Canola Watch quiz – Seed theme

1. Days to maturity (DTM) for canola varieties can vary a lot by location. Looking at results for the 27 canola varieties included in Canola Performance Trial for 2018, the average DTM in Manitoba ranged from 83.9 for the fastest-maturing variety to 88.9 for the longest-maturing variety. The range for all trial sites in Saskatchewan was 88.0 days for the shortest-maturing variety to 92.2 for the longest-maturing variety. Can you guess the range for Alberta sites?

2. Canadian canola growers are encouraged to grow clubroot-resistant (CR) canola varieties. There is a list of available CR varieties at clubroot.ca. As of today (October 2, 2019), how many varieties are on that list (rounded to the nearest 10)?

3. If you had a little too much blackleg infection in canola this year, the dominant races of L. maculans in the field may be overcoming the current choice of blackleg resistance deployed. Labs can test infected stubble pieces to see what races are present, and growers can use this information to choose varieties with a major genes that aligns with (and provides resistance against) the most common races identified in those samples. In addition to effective genetic resistance, what is the other highly effective management practice for blackleg?

4. If a canola field has a consistent count of five or more plants per square foot at harvest, the crop probably had enough plants to meet its yield potential. If yields are lower, other factors (and there are many, as we know) will be the cause(s) and plant population can be ruled out. We recommend harvest counts as a report card on the year, and it can be helpful to compare harvest counts to spring counts to see what might have happened over the growing season. Some plant loss is normal and expected. What is considered 'normal' plant loss over the season?