Soil properties and topographic features influence within‐field variation in potato tuber yield in New Brunswick, Canada

Abstract

Reduced within-field potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) yield variation may lead to increased productivity and reduced environmental impact. Using soil samples collected from 88 site-years in commercial fields in New Brunswick, Canada from 2013-2017, this study examined how within-field variation in potato tuber yield was related to soil properties and topographic features. At each of 774 sampling locations, a wide range of soil physical and chemical properties was measured in the lab and topographic features were assessed using a regional digital elevation model. Principal component (PC) analysis identified three PCs, which accounted for 79.1% of the total variation. The PC1 (41.3% of total variance) was dominated by soil texture (i.e., sand, silt) and the quantity and quality of soil organic matter (i.e., soil organic C, particulate organic matter C, and soil C/N ratio). Under rain-fed potato production in New Brunswick, finer soil texture and increased soil organic matter pools are expected to enhance soil water availability and thereby improve yield. The PC2 (22.7% of total variance) was related primarily to parameters associated with soil fertility, and PC3 (15.1% of total variance) was related primarily with concave or convex landforms, which may influence yield through drought or excess water. This study demonstrated the value in using multivariate approaches to identify the factors that control within-field yield variability in the presence of significant regional variation in soil properties and environmental conditions. The findings point to the value of enhancing the quantity and quality of soil organic matter as a key strategy to overcome yield limitations under rain-fed production.

Short-term response of soil aggregate stability and labile carbon to contour tillage, diversion terrace, grassed waterway, and tile drainage implementation

“…Generally, soil aggregate stability is negatively correlated with soil water content, since aggregates tend to become stronger with drying (Caron et al, 1992;Rasiah et al, 1992). Percentages in the 80 to 90% range are on the higher end for potato cropping systems in the area as reported by a province-wide study of commercial fields done during 2013 and 2017 by Zebarth et al (2022). That study also reported that aggregate stability averaged 68% across the province, with some regions having aggregate stability as low as 32%.…”

Ex situ soil respiration assessment using minimally disturbed microcosms and dried–sieved soils; comparison of methods to assess soil health

“…Soil was collected from 34 agricultural sites/farms in New Brunswick, Canada (Supplementary Table 1), encompassing a wide range of arable lands as part of a larger Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada cluster project (PSS2224). Composite soil samples were collected from each site with a Dutch auger (0-15 cm depth) using zigzag random sampling (Zebarth et al 2021b). In the field, the soil samples were transferred into plastic bags kept in a cooler with icepacks, transported immediately to the laboratory and stored at 4°C to keep them fresh prior to analyses.…”

Re-Examining Field-Surveyed Variations in Elevation and Soil Properties with a 1-m Resolution LiDAR-Generated DEM

“…12) The effect of topography on in-field soil property variations was further detailed by [34] based on 774 survey points spread across New Brunswick. That study summarized the trends so observed in terms of three topographically re-lated Factors, as follows: a) The dominant Factor referred to the increasing Sand (+), CF (+) and Soil Organic Carbon (SOC, +) in association with decreasing Silt (−), Labile N (−) and Particulate Organic Carbon (POC, −).…”