Impact of modified tillage on runoff and nutrient loads from potato fields in Prince Edward Island

Potato production accounts for ~24% of the cultivated land-use in Prince Edward Island, Canada. The island often experiences prolonged dry periods interspersed with excessive rainfall events throughout the growing season. Thus, water retention is important for maximum crop production while sediment and nutrient loading to surface water systems are also concerns. Therefore, agronomic practices that reduce the environmental impact of potato production are being sought. Basin tillage (BT) is a potential option in which small dams are created in the furrows (row middles), resulting in basins that enhance infiltration, reduce runoff, minimize contaminant loads, and increase yields. This on-farm study compared BT against two types of 'conventional' hilling treatments with replicated plots on four field sites over two growing seasons. Field sites had sandy loam soils with topography slopes ranging from 3% to 5%. Within each field, nine 25 m long and 3.66 m wide (4 rows) plots were established, including three plots of each hilling treatment (CT = conventional tillage; RS = row shaper tillage; BT = basin tillage). Runoff volume, nutrient (phosphate, ammonium, nitrate) and suspended solids loads were measured using collection barrels on the down slope end of each furrow. Basin tillage had 78% and 75% less runoff than CT and RS, respectively (P Basin tillage Soil erosion Potato production

Treatment of potato farm wastewater with sand filtration

<p>This study examined sand filtration as a component of a potato farm wastewater treatment system. Two different sand filter designs, saturated flow and unsaturated flow, were evaluated at three different loading rates: 34, 68, and 136 L m⁻² d⁻¹. Filter design had a significant effect, with unsaturated flow sand filters having significantly (<i>p</i> < .05) better total suspended solids (TSS) removal (89%) than saturated flow sand filters did (79%). Loading rate also had a significant (<i>p</i> < .05) effect, given that the lowest loading rate had higher mass removal for TSS than the higher loading rates did. Overall, all sand filters removed TSS, 5-d biochemical oxygen demand, and total phosphorus well (62–99%). Total nitrogen removal was twice as high in unsaturated flow filters (53%) than in saturated flow filters (27%), because of the recurring cycle of aerobic and anaerobic conditions during sand saturation and drying in unsaturated flow sand filters.</p

Greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions from production of compost bedding on a dairy farm

Recent developments in composting technology enable dairy farms to produce their own bedding from composted manure. This management practice alters the fate of carbon and nitrogen; however, there is little data availa