Grants and Contributions:

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Title:
Improving wild blueberry crop productivity using precision agriculture technologies
Agreement Number:
CRDPJ
Agreement Value:
$400,000.00
Agreement Date:
Sep 20, 2017 -
Organization:
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Location:
Nova Scotia, CA
Reference Number:
GC-2017-Q2-04391
Agreement Type:
Grant
Report Type:
Grants and Contributions
Additional Information:

Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year (2017-2018 to 2022-2023).

Recipient's Legal Name:
Zaman, Qamar (Dalhousie University)
Program:
Collaborative Research and Development Grants - Project
Program Purpose:

The overall objective of the proposed initiative is to replace the current uniform management practices with innovative precision agriculture (PA) technologies for spot-application of agrochemicals in wild blueberry cropping systems. Currently, the wild blueberry producers spend as much as $868 CAD per ha per year on agrochemical applications. This equates to $80 million CAD per year with 93,000 ha in production in North America. The implementation of reliable and affordable PA technologies for spot-applications developed by the PA team at Dalhousie Agricultural Campus, Dalhousie University (DAL-AC) through this research project will reduce agrochemical usage, improve berry yield and reduce environmental risks. The proposed research also contains the training of graduate students and research associates, and the continuing "life long" applied education of producers and industry representatives. To achieve this, innovative viable PA technologies required include; (i) development of a working prototype compact smart sprayer for spot-application of herbicide and fungicide; (ii) identification of the retro-fitting potential and compatibility of the developed sensing and control system on the commercially available sprayers (John Deere, Agco, Hardy and MS sprayers); (iii) evaluations of the different light sources for spot-application of agrochemical during early morning and late evening; (iv) development of working prototype of VR spreader for spot-application of fertilizer; and (v) quantify the potential of spot-applications to improve crop productivity and environmental efficiency as compare to uniform application of agrochemicals. This project aims to develop a viable working prototype smart sprayer and fertilizer spreader for the implementation of spot-specific applications to increase farm profitability. This proposal is part of a multidisciplinary research effort at the Dal-AC in collaboration with Slack Farms, Debert, NS. Implementation of PA technologies will increase crop productivity and profit margins of Slack Farms as well as the wild blueberry industry as a whole. The smart sprayer and fertilizer spreader will be commercialized with the help of industry to accomplish spot-applications at famer's scale. x000D
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