For all canola, whether seeded early or late, growers want to make sure they seed shallow — less than 1” deep — for faster and more uniform emergence.
Careful with canola seeded into pasture or hayland
Fields taken out of pasture or hayland last year and planned for canola this year could have high wireworm and cutworm populations. Wireworms can wipe out a whole field of canola and no seed treatment or spray is registered for wireworm control in canola.
Too early for broadcast seeding
Don’t rush to broadcast seed. Canola seed placed into the soil at a uniform depth with starter fertilizer and light on-row packing is the best method for seed survival and uniform stand establishment. Drills do this job best. Floaters do not offer this same precise seed placement. And while a floater may be able to travel over soft fields, broadcast …
Consider herbicide carryover before seeding
Consider potential herbicide carryover before seeding canola on any field.
The critical first 21 days
Young canola plants are vulnerable to numerous stresses, particularly flea beetles, cutworms and seedling diseases. It pays to scout often at this time of the season.
Selecting a new variety — tips
Here are tips on how to test new varieties and where to find yield and other performance comparisons.
On-farm strip trials — tips
Growers can use strip trials on their own farms to test how a particular practice or product performs in a local environment.
New drill? Try peas first
Growers may encounter a few glitches the first time they take a drill to the field. A large investment in canola seed can escape out the drill pretty quickly if the seed metering system is set wrong. Peas run through the drill a little more slowly. And because fine tuning a drill means getting out and checking a few rows …
Seed only registered varieties
Growers are reminded to make sure they seed registered varieties. Some older varieties that were once registered have been “deregistered” — they have been removed due to their negative effects on export markets. More than 80% of Canada’s canola crop is exported around the world, so it is critical that our canola meets the requirements of our export customers. If …
Broadcast seeding in April
Anticipating a very wet spring, some growers are wondering whether to broadcast canola seed while the ground is still frozen. That way, they at least have a chance of getting a crop if the ground stays wet into June. This might work, but beware the following risks: Expect a poor and uneven stand. Canola can start to germinate at temperatures …