Research Projects
Each year, IRDA's R&D Team conducts more than one hundred research projects in sustainable agriculture. What's more, IRDA is working with Quebec's key agricultural stakeholders to find concrete solutions.
Including perennial fodder crops as “cut and carry” nitrogen sources in long-term rotations of organically grown potatoes and field crops
We will compare the ability of mixed protocols using blended green manure, with or without the addition of farm manure, to satisfy the nitrogen requirements of a silage corn rotation crop.
Researcher: Christine Landry
A comparative study of organic fertilizers with a high, effective nitrogen to total phosphorus ratio (Neff / Ptot) as a basis for developing productive and sustainable market gardening fertilization strategies
In this study, we will test alfalfa meal pellets in a broccoli crop planted on plastic-covered irrigated mounds and we will compare them with two organic fertilizer, in addition to a control treatment in which no nitrogen is added.
Researchers: Christine Landry Caroline Côté
A status report on the labile carbon to total organic carbon ratio of Saguenay–Lac-St-Jean soils
A labile carbon input would displace some phosphorus into the soil solution, thus making it available again for assimilation into growing plants.
Researcher: Christine Landry
Developing fertilization strategies for organic garlic farming that combine green and farmyard manure, while taking their N and P supply dynamics and soil quality impacts into account
By enhancing our understanding: 1) of the nitrogen supply dynamics associated with the use of mixed green and farmyard manure applications, and 2) of the timeline of nitrogen uptake by garlic; we hope to fine-tune fertilization strategies so they meet the needs of garlic crops, while minimizing phosphorus accumulation and nitrogen leaching.
Researcher: Christine Landry
Developing an organic farming protocol for young vegetable shoots: a multidisciplinary approach
This project will help lead to the development of an organic farming system to grow baby greens.
Researchers: Caroline Côté Annabelle Firlej Carl Boivin Maryse Leblanc
Evaluating the effect of seeds coated with commercial, mycorrhizal fungi inoculum on the yields of nantes carrots grown in mineral soil early in the organic transition process
Test whether or not commercial strains coated on Nantes carrot seeds can compete with native strains in the soil to colonize the host plant and, once symbiosis takes place, whether they succeed in doing a better job than the native strains during the transition to organic farming.
Researcher: Christine Landry
The solutions developed by IRDA aim to...
Ensure the sustainability
and quality of soil, water, and air
Protect the health and well-being
of local communities by improving the quality of crop and livestock production, with an emphasis on animal welfare
Safeguard the economic viability
of crop and livestock production