky had good luck growing sunflowers in two demonstration plots that she tarped for 12 months and 2 months.
- Becky recommends using tarps for 2-12 months ahead of planting into perennial pasture.
As a continuation of their no-till broccoli trial in 2020 using cover crops, Ryan and Isabelle tested no-till broccoli using landscape fabric in 2021.
In a Nutshell
- Broccoli grown using the no-till treatment of landscape fabric had lower yield and required more labour.
- Despite poor performance of no-till broccoli using mulches, Ryan and Isabelle still believe that fall broccoli in northeastern Ontario can be grown successfully in a no- till system, and will likely try no-till broccoli without a mulch system (cover crop or fabric) in 2022.
Keywords
- soil health, active carbon, organic matter, farmer-led research, organic farming
Basalt rock dust is a remineralizer that is used in other parts of the world but there is limited information on its effectiveness to supply crops with nutrients in neutral and alkaline soils. To test the efficacy of basalt as a mineralizer for grain, Shelley and Tony grew Heritage Amber Spring Wheat in replicated plots with and without basalt amendments.
Key Findings
- Basalt rock dust had no detectable effect on Heritage Amber Spring Wheat yield, and benefits may take years to detect.
- There were also no other observable differences in growth, seed quality or disease resistance between treatment and control.
- It was a bad year for wheat production but, overall, Heritage Amber Spring Wheat – a landrace variety – performed well against lodging and Fusarium.
With the goal of regenerative farming, Brent and Gillian want to minimize tillage for their organic salad greens production. To do this, they trialed tarps to kill residue between succession plantings and recorded the management needed to direct seed. They also tracked labour, including time moving and placing tarps and hand weeding.
Key Findings
- Tarping soil, without tilling before tarping, reduced tillage by 82% and resulted in faster growing crops.
- It also reduced total labour 60% for lettuce and spinach crops because of fewer weeds.
- It increased total labour by 65% for mustard greens, which do not require weeding.
Val and Brent were curious to know if biochar will help regenerate soil in their young apple orchard and help to set in motion biological activity and nutrient retention. Researchers have documented benefits from biochar in arid and tropical soils, which vary by soil fertility status and biochar quality. Much less is known about biochar’s effect in temperate regions, but there is anecdotal support for biochar use from some farmers in Ontario.
Key Findings
- In the first year of application, Val and Brent detected no effect of the biochar amendment on soil microbial activity, as a proxy for soil health.
- They also detected no changes in tree health in the first year of application.
- Val and Brent will continue to monitor soil and tree health in future years.