Another Cinderella story may soon unfold in Canada’s crop industry.
Canamaize, a short variety of corn, is being billed as a hardy crop with strong feed potential and a growing season of 95 to 100 days.
The new corn variety will be seeded on 10,000 acres of prairie farmland this year. The company promoting the crop expects that acreage to increase 10-fold in 2000.
“I am really excited about this,” said Bill Cole, sales and marketing manager for CanaMaize Seed Inc. of Minto, Man.
“I call it the second Cinderella crop. I think that’s really what we’re talking about here.”
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The crop opens a new avenue for prairie farmers wanting to grow corn as a livestock feed. Due to the number of heat units needed to mature Canamaize, the short season corn appears suitable for much of the southern Prairies.
Canamaize requires 2,000 corn heat units to mature. That compares favorably with normal corn varieties which require at least 2,300 units for grain production and 2,100 units for silage.
A stress gene was bred into the short-season corn, allowing it to continue development in cooler temperatures. The plant does not stop growing until temperatures fall to 8 C or less, said Cole.
“That’s the biggest thing about it. It continues to grow when the other corn stops dead.”
Canamaize is resistant to fusarium, Cole said. He views it as a crop that can be slotted into a field rotation the same as cereal grains.
In terms of feed quality, the crop is being measured against barley. Cole said Canamaize is high in food protein and scores higher than feed barley in total digestible nutrients.
“I see this as a terrific feed for cattle or hogs or chickens.”
Grown on well drained soil, Canamaize has shown yields similar to barley. Average yields range from 65 to 75 bushels per acre.
Expected gross returns are about $100 per acre greater than feed barley, Cole said.
Farmers wanting to grow Canamaize do not have to invest in specialized equipment. The crop can be seeded with an air seeder, a hoe drill or a press drill. A conventional discer is not recommended.
The mature height of Canamaize varies from one to 1.5 metres. It can be harvested with a straight cut header, or swathed and then combined with a pickup header.
“You don’t need to have corn equipment, so there’s a big advantage in that,” said Dave Sippell, a director of CanaMaize Seed Inc.
Buctril M tank-mixed with a spray adjutant and Accent by Dupont are recommended for weed control. Buctril M controls broadleaf weeds, while Accent will combat grassy weeds along with volunteer wheat and barley, Cole said.
Canamaize resulted from decades of research into corn varieties suited for Canadian farmland. Drought tolerance and an ability to mature in a short growing season were among the traits sought through a program started by Agriculture Canada.
Two of the scientists at the forefront of that research were Mac MacDonald and Bob Hamilton, former researchers with Agriculture Canada. Although both are now retired, they receive much of the credit for building the genetic framework needed for Canamaize.
MacDonald and Hamilton will share in the excitement of watching the crop sprout across the Prairies this spring. Hamilton said time will tell whether Canamaize translates into a Cinderella story the way canola did.
“It’s got the potential,” he said. “We need a few more seasons under our belt, but then we’ll know.”
