Research Projects

Each year, IRDA's R&D Team conducts more than one hundred research projects in sustainable agriculture. What's more, IRDA is working with Quebec's key agricultural stakeholders to find concrete solutions.

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2019-2021 • Livestock production

Improving animal welfare in hog production by adopting a smart environment-control strategy

This project proposes to measure relative humidity and air speed in hog houses and integrate these parameters into the control of ventilation systems.

Researchers: Stéphane Godbout Luc Belzile

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Stéphane Godbout

Île d’Orléans farmers rally to tackle water shortage

This project aims to explore and experiment new approaches and ways to preserve, develop, and enhance the MRC’s bio-food sector, and reduce or eliminate the water deficit on the island.

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Carl Boivin
Stéphane Godbout
2019-2022 • Market gardening

Projet for a Web app to facilitate the viewing and interpretation of potato soil health analyses

This project aims to develop an accessible and user-friendly web application that let stakeholders search the IRDA potato soil database, one of the largest in Canada, to visualize the impact of growing practices and protocols on the biological, physicochemical, and agronomic characteristics of soils cultivated with different cropping systems.

Researcher: Richard Hogue

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Richard Hogue
2019-2020 • Fruit production

Investigating key physicochemical and environmental factors that could account for variable lowbush blueberry yields

As part of this project, the soil water status at a chosen blueberry farm will be monitored at 40 spots over the course of the production year. We will seek to identify the relationship between water extraction, physicochemical and environmental factors, and yield levels that could help explain yield variability.

Researcher: Carl Boivin

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Carl Boivin

Assessing the economic impact of fungicide resistance in horticultural corps

Project initiated to review the knowledge on the fungicide resistance of various pathogens to provide a preliminary assessment of the economic impacts of fungicide resistance.

Researcher: Luc Belzile

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2019-2022 • Livestock production

Developing strategies to reduce and control pathogens in the drinking water used for outdoor cow-calf breeding

Cow-calf farms tend to prefer outdoor breeding, poor-quality drinking water can have a direct impact on animal health, and may lead to higher pathogen levels in the environment and at slaughter time, and negative consequences for food safety.

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Caroline Côté
Stéphane Godbout
2019-2020 • Fruit production

Using carbohydrate-balance bioclimatic modelling to develop carbaryl-free apple fruit thinning strategies

The model’s predictions will be used to calibrate the dose of a thinning agent (ANA) to be applied in two plots, one treated with carbaryl and the other without, over a two-year period.

Researcher: Vincent Philion

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Vincent Philion
2019-2022 • Field crops

Assessing the cost-effectiveness of improved nitrogen fertilizer applications

This research project, initiated by the CÉROM grain research centre, looks to assess the cost-effectiveness of nitrogen fertilizer applications improved by the addition of urea, for use with winter wheat crops grown in Québec.

Researcher: Luc Belzile

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2019-2022 • Market gardening

Improving potato crop water-use efficiency by developing a deeper understanding of cultivars

The selection of a cultivar should be an essential element in any sound irrigation management strategy. This project aims to optimize water use in potato farming.

Researcher: Carl Boivin

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Carl Boivin
2019-2022 • Market gardening

Improving potato crop water-use efficiency through cropping system modifications

Modifying the cropping system design is an effective way to improve potato crop water-use efficiency and, thereby, lessen the risk of crops experiencing water stress.

Researchers: Carl Boivin Luc Belzile

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Carl Boivin
2019

Protecting the Rivière-Ouelle watershed

Steps are being taken throughout the watershed to preserve Rivière-Ouelle's water quality.

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Aubert Michaud, retraité
2019-2022 • Market gardening

Developing mass trapping strategies to control the striped cucumber beetle in organic cucurbit farming

This project aims to develop mass trapping strategies to keep damage caused by the striped cucumber beetle populations below the economic threshold, while minimizing the capture of pollinators and natural enemies.

Researchers: Annabelle Firlej Maxime Lefebvre

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Annabelle Firlej
Maxime Lefebvre
2019-2021 • Fruit production

Assessing the effectiveness of HARVANTA (cyclaniliprole) in controlling major cranberry pests

This project’s aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of HARVANTA® 50SL to control the cranberry weevil, the blackheaded fireworm and the cranberry fruitworm.

Researcher: Annabelle Firlej

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Annabelle Firlej
2019-2021 • Field crops

Analyzing the cost-effectiveness of adopting integrated pest control management for field and horticulture crops.

Collaboration for a cost-effectiveness analysis to identify the most promising practices and strategies to reduce the use of pesticide.

Researcher: Luc Belzile

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The solutions developed by IRDA aim to...

Ensure the sustainability

and quality of soil, water, and air

Protect the health and well-being

of local communities by improving the quality of crop and livestock production, with an emphasis on animal welfare

Safeguard the economic viability

of crop and livestock production

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