research update


Mulches given some very serious testing


Newly-arrived soil scientist has begun work aimed at improving such key factors as nutrient management. By Judie Steeves


I


n the name of gaining a better scientific understanding of the interaction between sawdust mulches, manure and the nitrogen available to blueberry plants, 288 two- year-old Draper blueberry plants will be sacrificed in the coming year at Agassiz. Soil scientist Aime Messiga started work at the Agassiz Research and Development Centre in May this year, moving west from his federal agriculture ministry work in Ottawa, and he has already begun to research the nutrient conditions of soil around blueberries under sawdust mulch, particularly nitrogen.


Later this year he will begin greenhouse experiments on a total of 288 pots of blueberries in both light and then heavy-textured soils, for five months each, using mulches such as sawdust and feather meal on the surface of the soil.


Every two weeks the soil will be sampled and analyzed to determine the impact of the mulch, compared to a control group of pots of blueberry plants. One of the goals is to manage nutrients as efficiently as possible in the soil around blueberries, so there isn’t excess nitrate which could leach into the aquifer below the ground, while ensuring growers aren’t applying more fertilizer than is needed by the plants. “We need to understand the


interaction between poultry manure and sawdust and the soil around blueberry plants,” he explains. Micro-organisms in the soil immobilize nitrogen so they can feed on the carbon available from the


6 British Columbia Berry Grower • Fall 2016 sawdust.


The plants need more water and nutrients between the time they flower and the maturity of their berries, so it’s during that time that it’s vital to optimize nutrients provided to the plants so they crop better. He believes


improved yield will result from more efficient provision of


nutrients, but in order to know how much needs to be applied, it’s important to understand the interaction between the sawdust mulch and soil. “We should be able to estimate the amount of fertilizer that’s needed for maximized harvest yields,” he explains. As well, Messiga will use feather meal as a mulch and analyze the results of that, as an alternative to sawdust. He’ll begin in the greenhouse, where more control of the experiment is possible, but ultimately, the tests will move into the field.


Preliminary data from the greenhouse experiments should be available next year and that will be followed by further research on field blueberries.


JUDIE STEEVES


Aime Messiga started work at the Agassiz Research and Development Centre in May this year.


Although raspberry growers generally don’t use sawdust mulches, he feels some of the data could be translated to raspberries.


Blueberries prefer more acidic soils than raspberries.


Messiga also plans to look at the cycling of nutrients and management practices on cranberry fields as well. “I want to work with growers to understand their challenges and to do research that will help them,” he explains.


He is working with fellow scientists Martine Dorais, Shabtai Bittman and Derek Hunt at Agassiz, as well as Tom Forge and Denise Neilsen at the Summerland Research and Development Centre on this project.


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