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| Jadin and I heading back to the truck after a long day of work. |
Happy field season! I’m back for another summer at the Beaverlodge Research Farm! This year I’m starting a Master of Science degree through the University of Alberta. My project will examine the monitoring tools used to forecast wheat midge emergence timing and populations. I’ll be collecting data in commercial fields throughout Peace River region.
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| Emily and Celine collect soil cores amid the weeds and stubble. |
Last week, I collected my first samples of the field season with help from Jadin, Celine and Emily. We collected soil core samples from field sites that were planted with wheat last year. The soil core samples are now being reared out back at the lab. Wheat midge overwinter in the soil then pupate and emerge as adults. In 3-4 weeks, wheat midge adults will emerge from the soil cores and I will be calculating how many wheat midge survived the winter.
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| An adult wheat midge by Gilles San Martin via Wikimedia commons [CC BY-SA 3.0] |
I’ve been busy this week phoning producer co-operators and preparing field sites. This is a job that we students don’t normally get to do, so I’m excited to take on more responsibility and learn new skills.
- Amanda