Category: Canola Seeding

Wet conditions prevented normal fall fertilizer application in parts of Western Canada last fall, leaving growers looking at options for delivering nitrogen to this year’s crop.As Don Flaten, soil scientist at the University of Manitoba, explains in this episode of Canola School, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Growers will have to consider their limiting factors and… Read More

Canola seed in Canada could soon come with a label describing the variety’s blackleg disease resistance package, similar to the labeling system used in Australia.After around four years of discussions between seed companies, researchers, and growers, an agreement-in-principle has been reached on blackleg resistance labeling, says Clint Jurke, agronomy director with the Canola Council of Canada, in… Read More

Update: The Canola Council of Canada has developed online calculators to determine your target plant density based on your individual field conditions, abilities and appetite for risk, as well as optimum seeding rate. You can find them at CanolaCalculator.ca.While the official industry recommendation for an optimal canola plant stand remains 7 to 10 plants per square foot,… Read More

If the world of soil biology had its own version of Facebook, crops like peas, lentils, corn and flax would be listed as “in a symbiotic relationship” with mycorrhizal fungi. The microscopic organisms help these crops access phosphorus in the soil. Wheat would probably be friends with mycorrhiza, as cereals see some benefit from having… Read More

To some growers, it’s an old idea; to others, it’s completely new. The concept of peola — intercropping peas and canola  — has been around in Western Canada for decades, but with new varieties and weed control options, the practice seems to be gaining momentum again.In 2009, the Westman Agricultural Diversification Organization found an attention-grabbing yield benefit… Read More

With maps of moisture extremes popping up across the prairies, and predictions of another dry year, it’s hard to know what to make of seeding. But, as Murray Hartman, oilseed specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry points out in this episode of the Canola School, there isn’t much sense in panicking. Not yet.Moisture Extremes to… Read More

Parts per million versus pounds per acre. Olsen versus Bray. Nitrogen versus nitrate…Some of the numbers and technical terms on the paper or email you get from the soil test lab are relevant for understanding nutrient availability for your crop and others don’t actually mean much for growing crops Western Canada.So which numbers are meaningful? And how… Read More

As soybeans are introduced and grown more frequently in rotations that already include canola in Western Canada, growers may find their soil bank accounts for phosphorus and potassium running low.Both canola and soybeans are heavy users/removers of P and K, explains Laryssa Grenkow of Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers in this Canola School episode, filmed… Read More

7 to 10 plants per square foot is still the target plant population when seeding canola. That hasn’t changed, but some of the practices used and the way we think about achieving an ideal plant stand might need to be re-evaluated.For example, research has shown that stand establishment is generally higher with a lower seeding speed, so there’s… Read More

Frost has taken a toll on the canola crop in Western Canada over the last few weeks. In some cases, where temperatures dropped well below -2 degrees for an extended period, the decision to reseed is easy. However, the replanting decision is more complicated in most instances.As part of this Canola School episode, Anastasia Kubinec of Manitoba… Read More