BY: Christopher Forsythe, Agronomist – On-Farm Network, MPSG
In 2024, Manitoba Pulse & Soybean Growers’ (MPSG) On-Farm Network (OFN) hosted 61 on-farm field-scale replicated trials with interested farmers (Figure 1). This makes the total number of all-time OFN trials 577 (2012–2014) (Figure 2).
At the time of writing (Oct. 10, 2024), trial harvest was well underway, with pea harvest complete, and one dry bean and two soybean trials left in the field.
Our pre-seeding goal was to establish 67 trials, and we achieved 88 per cent of this goal. Due to challenging seeding conditions, some trials had to be cancelled. Three established trials were later cancelled due to crop failure and severe lodging at harvest.
Humid growing conditions meant fungicide trials were popular this year, with four soybean fungicide trials, eight pea fungicide trials and four dry bean fungicide trials across the province. At four of these trials, weather stations were also added to better capture environmental conditions influencing disease development.
We added a new trial type that tested an iron chelate product to reduce symptoms of soybean iron deficiency chlorosis (IDC). As part of this trial, we used a drone to gather multi-spectral imagery to monitor field variability of IDC throughout the season.
This year we added 11 new farmer cooperators, which speaks to the ongoing interest in on-farm research.
Results are being analyzed and full trial results will be available in the OFN database at mpsg.interplay.design/on-farm-network.
If you are interested in conducting a trial on your farm, please contact Chris Forsythe, OFN agronomist, at chris@manitobapulse.ca or (204) 751-0439.