Results from monitoring Cover crop growth As seen in the boxplot chart above, the canopy cover (percentage of the ground covered by the cover crops in each treatment) varied with the conventional annual ryegrass planted into cultivated soil getting most cover earliest, and the regenerative oats/vetch and lupin mix direct-drilled into uncultivated soil starting slowest….
Author: Dan Bloomer
Robots and shocks
Emerging non-herbicide weed control options for vegetable and arable cropping This is the first post with details of Dan’s research into ultralow energy weeding using pulsed micro-shocks. It is an introduction by way of a comprehensive literature review, that was published in the New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research as part of the AgResearch lead…
Ultralow energy electric weeding
Micro electric shocks control broadleaved and grass weeds This is the second post with details of Dan’s electric weeding research. It is a bit “sciencey” because it is a formal research paper, but there is interesting information in it! The research was published in the Journal of Agronomy and is published Open Access, so anyone can download…
The Electric Spatula
Killing weeds with pulsed microshocks from a flat plate electrode This is the third post with details of Dan’s research into electric weeding undertakenas part of the AgResearch lead Herbicide Resistance management project. In this work, he was looking at easy ways to apply very small electric shocks to weeds, without having to carefully place…
Carbon Positive: comparing crop protection choices.
The last few months has seen us researching and confirming management strategies for our spring tomato crops. A major component is crop protection planning for conventional, regenerative, and hybrid treatments. In a conventional tomato growing system, the 135 day crop typically receives about 15 spray applications, all with several active ingredients. Regenerative principles seek to…
Horticultural Automation in Washington State
In September, Dan joined the Callaghan Innovation Horticultural Automation Immersion tour with a group of like-minded Kiwis from a range of backgrounds – horticultural robotics, precision agriculture research, remote mapping and sensing, kiwifruit management, and vegetable production. The trip was part of the Callaghan Innovation Agritech Activator initiative. There was too much to cover in…
Carbon Positive Cover Crops: August 2023
Open fieldwalk – Wednesday 6 September – free registration via Eventbrite. Cover crop measurements have continued over the winter. The hybrid treatment (annual ryegrass) will be sprayed out early September ahead of strip tilling to allow for the creation of a stale seed bed. The conventional treatment (annual ryegrass) will be sprayed out three weeks…
Cyclone Gabrielle Update
Post Cyclone Gabrielle baseline sediment and sampling has been completed across impacted areas in Hawke’s Bay, Gisborne and Northland. This has been completed by LandWISE, AgResearch, Massey University, Plant and Food Research, Gisborne District Council and Luke Posthuma on behalf of the Northland Kumara Growers Association. Data from this sampling is being collated. A selection…
Carbon Positive Update
After harvesting the McCain sweetcorn crop, we mulched the entire paddock and also rotarty-hoed the conventional treatment plots. Winter cover crops were planted in late April after sweetcorn was harvested. We have Moata annual ryegrass planted in the Conventional and Hybrid treatments and a mix of oats, vetch and blue lupins planted in our Regenerative…
Non-Chemical Weed management Workshop
We strongly recommend Charles (Merf) Merfield’s non-chemical weeding workshops. Even herbicide users should be considering non-chemical controls as part of an integrated weed management approach. Herbicide resistance is well established in New Zealand, and you’ll find the chemical companies are recommending a mix of controls. Merf’s next workshop will be at Lincoln in July. Details…