THUNDER BAY — Ongoing studies at Lakehead University’s Agricultural Research Station into precision farming could benefit Northwestern Ontario crop yields.
Muditha Heenkenda, an associate professor in the university’s department of geography and the environment, is heading research that uses drones during the spring and summer months to weekly monitor plant growth, specifically winter wheat, and how many emerge after a frost and after it was seeded the prior autumn. She said her work also includes studying the effects of applying nitrogen to the crops at different intervals.
“The overall goal is that this information will help to monitor plant health and develop site-specific crop management plans and also predict the yield,” Heenkenda said in an interview with Newswatch.
She said using technology to aid in data collection and crop monitoring at a more granular level can have many benefits.
“Farmers spend a lot of money on testing different genotypes of seeds that provide high volume of yield,” she said. “Instead of doing it manually, we can use modern farming techniques and combine them with the information gathered from the technology to interpret and make decisions about field variability in crops, and also soil and even the weather.”
That, Heenkenda said, can allow for optimal use and application of fertilizer, pesticides and water.
“That is the main reason for site-specific crop management — just to optimize yield while minimizing the environmental impact and the resource waste.”
The bulk of Northwestern Ontario’s farmland is in the Rainy River area and south of Thunder Bay.
Being more precise with the use of chemicals instead of widespread application means less runoff into the ground, groundwater and watercourses. Climate change, including warmer temperatures and generally less rainfall and a lower water table, makes studying more intricate ways of managing crops valuable, she said.
The drones allow a lot of data to be captured relatively quickly, Heenkenda said.
“When we take the pictures, we can take pictures over a large area and then, without going to the field, we can look at these pictures and then we can analyze the information,” she said.
“With the new data analysis techniques like artificial intelligence and machine learning, we can see changes (at) different places and then address (issues) when necessary and where necessary.”
The agricultural research station’s role is to promote and make practical use of the studies done at the facility. And while Heenkenda said that’s not her role, she said she believes her work can help in various ways.
“They can adapt the results, the timing of nitrogen application and the amount of nitrogen application for … a specific species,” she said.
