Site-specific Management of Potatoes

Potatoes are a high value crop with high input requirements. Yields in southern Alberta average 22 tons per acre, but vary considerably within fields, making potatoes an excellent candidate for precision farming techniques. This project is investigating the potential for site-specific management to improve yields of irrigated potatoes in two farm fields. In the first year, researchers concentrated their efforts on measuring variability using differential Global Positioning System technology and yield monitors. Initial results have indicated tissue concentrations of P and K can be quite variable, and in the case of P, lower than expected for adequate crop growth. The study will continue to pin point variability and introduce fertilizer strip trials this next year. Precision farming techniques should help growers increase their average production.


Objectives

1. To use a potato harvester equipped with a yield monitor and global positioning technology to generate yield maps to measure the variability of the yield of potatoes.
2. To examine potato fields to determine the effect of soil type, landscape position nutrient level, fertility treatments, disease and weeds on the yield of potatoes.
3. To determine yield and variability of preceding and subsequent crops and relate this to field variability and potato production.
4. To measure the cost benefits and environmental influence of site specific management of potatoes.
5. To evaluate the use of remote sensing and digital image analysis to detect nutrient deficiencies and diseases of potatoes.