Researcher, agr., Ph.D.
418 643-2380
ext 650
Researcher, agr., Ph.D.
450 653-7368
ext 310
In comparison to spring cereals, winter cereals produce higher yields and can be harvested earlier, which allows for the sowing of green manure legume crops. This means greater profitability can be achieved with both winter cereals and subsequent crops. Earlier soil cover during the spring reduces erosion risks, weed pressure, and the need for herbicide and fungicide applications. For this study, ten test sites will operate over a two-year period on farms spread over ten Québec regions (Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Mauricie, Centre-du-Québec, Montérégie Ouest, Montérégie Est, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Chaudière-Appalaches, Lanaudière, Bas-Saint-Laurent and Outaouais). The sites—some conventional and others organic—will be used to compare the performance of winter and spring cereals. In a follow-up phase, we will check to see if the greater soil cover and improved soil structure that comes with the denser root system characteristic of winter cereals result in a reduction in springtime topsoil erosion. In addition, an on-site economic analysis will be conducted to demonstrate how winter cereals are more profitable than spring cereals. On two experimental farms, during demonstration days organized for farmers, we will compare a broader selection of winter and spring cereals, and highlight some specific advantages of the former.
From 2019 to 2022
Project duration
Field crops
Activity areas
Soil health, Pest, weed, and disease control, Organic farming
Services
Winter cereals provide a 25% to 40% boost in yields over spring cereals.
Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation – Prime-Vert Program, 10 agri-environmental advisory clubs, 10 farms from ten Québec regions
The goal of the project is to improve biological methods for controlling the cabbage seedpod weevil in canola crops. In this project, initiated by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and conducted in Québec by UQAM, IRDA is performing an economic analysis of the practices under study.
Researcher: Luc Belzile
This project will determine the optimal post-emergent nitrogen dose to apply.
Researcher: Christine Landry
The aim of this project was to consolidate current scientific knowledge with a view to developing a spatially referenced tool to predict diffuse sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorus exports at the farm and watershed scale.
Researcher: Aubert Michaud, retraité