Canola producers may finally have protection against shattering and green seed.
“Moisture migration is what causes shattering,” says Rene Mabon, product manager for Brett Young in Winnipeg.
“What if we could encapsulate each canola pod with a thin polymer coating to prevent moisture migration? Might that allow the pod to stay on the plant until all pods in the field were fully ripe, so they all achieve optimum quality, maximum yield and highest oil content?”
That’s what a new product called Pod Ceal is intended to do.
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The product can be applied aerially or with a high-clearance sprayer.
If the poly coating is applied to a standing crop, it can reduce shattering during straight cut operations.
It also works on crops that will be swathed.
In field tests on swathed canola fields, the untreated crop averaged 38.2 bushels per acre while the Pod Ceal crop averaged 44.1 bu., according to research conducted by Brett Young.
In field tests on straight cut canola fields, the untreated crop averaged 43.3 bu. per acre while crops with aerially applied Pod Ceal averaged 50.4 bu. per acre.
The poly is chemically compatible with the natural wax, so it remains as flexible as the pod. If the pod is bumped or changes shape, the poly coating conforms to the new shape.
“If there should be some pod fattening after Pod Ceal application, the polymer stretches with the pod surface,” Mabon said.
“But the timing for application is the same as for swathing, so you’re not going to see too much expansion or contraction. Application should be at 30 percent to 60 percent seed colour change on the main stem. That’s the correct window.”
He said in North Dakota, where Pod Ceal was applied to more than 70,000 acres last year, some growers were in too much of a hurry when applying and results were not up to expectations.
“In the five years I’ve been working with North Dakota growers, I’ve looked at a lot of canola fields, and I can honestly say I have yet to see green seed in (poly coated) direct cut canola,” said Leonard Bornemann, Brett Young’s sales agent in the United States.
“The yield difference generally ranges from 70 pounds of seed per acre to more than 200 lb. per acre. But you have to understand that’s not a yield increase. All the coating does is protect the yield you’ve already grown. So without the coating, you could lose that 200 lb. of seed per acre.”
Most North Dakota growers used aerial application, which Mabon said is better for reducing crop loss, but he doesn’t rule out a high clearance sprayer if the tracks are already present from other field spraying operations.
Although some North Dakota growers originally applied Pod Ceal along with desiccant, they now think desiccants may not be necessary.
“Many of them found that they can use Pod Ceal instead of desiccant, and that makes sense,” Mabon says.
“With the polymer coat, the plants continue to mature and fill out at their own rate, and oil content continues to increase. When you use a desiccant, you terminate the whole crop before all the plants have a chance to reach their true potential.”
He said desiccation creates a uniformly ripe stand in each field, but many of those uniformly ripe plants haven’t peaked, and they’re severed while they still have profit potential.
Mabon said some buyers now pay for oil content so a grower can pick up an extra financial benefit by letting the canola plants live until they’re fully developed and filled out.
Mabon said farmers have become accustomed to low water volumes when applying chemicals, but that won’t work with Pod Ceal. Ground application requires 20 gallons per acre, and aerial application requires five gallons per acre.
A case of Pod Ceal, which was registered in Canada this year, costs $392 and contains two 10 litre jugs, enough for 40 acres.
The treatment is manufactured and sold worldwide by Miller Chemical. In Europe, approximately half of all canola receives the treatment.
In Canada the product is sold exclusively through Brett Young. Because this is the first year of sales, a limited quantity will be available.
“We see this as just another management tool to help guys do direct harvesting in canola,” Mabon said.
“It’s not the silver bullet to stop all shattering. Shattering can still happen, but not to the same extent.”
For more information, contact Mabon at 204-478-2240 or visit www.brettyoung.ca.