LETHBRIDGE – The sins of the fall will be felt by the seedlings of spring.
Tough harvest conditions in many parts of the Prairies last fall are creating challenges for producers this spring, say seed labs and seed growers.
Bob Mastin of Mastin Seeds in Sundre, Alta., said producers should treat their seed this year.
“You’ve got so much on the line this season. Not only the high cost of inputs going in the ground, but the opportunity to make some money on grain this year,” he said.
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High commodity prices combined with soaring input costs are causing North American producers to bury more money in the ground this spring than in previous years.
Sales of seed and fertilizer are strong, say dealers such as Kevin Blair of Blair’s Fertilizer in Lanigan, Sask.
“The price of everything is up. Nitrogen, phosphate, spray, seed, it’s all way up. But the potential returns are there if producers can get that crop in the bin this year,” he said.
Karen Foster of 20/20 Seed Labs in Nisku, Alta., told producers attending a seeding seminar in Lethbridge last week that she is seeing higher levels of common root rot.
“We get a lot of Alberta seed coming in with root rot due to a wet harvest. The germination is 95 percent or better, but if you don’t treat for the diseases present on the seed, you aren’t going to get that germination resulting in plants you harvest later on,” she said.
Kevin Zaychuk of 20/20 said many grain growers still don’t ask their labs to test for anything more than germination.
He told producers attending the air drill workshop, hosted by the Canola Council of Canada and Alberta Reduced Tillage Linkages, that testing seed for disease and other issues gives a truer picture.
“I think you’d want to know what your actual seeding rate should be,” he said.
“Vigour tests that replicate actual growing conditions with cold soil and air temperatures will tell you whether that 98 percent germination is actually leaving you with 50 percent (of the plants viable) two weeks after seeding. If that is the case, then you can adjust accordingly,” he said.
Vigour tests are performed under less than ideal conditions at about 5 C. Germination tests are done at 20 C. The two can yield vastly different results.
Matt Stanford of the Canola Council of Canada said the risk of seedling loss due to disease is especially high this year due to poor harvest conditions last fall and warm winter temperatures.
“We’ve finally had a cold spell or two, but this winter’s above average temperatures may have conspired with damp conditions during combining to have left the 2008 seed vulnerable to storage problems,” he said.
“A seed test last fall may not be valid this spring. You want to check it all again as we get closer to seeding, just to be sure,” Stanford said.
The wet fall also has generated ascochyta in pea seed, said 20/20 staff.
