Saskatchewan’s pedigreed seed growers followed a difficult and disease-filled 2012 by harvesting an exceptional seed crop last year.
Saskatchewan Seed Growers Association president Laurie Wakefield says certified seed for most crops and varieties should be in plentiful supply in 2014.
“This year, with the exception of one or two very isolated areas and one or two crop kinds in those areas, germination was excellent and quality was excellent, “ said Wakefield, a seed grower from Maidstone.
“This would be an excellent year for producers to access excellent quality seed because there is seed of most varieties in sufficient quantities to meet (demand).”
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He said the quantity and quality of this year’s pedigreed seed crop was above average.
High yields, above average quality and a reduction in disease related losses resulted in ample inventories across the province.
“Clean-out losses are down from the past two or three years and primarily, that was due to the high quality of the crop and fewer disease issues,” he said.
Wakefield said some products, most notably reconstituted flax seed varieties, could run short in some areas. However, there might be enough to meet demand if supplies are moved from one area to another.
“There are good supplies in some areas,” he said.
“It just needs to get moved around a bit so if a producer can’t find it right around home, he might need to widen his circle a bit. But as far as quality goes, there is good quality (flax) seed available, at least at this time.”
Bruce Carriere, owner of Discovery Seed Labs in Saskatoon, said the pedigreed seed samples arriving at his lab show excellent germination levels.
“The germs coming off this year are quite a bit higher than last year, and the disease levels in some crop districts are down 10-fold over what they were in 2012,” Carriere said.
“Last year was a complete disaster. This year, we were back to more of a normal harvest. Everything came off in good condition and disease levels were quite a bit down.
Fusarium graminearum, which had a significant impact on pedigreed seed production in 2012, was still evident in most areas, but its impact on yield and seed quality was significantly lower.
Lower fusarium losses were the result of improved environmental conditions and increased fungicide use by seed growers, he said.
David Gehl, head of Agriculture Canada’s seed increase unit at Indian Head, Sask., said seed production at Indian Head was vastly improved over 2012.
“We had a good year … as a lot of producers did in 2013,” Gehl said.
“I anticipate that we will have ample quantities of high quality breeder seed of our newer varieties for distribution this spring.”
