Representatives of the Foundation for Agrarian Innovation (FIA) Maule, launched two field days with INDAP Maule, where researchers from the University of Chile worked with technical advisors and farmers in the riverside areas of the Mataquito.
Among the effects caused by the floods of June and August 2023 is damage to crops, plantations and agricultural soils. The floods caused loss of soil, transport of material such as stones and sand, and changes in the soil structure.. These new conditions change the uniformity of the soil and prevent crops from developing properly.
To help solve this difficulty, the Foundation for Agrarian Innovation (FIA) carried out a transfer program with a consultancy of experts so that technical advisors and small farmers from 5 communes of the Mataquito basin received guidance, first theoretically and then practically, in the field, with soil analysis in fields.
“We analyzed together with the production chain that there was very little information on post-flood management and we adapted a transfer instrument to a consultancy where we took a team of 3 experts from the University of Chile to the field, to Villa Prat, Palquibudi, Hualañé, Licantén and Curepto. There, these advisors carried out different test pits on the land where they saw how this soil was structured, how it was left, and in addition, different recommendations were given for the management of these soils and the crops in each case.”, explained Robert Giovanetti, FIA regional representative in Maule.
“Here we work between FIA and INDAP, with the farmers’ technical advisors to be able to give them guidance on the ground. It’s going to be a somewhat complicated season, but the farmer stops again and again and the good thing is that with tools like these we make it easier for him to continue with his crops and manage to get his production out,” indicated the Seremi of Agriculture, Ana Muñoz, in Palquibudi, in the first activity that also had the presence of the mayor of Rauco, Enrique Olivares, and the area manager of INDAP Curicó, Roberto Barra.
Pits
The test pit is an excavation carried out in the ground to examine the terrain and assess its conditions and suitability for the crops to be planted. In this field exercise, work was carried out in farmers' fields with different situations: bare soil, corn and cherry trees. With the excavation, at a depth of about two metres, the experts from the University of Chile showed the participants the different layers of sediment left by the river, the effects this has from a production point of view and the solutions that can be applied to recover the pre-flood situation.
María Hernández, a farmer from the Paraguay sector in Curepto, participated in the talks with the specialists: “A test pit was dug and through it the specialists explained to us the different types of sediments left by the Mataquito River with the floods this year and we were also given guidelines on how to make improvements with respect to these sediments that were left in our fields, in order to have a rehabilitation and be able to return to farming as we did before.«.
“It was a very practical and dynamic talk, where we interacted with the specialists in very simple language, and we were able to learn a lot to improve our fields. I am grateful to FIA and to all those who in one way or another made this possible because for farmers it is very important to have help to improve soils after floods,” said the farmer.
Experts
The FIA training was aimed at groups of small producers and ranchers in the affected areas, as well as professionals and extension workers who support and advise them, and focused on reviewing the different techniques required for productive soil rehabilitation at the farm level.
Among the measures -although it depends on the case- it was indicated to evaluate the soil conditions in order to develop the most pertinent tillage according to the crop. If necessary, organic matter should be incorporated, the clearing of stones and removal of deposited material, among other recommendations.
The team was composed of agricultural engineers, academics from the Department of Engineering and Soils of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences of the University of Chile: Dr. Oscar Seguel, specialist in soil physics and Dr. Julio Haberland, director of the Water Study Group (GEA) of the same university; in addition to José Luis Henríquez, agricultural engineer, M.Sc. PhD, professor of the Department of Plant Health of the same Faculty.
