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The decision often starts with the herbicide-tolerance system, then moves on to disease resistance, maturity and harvest traits. With a short list based on these needs, the compare hybrids based on yield potential for the area…
Plant establishment other
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Give your future seedbed a good start by managing residue this fall. The combine is a key part of this process… -
The percentage of canola seeds that emerge to form plants is typically in the range of 50 to 60 per cent. The goal is to move the Western Canadian average closer to 75 per cent, and give more seeds a chance to contribute to the crop’s profitability… -
Recent wet and dry cycles have increased topsoil salinity in many parts of the Prairies over the past few years. “Salinity is not a salt problem, it’s a water problem,” says Marla Riekman, soil management specialist with Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development. “Wet years bring the water table closer to the roots, and salinity wicks up to the soil surface.”… -
Farmers can count on 20-50% of the moisture from snow-melt to enter the soil. This variability depends a lot on surface soil moisture conditions. A North Dakota study (Willis and Haas) concluded that 50% of snow-melt moisture runs off or evaporates when surface soils (top 30-40 cm) are dry and up to 80% runs off when surface soils are wet… -
In one case this year, a grower seeded 2.2-gram thousand seed weight (TSW) canola seed at 5 lb./ac. With very good seed survival due to warm, moist soils, the crop now has 20 plants per square foot. Is the intense competition between these crowded plants likely to result in lower yields?…
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One plant count after emergence may not be enough to tell you about seed survival and whether the seeding rate and seeding tool did the job it was supposed to do. Seedling diseases, flea beetles, frost and other factors can influence seed survival, and unless scouting and counts are done repeatedly through the first few weeks after seeding, these influences… -
Rain after seeding can often cause top soil to crust, stopping the emergence of canola seedlings. Canola seedlings can’t penetrate the crust, and often curl back and die. No research has been conducted to show the best ways to break up crusting and free the crop. If a few plants have emerged, it may be best to leave them be…
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About a week after seeding, growers and agronomists can start to evaluate stands to make sure they’re emerging as expected. Look throughout the field for issues that could be related to drill performance, frost, excess moisture, insects or disease…
