Inspirational ideas: Farm data for water management of soils

This inspirational idea is also available in a Slovak version. 

Translation courtesy of the National Rural Network Slovakia. Read more EIP-AGRI inspirational ideas in Slovak on the NRN website. 

Improving physical properties of boundary meadow soils with the help of water management, data technology and soil amendments

Although soils are very fertile in Bodrogköz (Hungary), the high quantity of clay in the soil, combined with the low-lying fields leads to difficulties for farmers and the environment, mainly harmful water surplus as well as water shortage. An Operational Group is using data and precision technology to help farmers in the area to map, manage and plan, to enable them to increase their profitability in a sustainable way.

The Bodrogköz region, a flatland between two rivers in the east of Hungary, is an important area for arable farming. The soils in the region contain a lot of clay which shrinks and swells, which is difficult for farmers both in dry and wet seasons. In recent decades, the area is seeing the impact of climate change, with an uneven distribution of precipitation. Bertalan Kulcsár, a farmer from this Operational Group explains: “These fertile fluvisols are very difficult to work with, the ground can get very dry and solid, and it can also become waterlogged. The combination of excess water and water scarcity affects field crop production: tillage, uptake of nutrients and feasibility of harvesting. In a 300-hectare area we are cultivating, only 70% was seeded last year because the fields were flooded in springtime.”

Since it is not possible to control rainfall and drainage piping is very expensive, the Operational Group is developing a sustainable alternative for water management. The main goal was to identify the most suitable precision farming and farm data methods for mapping such conditions, and how to use the data to evaluate the impact of different water management practices while maintaining farm profitability.

The project is led by the Discovery Center, a research organisation working on innovative IT technologies in agriculture in Hungary and across Europe. In this project, they have teamed up with an external researcher from the region as well as 5 farmers. The farmers are actively involved in the planning, implementation and evaluation phases of the project.

Trials were set up on the farms, which vary in their size and technological applications, on plots of different crops (maize, sunflower, wheat). In each location, the project began with an assessment of the soil using different technologies including electrical conductivity measurements, soil sampling, electromagnetic soil mapping and drone technology. The Discovery Center collected data related to organic matter, pH, compactness and electrical conductivity. Vince Lang, from the Discovery Center, explains “We also used archive satellite information to identify annual yield-loss and main areas affected. This helped us to map the areas affected by water ponding, and its frequency, and also to evaluate the feasibility of the studied techniques and technologies from a farmers perspective.” The data was compared to available agronomic data in order to map the area in detail.

The mapping of the soil then served as the basis for planning. Specific and detailed plans were drawn up for the application of different cultivation methods such as ploughing, minimum till and strip till technologies as well as the use of cover crops and organic soil amendments. Precision farming technology was installed on the experimental plots, allowing the project partners to closely monitor impact.

The field research phase of the project ended in 2021. Gergely Toth, also from the Discovery Center, “Research results showed that for soil preparation, strip-till had a positive effect on crop development and drainage, but had little impact in very wet years. Cover cropping had a low success rate due to the very dry summers followed by flood-like precipitation. On many occasions (different years and fields), ploughed areas had lower surface ponding water compared to minimum till areas, and neighbouring natural meadows, which might be because the technologies were only implemented over a short period of time.”

Vince Lang “In terms of the methods tested, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) based surface modelling provided very good results, especially in periods when the fields were inaccessible due to ponding water or wet conditions. The information generated can be used to develop surface or subsurface drainage systems. Electrical conductivity and electromagnetic mapping provided useful information on soil conditions as well as good background information for the selection of reference soil profiles, and for the delineation of areas affected by ponding water.”

Based on the results of the field trials, the partners are finalising a tool to support farmers in their decision-making processes, enabling a more sustainable, economic and productive cultivation of fields dominated by shrinking and swelling clay soils.

Over the past year, on-field workshops have been held as well as an online workshop to present the project findings and inform farmers on the technologies and tools implemented. The research results are currently being finalised and will be published on the project website, along with the replay of the online workshop.

Bertalan Kulcsár: “We are trying to cultivate these fields in a profitable way. This is getting more and more difficult with the changing climate. This project helps us to increase our success rate under the current soil conditions.  With these advanced technologies we were able to increase our cultivation area even under wet conditions. We hope to further improve the soil quality to better manage the excess water.”

More information

Contact:

Vince LÁNG, vince.lang@drdc.eu +36702610424

Project info:

• Page on EIP-AGRI Operational Group database
• Video from EIP-AGRI event on Farm Data
• Project website
• Project video

Images: copyright - Discovery Center