Lakeland's Student-Managed Farm Powered by New Holland (SMF) crop research unit took a look at field pea phosphorous fertility as part of an Alberta Pulse Growers Zone 5 project last year.

As part of their SMF class, the unit (pictured below) designed the project and wrote a proposal to request funding.

They were ultimately successful in receiving funding from Alberta Pulse Growers Zone 5. The students then designed the experimental protocols that were implemented by Lakeland's crop research scientist Laurel Thompson's crop research team in the 2019 growing season.

“This is a great example of hands-on learning for the students,” says Thompson. “It is a win-win, because at the same time, the students are working directly with industry partners to address crop production opportunities. The students were specifically digging deeper into whether or not currently available phosphorous fertility guidelines in field peas were appropriate for today's higher yielding pea genetics."

The students were interested in both the seed-safe amount of phosphorous to place with the pea seed, and also the absolute rate that would be economically profitable in the fertilizer side-band.

Students tested seed-placed phosphorous rates between zero and 60 lb/ac actual phosphorous in the first trial. They were looking for crop responses such as seedling burn and seedling vigor.

Field peas are sensitive to seed-placed fertilizer injury, yet phosphorous is not mobile in the soil for seedling roots to access early in the growing season when it is most needed, so seed-placement of a maximum safe rate of phosphorous with peas is of great interest. To measure the effects of increasing rates of seed-placed phosphorous, the students included important data collection events such as date of emergence, plant stand density, and root nodulation.

In the second trial, students tested phosphorous rates in the side-band from zero to 60 lb/ac actual phosphorous, to see how total applied phosphorous rate affect yields, but more importantly, where the best economic return for farmers would be.

"We were looking for a facility to perform research in Zone 5. If we can give supervised Lakeland students a relevant learning opportunity, it's a win-win situation. It's been working out really well," says Michael Bury, chairman Zone 5 Alberta Pulse Growers.

The project was publicly toured to students, alumni, farmers and industry during crop research field days in summer 2019. The current second-year crop technology SMF crop research unit is working with Thompson to analyze the data from these trials.