Good soil moisture may encourage some growers to increase planned nutrient rates to capture an increase in yield potential. However, before increasing fertilizer rates, you may want to make sure you can get timely delivery of that extra fertilizer. Talk to your supplier. You don’t want to run out of fertilizer and still have 15% of the crop to seed…
Nitrogen
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The 4 Rs, as described by the Canadian Fertilizer Institute and other crop nutrition organizations, are the right fertilizer source at the right rate, at the right time and in the right place. The 4 Rs will help you make the most of your fertilizer investment. Here are the three basics of canola crop nutrition…
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The ideal time for a sulphur top up is any time before flowering, but a top up at early flowering may pay off if plants are showing signs of sulphur deficiency. The ideal time for a nitrogen top up is before the 5-leaf stage of canola, but AAFC research out of Indian Head, Saskatchewan, shows that nitrogen top dress as…
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Growers who used elemental sulphur as their only sulphur source may see deficiencies in this year’s crop. Elemental sulphur will not be available when the crop needs it. In following the 4-Rs of fertilizer, elemental sulphur applied at seeding is not the “right source” or the “right time.” Sulphur deficiency symptoms (see the photos) that appear at the bud to…
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Click here for more information on products, rates and timing for best results from a fertilizer top-dress. This article has just been updated. If you’re on the fence about a top-dress application, consider applying a rate high enough to make a difference — such as 30 pounds of nitrogen or 20 pound of sulphur — to part of a field…
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When fields are sulphur deficient, canola that receives only nitrogen fertilizer (front left in photo) can yield less than canola that receives no fertilizer at all (right in photo). Canola plants need sulphur to produce three key amino acids: methionine, cysteine and cystine. Without the S to build these amino acids, N creates toxic amides in the plant that greatly…
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Safe rates of seed placed fertilizer depend on seedbed moisture conditions, soil type, row-width utilization, and nitrogen source. For example, the safe rate of seed-placed nitrogen is only 10 pounds of actual nitrogen per acre when using a 1” knife on 9” spacing and seeding into moist, medium soils…