Foliar fertilizers such as Optimize+, Vigor Plus, 10-10-10 Premier Gro, and Prime Micro Cu (Copper) are fertilizer amendments composed of plant based sources. As such, their formulation is based on amino acid chains (peptides) that facilitate penetration into foliar tissue and guaranty greater plant nutrition absorption.
In pea, test weight (P=0.2085) was the same among treatments and thus there was no difference in comparison to the control. In contrast yield was greater in the control and in treatment 2, and lower in treatment 3 (P=0.0387).
In wheat, there was no difference between treatments compared to the control in test weight and yield (P=0.1679 and P=0.4639 respectively).
Yield from each crop was different across all intercropping combinations (P≤0.0001). Pulses such as faba bean intersown with wheat and field pea intersown in barley and in canola reported the lowest yields. Barley intersown in both lentil and field pea, respectively, was higher yielding than other cereals such as oat, wheat and other types of main crops such as flax and canola. The North Peace weather is characterized for its long dry periods, where rains could turn out once a month and extensive heat can stress and jeopardize grain quality of main crops. It is also characterized for its soils with heavy clay, where moisture from rain periods can last for days and excess water is unable to filter through. Pulses require plenty of rain and soil moisture in order to produce competent yields. It is possible the dry periods occurring in the summer season compromised pulse yields while cereals were able to manage heat stress.
Number of insects per plot varied across weeks (P≤0.0001) and across intercrop combinations (P=0.0002). The interaction between weeks and intercropping combinations was the same (P=0.3690). The greatest number of insects was reported on the first week of August whereas the lowest was June 24, which coincided with a period of extreme heat and drought. Canola and field pea intercropping combination had the lowest number of insects compared to the rest of the combinations where numbers were statistically the same.
Crystal Green is a fertilizer of continuous release made by Ostara. This fertilizer acts by releasing nitrogen, phosphorus and magnesium upon expel of root exudated citrates. Since fertilizer dissemination is modulated by components released from roots, run-off and leaching is minimized. The extent of its benefits in different crops is yet unknown. Thus, Crystal Green was tested in oilseed, pulse and cereal crops in order to observe which formulation improves yield in each of these crop types.
Green Pea
Green pea varieties were different from each other in moisture (P=0.0148) and yield (P=0.0132), but not in emergence (P=0.9381). Moisture content in CDC Rider green pea was greater than that of the Garde green pea variety. As of yield, the CDC Forest variety was higher yielding compared to CDC Limerick. From these results we can say that yield in CDC Rider and CDC Blueman was as high as that of CDC Forest which also make them great alternatives to grow in the North Peace area.
Yellow Pea
There was no difference among varieties of yellow pea in percentage of moisture content (P=0.4449), yield (P=0.5164) and emergence (P=0.4242). The settings in the plot combine were not arranged accordingly to the yellow pea seed size in the first five plots. This caused for seed to get trapped in the seed exhaust tube and prevented further sieved seed from being collected through the sacking system. Data absence may cause a greater standard error among treatments. This may explain why despite great differences in yield among varieties, data is reported as nonsignificant. However, there was a possible trend of CDC Canary, CDC Lewochko, and AAC Lacombe green pea varieties where these produced greater yields than that found in varieties such as AAC Profit.
