Artificial intelligence - Development of a decision support system to optimize alfalfa yield and nutritional value in relation to soil health

Description

The development of a decision support tool is necessary for producers to recognize the conditions that impact growth, yield and nutritional quality of alfalfa, but also to evaluate the anticipated gains after correction of problems. This project aims to develop this digital tool to improve alfalfa production. To do so, artificial intelligence, the expertise of researchers and the participation of 20 advisors specialized in forage production and 80 producers from Quebec and the Maritime provinces will be combined. The application will be easy to use. It will allow the valorization of data on the nutritional value of forages obtained on the farm (by near infrared analysis), the current analysis of soils, the evaluation of the health of a soil profile in the field and finally, the prediction of the nutritional quality and the yield of alfalfa.

Objective(s)

This project aims to develop a digital decision support tool to improve the nutritional quality and yeld of alfalfa from analyses of the nutritional quality of forages, based on its relationship with soil fertility and health, while including the other pedoclimatic parameters that define alfalfa production conditions.