Category: Canola School

With clubroot disease showing up in fields east of Alberta over the last few years, there's work underway in Manitoba to survey the entire canola-growing region of the province for the presence of clubroot spores. So far, spores or symptoms have been found in 13 fields in 10 rural municipalities in Manitoba. Spore concentrations in... Read More

One of the leading causes of herbicide injury in canola is insufficient sprayer cleaning, says Clark Brenzil, provincial weed control specialist for the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture. Whether due to drift or residue, herbicide injury can result in drastic yield losses, besides being an eye-sore to drive by. Related: Spray Tips with Tom Wolf —... Read More

Canola supplies could be tight by the end of the 2014-15 crop year, depending on who you believe. On one hand, Statistics Canada last week pegged 2014 canola production at 15.6 million tonnes. On the other hand, most of the trade is estimating production at between 14 and 15 million tonnes, with carry-out stocks next... Read More

Now that there's a little more time on our hands, we can look back at the growing season and see where issues and inefficiencies arose. One of the major concerns this year in Western Canada was herbicide injury, especially in canola crops, where some growers thought their Liberty Link canola was seeing injury from its... Read More

There's been a rise in reports of heated canola over the last few weeks, with some crushers saying they can't accommodate any more until well into the new year. "It's unfortunate this has to happen, but it is a good reminder for the rest of us to monitor our bins," says Angela Brackenreed, agronomy specialist... Read More

Believe it or not, there are several opportunities, over many months, to shape a bill that's presented in parliament. While, yes, hours of work are put into to drafting a bill that may become law, the parliamentary process allows for interested individuals or groups to have their say on what they want to see changed... Read More

As little as 2% green seed in a canola sample can cause the loss of a No. 1 grade in Canada, traditionally equating to roughly $10-15/tonne. Immature canola seed naturally contains chlorophyll, a green pigment essential for photosynthesis. As canola seeds mature, enzymes remove the chlorophyll, a process thought to improve seed longevity. The enzymes... Read More

Residue management may prove a challenge this year, as many prairie crops experienced high levels of lodging, but it's nothing to ignore, especially if you're considering canola as your next crop. Excess trash can affect seed-to-soil contact by either preventing drill openers from penetrating into the soil or filling the furrow, thus preventing row closure.... Read More

With the canola crop maturing later than normal in parts of Western Canada, there’s some concern about frost hurting the crop. Temperatures dipped close to freezing in some parts of the Prairies earlier this week, with reports of light frost in northern Alberta. In this Canola School, Warren Ward, agronomy specialist for Eastern Saskatchewan with... Read More

With canola swathing underway across Western Canada, now is the time for growers to assess the toll that diseases have taken on the crop. The “what to look for” list at this time includes the main suspects: blackleg, sclerotinia and clubroot. In this episode of the Canola School, Keith Gabert of the Canola Council of... Read More