Wild mustard in canola
The presence of wild mustard in canola crops is more than an annoyance. It can mean serious economic problems for canola growers.
There are two main problems with the presence of wild mustard in canola, says Ken Kirkland, with the Agriculture Canada Experimental Farm at Scott, Sask.
“First, it’s quite competitive, so it can reduce yield. And second, there’s the contamination aspect,” says Kirkland. “If it’s over a certain percentage, they can actually reject your sample at the elevator.”
Read Also
VIDEO: Green Lightning and Nytro Ag win sustainability innovation award
Nytro Ag Corp and Green Lightning recieved an innovation award at Ag in Motion 2025 for the Green Lightning Nitrogen Machine, which converts atmospheric nitrogen into a plant-usable form.
Wild mustard seed is similar in size and shape to canola seed and is impossible to separate by conventional methods. Wild mustard densities as low as 20 plants per sq. metre in canola may result in wild mustard seeds being over five percent of the harvested seed.
According to Phil Thomas, oilseeds specialist with Alberta Agriculture at Lacombe, the maximum tolerance of wild mustard in any grade of canola is five percent. With more than that the canola is graded sample reject. With more than 50 percent wild mustard the canola is graded refuse screenings.
“Wild mustard in canola is hard to detect visually, but can be detected by magnification,” said Thomas. Wild mustard seeds appear smooth and shiny or waxy, while canola seeds have visible seed ridges.
Unfortunately, once wild mustard is in an area, the probability of it moving to neighboring fields is high. And since research shows as few as three wild mustard plants per sq. metre will reduce canola yields from 10 to 14 percent, control is imperative.
“If wild mustard is present in a previous crop, such as a cereal crop, that’s the time to really be getting it in check so that you’re not dealing with huge amounts of it in canola,” said Kirkland. “But if it’s missed, then it’s important to treat it early in the canola crop.
“You have to get out there and be able to identify wild mustard,” said Kirkland. “If you don’t know the plant, you may think there’s nothing wrong from a roadside survey.”
Wild mustard is a much hairier plant than canola. As it matures, there is a purple coloring down the stem and in close to where the leaf stems attach to the main stem.
– DuPont Canada
New navy bean
Agriculture Canada’s Lethbridge Research Centre has released AC Skipper, an early-maturing navy bean with good canning attributes. Western Canadian bean growers should now be able to consistently access the canning quality market by growing this new cultivar.
The production of navy beans has been limited by a short growing season that does not allow existing cultivars to reach full maturity in most years, which results in incomplete seed development.
Beans that are not fully developed will form a clump in a can of processed pork and beans. Processors reject shipments of beans that mat because they produce a poor quality final product. AC Skipper has proven to be consistently superior to other test lines and the standard cultivar, OAC Seaforth, in canning trials.
This new cultivar has a bushy growth habit making it suitable for both wide and narrow-row production systems. In narrow rows, yields are often higher and direct combining is possible.
With narrow rows, controlling weeds through tillage is not possible.
The Lethbridge research centre is studying alternatives for tillage, such as higher seeding rates, to increase crop competition in conjunction with reduced herbicide rates.
The large white seeds of AC Skipper are also suited for marketing in clear plastic bags or in bulk for home and institutional use.
This provides an additional marketing opportunity for a bean that has traditionally been used solely for processing as pork and beans.
Seed supply will allow for limited commercial production in 1996.
– Agriculture Canada
