Canola seedlings can’t be vigourous if they are into the booze.
That’s what Ag Canada researchers suspect after tests for seedling vigour in Brandon revealed unusually high levels of ethanol in seedlings that had germination problems.
Researchers stumbled onto the correlation between vigour and elevated ethyl alcohol while looking for another indicator of poor seedling vigour. “We just tripped over it while looking at pentane levels,” said Wayne Buckley of
Agriculture Canada.
“We saw an unusual spike in a (nearby) compound and when we got curious and figured out what it was it turned out to be the ethanol.”
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The scientists are now doing more tests to determine the effect alcohol can have on a young plant’s physical development.
Canola vigour has always been hard to predict and existing tests are not reliable. Seed stock vigour is highly variable from field to field and within varieties.
Vigour problems are often unidentified until the seed is growing in the field and it is too late to do anything about it.
Canola, like many small-seeded crops, is hard to establish and needs every advantage against weeds, pests and disease until the plants grow large enough to form a canopy.
The research, conducted at the Brandon Agriculture Canada Research Centre, is examining all of the factors related to seedling vigour.
Researchers say when germination occurs, the plant converts sugars in seed to usable energy.
The seed obtains its energy in part from the anaerobic fermentation of sugar.
But healthy seeds also produce a lot of their initial sprouting energy through a process called oxidative respiration. Oxidative respiration involves the absorption of oxygen and the conversion of sugars to energy, rather than fermentation.
Seeds that have germination problems seem to produce more of their energy through fermentation, resulting in more alcohol.
Although the study is in its early stages, the amount of alcohol is easy to measure using some of the same technology used in early roadside breathalyzers.
Scientists are developing a simple test that farmers can use to detect the larger amounts of alcohol present in less vigourous seeds.
The test uses an alcohol-sensitive coating, similar to the coating that was used on the inside of the breathalyzer.
Farmers fill a cup with seed, add a prescribed amount of water and seal the container.
As the seed begins to convert the sugars, the alcohol produced will change the colour of the alcohol-sensitive strip to indicate whether the sample has poor seedling vigour.
In 24 hours the results are known.
The alcohol test could be done after harvest to determine whether seed should be saved for next spring’s sowing.
The test can be repeated in spring, before and after seed treating, to ensure high survivability and good potential yields.
Scientists hope to make the testing system available within two years and keep the price within the reach of growers.
Agriculture Canada researchers in Brandon and Saskatoon are also looking at other factors that may contribute to seedling vigour. They are examining seed maturity, chlorophyll content, seed size and the presence of seed-borne disease.
Buckley is looking for assistance from farmers to fine-tune the canola vigour test.
The project needs to test more canola seed for viability and researchers are asking producers to send in a few pounds of their leftover canola seed, treated or untreated, along with any other information they have about the seed, such as year grown and the variety, to the lab in Brandon.
“We are very confident in the system but we need to test a wider selection of seed so we are asking farmers for their help,” said Buckley.
For more information call 204-726-7650.
