Ontario Grain Farmer November 2024

10 Agronomy Ralph Pearce “WOULDN’T IT BE GREAT IF …?” That’s likely been the spark behind conversations leading to the creation of new technologies, from systems that plant seed with greater precision to designs that enhance grain handling and analysis. A new entry in tissue sampling is making waves, from an initial launch in potatoes in New Brunswick three years ago to its gradual spread across Canada and the U.S. The LeafEvaluated-Nutrient-System (LENS) unit from Picketa Systems is garnering more attention from agronomists, certified crop advisors (CCAs) and researchers. After launching the technology in their home province, the team that developed the LENS now have accounts in Ontario and 13 U.S. states, plus the U.K. and Chile. And they’ve accumulated sufficient data to enable the system’s use in corn, which has been a big step. LENS technology NEW NUTRIENT TESTING SYSTEM CONTINUES EVOLVING PUTTING IT TO THE TEST It’s an accepted drawback that nearly half of nitrogen-based fertilizer applied to crops is effectively used by plants, with the rest lost to the environment. Over-application of fertilizer has been common over the past few decades to ensure crops achieve optimum yields. However, that thought process has been challenged by fertilizer prices that have been higher than five or six years ago, ongoing increases in land and equipment prices, and the impact of the carbon tax. The LENS technology offers cost-effective nutrient testing that leads to improved efficiency in fertilizer applications, translating into improved performance and higher yields. The system uses reflectance of plant tissue across a wide spectral range – known as “chemometrics” – and feeds the data through machine-learning algorithms. An agronomist or certified crop advisor gathers 10 to 15 samples from a field – with leaves free of visible damage or disease – and scans each leaf with a probe, then clicks a button to submit the sample and retrieve almostinstantaneous results. “From the initial reports, folks seemed to be impressed with the timeliness of the data, enabling quicker decision-making on nutrient applications,” says Xavier Hébert-Couturier, co-founder and chief executive officer with Picketa Systems. “Our team has been working closely with users to ensure they get the most out of the platform. Overall, we’re hearing a lot of excitement about the potential to use this data to improve long-term nutrient management strategies.” From a time- and cost-efficiency perspective, LENS eliminates the need to send samples for lab analysis, delivering quick results in the field. In tests with pairs of identical potato samples, the unit consistently returned results with less than five per cent variation for key

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