Conservation Agriculture with High Tunnels - Reyes

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University

Conservation Agriculture with High TunnelsDon Immanuel Edralin, Ph.D.Don Immanuel Edralin, Ph.D.

Manuel R. Reyes, Ph.D.Biological Engineering Program

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State UniversityJuly 28, 2015 – 3:30 Pm

Imperial H, Adaptive Management

70th Soil and Water Conservation Service International July 26-29, 2015

Annual ConferenceGreensboro, NC


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Don Immanuel Edralin


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LornaSoftware Engineer

SAS, Cary, NC

Thanks to my Thanks to my wife wife

Geyser Yellowstone National Park


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Part of Part of Headquarters Stark Headquarters Stark

IndustriesIndustriesIron Man 3Iron Man 3

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MicahNorth Carolina State University, BS Civil and Environmental Engineering, and MS in Marine Sciences; currently designing sailboat parts with Hall Spars and Rigging, Bristol, Rhode Island, 30 years old no girlfriend. I told him my need to be a grand dad, he said not yet.

Thanks to my son Thanks to my son MicahMicah


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2011201112 years old12 years old

ZachZach kissing an ancient kissing an ancient smiling face in Angkor Wat, smiling face in Angkor Wat,

CambodiaCambodia

2012201213 years old13 years old

Thanks to my son ZachThanks to my son Zach


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2013201314 years 14 years oldold

Thanks to my son ZachThanks to my son Zach

2014201415 years 15 years oldold


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This is a part of a Global Study funded This is a part of a Global Study funded by:by:

French Agency for International Development


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Funded by Evans Allen Research Program:


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Presentation outline

Background

Objective

Method

Results

Conclusion

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The irony:

“A third (2.4 billion) of the world’s 7.3 billion people are

smallholder farmers and their families who produce

nearly 70% of all food consumed worldwide on 60% of

the planet’s arable land.” theguardian

They are marginalized and very little investments are

provided to them, especially on research

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N.C. A&T targets this population

This research is part of a global research.

N.C. A&T is conducting studies applying conservation

agriculture in vegetable production systems on

commercial home gardeners farming 200 square

meters (0.05 acres) or less.

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AFRICAAFRICA

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ETHIOPIA


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TANZANIA


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GHANA


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CENTRAL CENTRAL AMERICAAMERICA

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HONDURAS


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GUATEMALA


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ASIAASIA

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NEPAL

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PHILIPPINES


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CAMBODIA

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USAUSA24


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MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS, NC


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HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, NC


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UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS, NCA&T


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GRADUATE STUDENTS, NCA&T


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INDONESIAN POST DOC, NCA&T


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NC SMALL HOLDER FARMER

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ONE FOCUSONE FOCUSConservation Agriculture Conservation Agriculture

Vegetable Production Vegetable Production

System for SmallholdersSystem for Smallholders

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MMcDcD


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Minimal soil disturbance

No tillage

MMcDcD


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Minimum soil disturbance no-tillage


www.ncat.eduNorth Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University

Continuous mulch

MMccDD


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Continuous mulchContinuous mulch


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Diverse species McDMcD


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Diverse speciesDiverse species


Conservation Conservation Agriculture with High Agriculture with High

TunnelsTunnels


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Background

Objective

»To determine if Conservation Agriculture will affect vegetable yield in high tunnels

Method

Results

Conclusion

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Background

Objective

Method Results

Conclusion

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210 meters above sea level (masl).

Autryville sand with 0-3% slope (USDA Web Soil

Survey)

common for Southern coastal plain, Carolina and

Georgia Sand Hills, Atlantic coast Flatwoods and

tidewater area

Soil is very deep, well drained with no flooding,

and surface run-off is negligible to very low.

Water holding capacity of the area is low

Site description


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Land management strategies effect on soil quality and crop productivity in North Carolina Site Identification and field establishment

Replication 1

Replication 2

Replication 3

Replication 4


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Experimental farm layout in Jackson, Springs NC. Gray rectangles represent the high tunnels and the dark rectangles for open field (Photo obtained from Bing.com)


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Experimental design

2 by 4 factorial laid out in split-plot design with

4 replications.

Statistical analysis was done using SAS 9.2.

Treatment mean differences whenever

significant were separated using Fishers

protected LSD test at 95% level of

significance.

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Experimental design

Conservation agriculture experimental treatments

Main plot

Tunnel No tunnel

Subplots Conservation Agriculture (CS 1)* Conservation Agriculture (CS1)

Manual/ Roto tiller Tillage (CS 1) Manual/ Roto tiller Tillage (CS 1)

Conservation Agriculture (CS 2) Conservation Agriculture (CS 2)

Manual/ Roto tiller Tillage (CS 2) Manual/ Roto tiller Tillage (CS 2)

* CS 1 – Cropping system 1: Brocolli, Tomato, Collards; CS 2 – Cropping system 2: Cauliflower- Squash (Zephyr-F1) - Green bell pepper – mustard greens Radish


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Background

Objective

Method

Results Conclusion

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Results 1st and 2nd crop not reported – establishment

phase and crop damage due to deer,

respectively. – the experiment is now with

electric fence

Yield of 3rd (Zephyr squash) and 4th (California

Bell pepper) crop for crop cycle 1 and 3rd

(German Johnson tomato) crop of crop cycle 2

is reported.


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Vegetable crop productivity Treatment Cycle 1 – 3rd crop (T/ha) German Johnson Tomatoes

Main plots Marketable yield

(tons/ha)

No. of Marketable fruits per hectare

Unmarketable Yield

(tons/ha) ns

No. of unmarketable

fruits per hectare ns

Tunnel 5.7ns 33333ns 2.8ns 19584ns

Open 1.62 12084 1.0 7917

Subplot

CA 4.2ns 22500ns 2.5ns 16667ns

Tilled 3.1 22917 1.3 10833

Interaction effectTunnel x practice

ns ns ns ns

+ Means having the same letters under the same column and the same mainplot or subplot are not significantly different at 5% α level of significance as indicated by Fisher’s protected LSD test.ns – not significant at 5% α


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(only inside tunnels grew well due to winter)

Treatment Cycle 1 – 4th crop (T/ha) Collard greens

Inside tunnels Marketable yield

CA 4.97ns

Tilled 4.07

+ Means having the same letters under the same column and the same mainplot or subplot are not significantly different at 5% α level of significance as indicated by Fisher’s protected LSD test.ns – not significant at 5% α


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Vegetable crop productivity

Treatment Cycle 2 - 3rd crop (T/ha) Zephyr Squash

Main plots Marketable yield

(tons/ha)

No. of Marketable fruits per hectare

Unmarketable Yield

(tons/ha) ns

No. of unmarketable

fruits per hectare ns

Tunnel 3.1a** 46845a* 0.7a* 22933a*

Open 0.6b 50514b 0.1b 2935b

Subplot

CA 1.8ns 23606ns 0.3ns 9173ns

Tilled 1.9 31311 0.6 16695


ns ns ns ns

+ Means having the same letters under the same column and under the same main plot or subplot are not significantly different at 5% α level of significance as indicated by Fisher’s protected LSD test. ns – not significant at 5% α


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Treatment Cycle 2 – 4th crop (T/ha) California bell pepper

Subplot Marketable yield

(tons/ha) **

No. of Marketable fruits per hectare **

Unmarketable Yield

(tons/ha) **

No. of unmarketable

fruits per hectare **

Tunnel CA 8.96a 107084a 1.13a 20833a

Tunnel Tilled 2.00b 28333b 0.34b 6667b

Open CA 0.04c 1667bc 0b 0c

Open Tilled 0.00c 0c 0b 0c


** ** ** **

+ Means having the same letters under the same column are not significantly different at 5% α level of significance as indicated by Fisher’s protected LSD test. **- Significant at 1% alpha level of significance


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(only inside tunnels grew well due to winter)

Treatment Cycle 2 – 5th crop (T/ha) Collard greens

Inside tunnels Marketable yield

CA 4.4ns

Tilled 5.7

ns – not significant at 5% α


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Summary Growing in high tunnels gives higher yield in early

spring due to the warmth provided by the tunnel

Growing in high tunnels in winter results to greater yield

that may have been cause by less weed competition

Growing in tunnels during fall to spring provides

protection for vegetables especially from frost and leads

to greater yields

Significant yield increase was observed as a result of

CA in 1 crop while the rest did not show any effect on

yield

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Conclusion

High tunnels are important to promote better yields and

may be due to warmth and the tunnel also protected

against weed growth (possibly weed suppression from

wind carrying weed seeds).

Conservation agriculture effect is variable but did not

show any significant reduction in yield. It however

shows increase in yield in one crop.

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Future activities•Further tests are needed to be able to attain conclusive results on CA’s effect on yield.

Conservation Agriculture with High Tunnels - Reyes

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