A broad range of canola industry players have decided to seek a solution to disappointing seed vigor.
More than 70 representatives of seed companies, seed laboratories, grower groups and research institutions met in Saskatoon Jan. 16 to plan what to do about an apparently growing problem with seed that germinates, but does not develop into a viable crop.
“This year we’ve had a problem with certain varieties across Western Canada and almost every variety, to a certain extent, in some locations,” said Bruce Dalgarno, a Newdale, Man., farmer and president of the Canadian Canola Growers Association. “We heard growers complaining about poor emergence or a poor canopy developing, so they are looking for reasons why.”
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In the past, vigor was less of an issue, he said.
Ten years ago, seed cost 50 cents a bushel. Now it costs 10 times that much and farmers’ expectations of seed performance have grown in step. Also, farmers once seeded canola into well worked summerfallow fields, but today much more is directly seeded into stubble or trash cover, a less welcoming environment of cool soil, pathogens and weeds.
Tony Zatylny, vice-president of the Canola Council of Canada, which organized the meeting, said the session made it clear there are no quick and simple solutions.
“It really went right across the board. Harvest management (by the seed grower) including the time of swathing and combining and the environmental factors in the fall. How seed is stored, cleaned and processed. When and how seed is treated and coats are applied. And there are genetics,” he said.
“And when the farmer buys it, how he treats it and prepares his seedbed and his expectation of how it will do in a wide range of environmental conditions.”
A steering committee was set up to decide the priorities and some work will begin this winter.
One frustration among growers is that there are vigor tests that show the performance of seed when under various types of stress. But the test protocol varies from seed lab to seed lab and results are not necessarily repeatable.
Seed producers and labs agreed that samples of seed from the same lot will be sent to several labs for vigor tests so the results can be compared to determine how the tests can be standardized.
Also, there will be an effort to grow the tested seed to see if results in the field match the lab results.
Agriculture Canada’s Saskatoon research centre has volunteered to begin a three-year project to investigate a range of seed vigor issues.
Dalgarno added it became clear at the meeting that common germination tests provide more than just the percentage of seed that sprouts. More farmers should be made aware this data is available.
Zatylny said there might be a job for extension agrologists to emphasize to growers the importance of soil-to-seed contact and the danger of seeding too deep.
