SMART Field Day Showcases Rotation Research

Jul 28, 2015

Last week was the Soybean Management and Research Transfer field day in Carman.

During the day, Don Sanders, a masters of science candidate with the University of Manitoba, presented his research on crop rotation for soybeans. He studied two-year rotations, planting four different crops the first year, and only soybeans the next.

Sanders says going into the research, he thought planting soybeans on where soybeans had grown the previous year would have the worst effect on yield. The provincial average found producers who grew soybeans on soybeans had a five per cent yield hit compared to growing soybeans on corn or wheat. However, his research showed different results.

"We found at one site in 2013, the soybean on soybean was actually the best, and then the year after, soybean on soybean was the worst. Beyond that, things were fairly consistent," he says. "It really depends on your field, I think... and year-to-year variability is always going to be big.

Source : PortageOnline

Video: Designing a Robotic Berry Picker

Since blackberries must be harvested by hand, the process is time-consuming and labor-intensive. To support a growing blackberry industry in Arkansas, food science associate professor Renee Threlfall is collaborating with mechanical engineering assistant professor Anthony Gunderman to develop a mechanical harvesting system. Most recently, the team designed a device to measure the force needed to pick a blackberry without damaging it. The data from this device will help inform the next stage of development and move the team closer to the goal of a fully autonomous robotic berry picker. The device was developed by Gunderman, with Yue Chen, a former U of A professor now at Georgia Tech, and Jeremy Collins, then a U of A undergraduate engineering student. To determine the force needed to pick blackberries without damage, the engineers worked with Threlfall and Andrea Myers, then a graduate student.