b"Testing Fertilizer in P.E.I. A recent study looked at how well new fertilizer technology works for Island potato growers. BY: ASHLEY ROBINSONSTEVE WATTS IS always looking for new opportunities for the potato growers he works with on Prince Edward Island. About 10 years ago he received a contract from Fertilizer Canada to work with growers on new fertilizer technologies using the 4R nutrient stewardship system. Through this work he found himself learning about enhanced efficiency fertilizers.The cost of using this new technology can be more expensive than using the traditional products like urea. As a researcher that provides agronomic services to my potato farmers, the question was, You want us to invest more money in this particular product or technology, but are we going to get better yields? Can we reduce our nitrogen rates and get similar yields? What is the value proposition? Watts explains in a phone interview.If the growers he worked with through his business Genesis Crop Systems were to start using SUPERU, theyd need to know the exact cost of it compared to their current fertilizer systems. While the upfront cost was more than other fertilizers, Watts wondered if overall it would be better economically and agronomically forSUPERU protects nitrogen from environmental losses by giving it to growers. plants as they need it over a period of time, thus reducing nitrogen loss from plants to soil. To investigate this, Watts led a precision agriculture researchPHOTO: AAFCproject where the use of an enhanced efficiency dual inhibitor fertilizer product, called SUPERU, was studied in potato crops.lessened nitrate leaching into ground water and reduced nitrous SUPERU protects nitrogen from environmental losses by giving itoxide emissions, with lower soil nitrate levels post-harvest recorded. to plants as they need it over a period of time, thus reducing nitrogenOne of the growers who tested the fertilizers was Vernon loss from plants to soil.Campbell. Campbell has a processing potato farm called Mull Na The research was done with support from P.E.I. farmers,Beinne Ltd. near Kensington, P.E.I. Watts is Campbells agronomist Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), researchers fromwhich is how he heard about SUPERU. Watts said that instead of Dalhousie University and the P.E.I. Department of Agriculture andputting all his nitrogen application down with the planter, Campbell Land. It was done as part of AAFC Living LabAtlantic. could broadcast the SUPERU before planting and then incorporate Between 2019 to 2021, Watts tested SUPERU by comparingit into the soil during planting, with it releasing when needed during growers standard fertilizers to various mixes of standard fertilizersthe growing season. and SUPERU. They used three different fertilizer treatments inWe actually believe and have tried reducing the number of fields, including a grower standard practice, a grower standardpounds of N we're applying because it's far more efficient than practice with SUPERU incorporated in as the nitrogen fertilizerapplying all your N at planting. So even though the SUPERU costs and urea taken out, and then a lower application of SUPERU withmore to buy, we were able to use less and get the same results. In fact, around 15 to 17 per cent less nitrogen applied. They did tests on sixthe same yield results along with positive environmental results, sites per year for three years.Campbell says in a phone interview.Soil sampling and field tests such as measures of potato yields,On Campbells farm they did full scale field trials with the greenhouse gas emissions and soil nitrate levels were conducted byfertilizers on numerous fields over several years. Watts and Kyra Stiles team at the P.E.I. Department of AgricultureWatts has applied for funding for the next cycle of Living Labs to and Land. Further greenhouse gas emissions testing was done bylook at if newer biological nitrogen fixing products for non-legumes David Burtons team at Dalhousie University, while AAFC scientistscan be incorporated into P.E.I. potato nitrogen programs. at the Charlottetown Research and Development Centre helpedIt fascinates me all to pieces, and I actually did a little bit of with yield data analysis. preliminary work last year, he explains. I thought (the results) It was found that by using enhanced efficiency fertilizers such aslooked promising and I shared them with some other collaborators SUPERU, growers could maintain their current potato yields andthat I engaged with. We all thought it would be proper to put a profitability with the same input costs, while reducing greenhouseproposal together where we started looking at some of this new gas emissions by 30 per cent or more. By using SUPERU it alsoemerging technology. 48SPUDSMART.COMSummer 2023"