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.
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Major Initiatives
Major initiatives (3)Services
Soil health (22) Water protection (8) Air quality (1) Ecosystem protection (3) Optimal water management (5) Fertilizer management (14) Pest, weed, and disease control (9) Food safety and quality (1) Organic farming (8) Environmental regulations (1) Coexisting in an agricultural environment (1) Laboratory analyzes (1)Experts
Crop response to fertilizers as an index of soil health
Fertilizer response and soil health.
Researchers: Marc-Olivier Gasser Catherine Bossé Christine Landry
LandCoM: Land cover mapping
The LandCoM project aims to develop an automated method for evaluating by remote sensing the percentage of soil cover by crop residues and cover crops.
Researcher: Simon Ricard
Technical, economic, social and environmental guidelines for the use of irrigation on corn, soybeans and fodder crops
This research project aims to establish technical, economic, social and environmental benchmarks for irrigation of field and forage crops.
Researchers: Carl Boivin Catherine Bossé Simon Ricard
Artificial intelligence - Development of a decision support system to optimize alfalfa yield and nutritional value in relation to soil health
This project aims to develop a digital decision support tool to improve the nutritional quality and yield of alfalfa from analyses of the nutritional quality of forages, based on its relationship with soil fertility and health, while including the other pedoclimatic parameters that define alfalfa production conditions.
Researchers: Marc-Olivier Gasser Catherine Bossé
Showcases in soil health and conservation: drawing inspiration from the best arable crop approaches
This project is to arouse interest in approaches to soil health and conservation and to promote their adoption by a greater number of Quebec field crop farmers.
Researchers: Marc-Olivier Gasser Catherine Bossé
A technology showcase of irrigation management decision-support tools for use in a variety of contexts
Showcase that will present and compare, in an impartial manner, a number of decision-support tools and technologies.
Researcher: Carl Boivin
EPERLAB Project: A collective effort to study and restore Rivière Boyer
Project to restore the rainbow smelt spawning grounds at the mouth of Rivière Boyer on the St. Lawrence River.
Researchers: Aubert Michaud, retraité Luc Belzile
Measuring the impact of winter vs. spring cereals on profitability, soil health, and pesticide use
Ten test sites will operate over a two-year period on farms spread over ten Québec regions to compare the performance of winter and spring cereals.
Researchers: Marc-Olivier Gasser Caroline Côté Luc Belzile
OGeMOS Project: Developing and deploying an online tool for managing soil organic matter
This project will develop a versatile tool that will allow to simulate the impacts of agricultural practices on soil organic matter.
Researchers: Aubert Michaud, retraité Marc-Olivier Gasser
Improving nitrogen management in Québec grain corn
This project will determine the optimal post-emergent nitrogen dose to apply.
Researcher: Christine Landry
Using controlled drainage to optimize water and nutrient uptake by crops
This project relies on the continuous measurement of field water table heights; water exports; as well as sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorus runoff into drains at four field-crop production sites.
Researcher: Aubert Michaud, retraité
Assessing the cost-effectiveness of improved nitrogen fertilizer applications
This research project, initiated by the CÉROM grain research centre, looks to assess the cost-effectiveness of nitrogen fertilizer applications improved by the addition of urea, for use with winter wheat crops grown in Québec.
Researcher: Luc Belzile
Analyzing the cost-effectiveness of adopting integrated pest control management for field and horticulture crops.
Collaboration for a cost-effectiveness analysis to identify the most promising practices and strategies to reduce the use of pesticide.
Researcher: Luc Belzile
Adapting the Terranimo® Web tool to assess the risks of subsoil compaction by farming equipment in Québec
Terranimo® tool adaptation at the terms and conditions of Québec.
Researchers: Marc-Olivier Gasser Aubert Michaud, retraité
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