Straight-combining canola can make growers money, but shattering makes
the practice risky.
That’s why shatter prevention should be a breeding goal, says Derwyn
Hammon, an agronomist with the Canola Council of Canada
“Shattering tolerance could bring significant benefits to the
industry,” Hammond told the Manitoba Canola Growers Association at
Manitoba Ag Days.
“If we could take out shatter, we could avoid a lot of other problems.”
Producers should be aware of the risks of straight combining canola. Up
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to 50 percent of a crop can be lost through shattering.
In perfect harvesting conditions, straight cutting canola can produce
bigger yields with fewer green seeds and a higher oil content.
Researchers believe the standing crop has more time to pump energy into
the seed pods. The longer the pod fills, the more oil each seed
produces.
“That’s really valuable to the crusher and the exporter,” said JoAnne
Buth, the canola council’s crop production manager.
Canola’s value is mainly made up of its oil. The meal is less valuable.
With more time to mature in the stand, the crop is also less likely to
have green seed problems.
That result was evident in one canola council test plot in Dauphin last
summer. Straight cut canola yielded 34.6 bushels to the acre and had a
contribution margin of $66.95 per acre. That compared to a swathed
canola crop that yielded 30.1 bu. per acre and had a contribution
margin of $34.50 per acre. The contribution margin for the straight-cut
crop included a $2 per acre saving for reduced machinery use.
The contribution margin is the value of production minus variable costs.
The swathed crop also had 0.5 percent green seed, which was absent in
the straight-cut crop.But these results may not be easy to reproduce,
said the council in its report.
“This was probably due to conditions that were not conducive to
shattering,” said the report. Wind, hail and harvesting can all cause
pods to shatter.
Hot, dry weather after swathing can also cause seeds to shrivel in the
swathed crops.
At a test plot in Grenfell, Sask., the straight-cut crop yielded less
than the swathed crop. The swathed crop yielded 33 bu. per acre with an
$83.59 per acre contribution margin, compared to 31.4 bu. per acre and
a $74.87 contribution margin in the straight-cut crop.
This risk explains why many producers are leery about straight cutting
canola.
Hammond said a farmer want-
ing to try straight cutting should be careful to select the right
field. A thin, light field has a higher risk of pod shatter than a
lush, lodged field.
“The trials where straight combining has been most successful indicate
that lodged crops make the best candidate for straight combining,” says
the canola council report.
Lodged crops tend to move less in the wind.
The decision to swath or straight-cut can be made at swathing time,
based on the condition of the crop and the producer’s risk tolerance.
“There are instances where it can work quite well,” said Hammond.
Some producers are experimenting with pushers that artificially lodge
canola before combining.
Buth said research suggests it is possible to produce canola varieties
that don’t easily shatter, but whether any will be developed isn’t
clear.
