Dr. Rezvan Karimi Dehkordi, research associate on the Mueller Applied Research in Irrigation Science team. (Supplied by Lethbridge College)

By David Opinko

believed to be more efficient

Lethbridge College researching method of applying water and fertilizer directly to plant roots

Jan 19, 2021 | 3:44 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – A local team of researchers will conduct one of the first Alberta-based studies into subsurface drip fertigation (SDF).

Dr. Rezvan Karimi Dehkordi is part of Lethbridge College’s Mueller Applied Research in Irrigation Science team.

She will lead a research project exploring SDF, a method that applies water and fertilizer directly to the rootzones of plants.

A press release from Lethbridge College explains that subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) has been shown to provide benefits such as more efficient water use compared to surface irrigation methods, there are few scientific studies on SDF to Alberta crops and soil conditions.

A spokesperson clarified that SDI is the general idea of using underground pipes for irrigating water, while SDF is the method of having those same pipes also delivering fertilizer.

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“Most of the data we have is from the U.S. on crops like alfalfa, cotton and soybeans,” says Karimi. “We don’t have enough information for Alberta farmers specifically on the best timing and rate of application. Without independent local data, it is not possible to provide realistic scenarios to agricultural producers about the value of SDF.”

SDI is gaining popularity in Alberta, covering about 1,090 hectares of field crop area.

She says this study is the first step in determining whether the higher cost of SDF systems is justified by its potential agronomic and economic benefits.

Karimi was part of a similar project near Lomond that compared different fertilizer applications on durum wheat in 2019 and pinto beans in 2020, using crops that did not receive any fertilizer as a control group.

The 2019 study found that durum wheat that had been treated with subsurface fertilizers had higher levels of nitrogen and phosphorous uptakes as well as higher yields.

There was no difference in the 2020 analysis of pinto beans, but Karimi believes that was partially due to the wet conditions in the 2020 growing season.