Small problems in canola production could have big financial consequences next fall, says an agronomist with the Canola Council of Canada.
“Five bushels of canola not harvested? That’s what, $65 to $75 (per acre)? You tell me,” Doug Moisey asked producers attending the Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission meetings held during the recent Crop Production Week in Saskatoon.
“While producers are often anxious to find someone or something to blame that didn’t come from their practices or from their equipment, the fact is that in most cases the answer is usually staring back at them from the mirror when they’re shaving.”
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.
He said growers should start by creating a good home for their canola seed and planting the right seed.
In an ideal world they would also reduce their seeding speed, but he acknowledged that isn’t always realistic.
“Nobody runs (their seeding unit) though the field at three miles (per) hour,” he said.
“It might be the right thing to do, but with average acres where they are on modern prairie farms, there just isn’t the time. But you know it isn’t ideal to run at five or six (mph). So what do you do?”
One answer is to increase seeding rates.
Higher speeds often leave the tiny canola seeds too deep and subject to disease from damp, cold soil conditions, while those left on the surface could result in young seedlings being damaged by heat, drought or frost.
More seed in the right place will ensure a good crop stand, which is critical to higher yields and good canopies for weed control and moisture retention.
Moisey said proper straw management that avoids uneven soil temperatures in the previous year’s windrow areas also makes a difference.
Producers should ensure that straw choppers are in good condition and that the straw is spread at a width that mimics the combine header’s cut or at least avoids a build up of straw and chaff in narrow bands.
Bob Elliot of Agriculture Canada said producers also need to take advantage of early season growing conditions. Soil temperature is key.
“We’ve found that if soil conditions were too cold it would impair seedling establishment,” he said.
Five years of Agriculture Canada research in Saskatoon have shown that seeding too early results in a six percent reduction in seedling fresh shoot weights in open pollinated canola crops and seven percent in hybrids.
The reduction in shoot weights is linked to impaired plant establishment, which in turn is linked to reduced yields.
Moisey said producers who want to seed early should ensure they have the best seed available.
“High 1,000 seed weights are critical. The higher the better when it comes to vigour.”
Elliot said Agriculture Canada and University of Saskatchewan research agrees.
“It is about seedling vigour. Growers need to know this to make decisions about early seeding dates. Always using No. 1, certified seed with high vigour pays off in yield,” he said.
Agriculture Canada research has found that using seed with higher vigour can improve yield by an average of 19 bushels per acre in zero till systems.
It is believed that cooler soil conditions in zero tillage systems are the cause of this difference.
“For a minimum till system the effect was six bu. per acre. For a conventional tillage system it was 10 bu. per acre. But for that zero till soil it was a whopping 19 bu. per acre by selecting high vigour seed lot.”
Canola seed that had low conductivity test results worked best in zero-till seeding systems. Seed conductivity tests measure the amount of electrolytes that leach out through the seed coat and reflect the seed’s stability.
In open pollinated systems, those with high seed weights were better adapted. In open pollinated seed lots those that weighed more than 2.8 grams per 1,000 seeds rated best.
For hybrid crop production, the highest fresh shoot weights were found to come from seed with a 1,000 seed weight of 4.5 grams or more.
“We saw the highest (fresh) shoot weights from those (1,000) seed lots that weighed more than five grams … and from hybrid (seed) with vigour indexes of 4.5 to five and in open pollinated seed those above 3.5,” he said.
Ideal plant stands of seven to 14 plants per sq. foot require soil temperatures that will allow rapid, even plant emergence.
“An optimal minimum, daily average soil temperature for maximum yields is in that eight to 10 C range,” Elliot said.
Crops seeded into soil cooler than 6 C suffer from emergence problems, Moisey added.
“The more risks you take with planting early, or speed or small seed size, the more pounds of seed you will need to plant to ensure you grow the biggest crop you can and take advantage of that expensive fertility package you have put in the ground to support the crop.”
