Canola is a high-value crop, but to reap its rewards it needs to be nurtured throughout the growing season. The investment in good technology, solid agronomics and crop protection products can help overcome some of the unpredictability of the weather on the Canadian Prairies and result in a high return on that investment.
Corteva Agriscience has built a suite of products that offer a complete canola solution that helps farmers produce a successful crop. It all starts with the seed.
“Long before the season starts, when the farmer is ordering their seed, they need to select the best hybrid for their needs,” says Doug Moisey, central Alberta agronomist with Pioneer®, a brand of Corteva Agriscience. He says many considerations go into that decision.
“What characteristics does the producer look for in a canola hybrid is the key. For example, do they want a taller plant with a longer main raceme that will create a knitting affect or do they want a shorter, more compact plant with more branches which can potentially produce more pods. Yield is always top of mind but other agronomic characteristics like disease resistance need to be considered as well. If you’re considering straight cutting, you need to think about the maturity of the hybrid, and whether you can switch to swathing or the crop needs to be desiccated depending on the weather. There are a number things producers need to consider before they order seed.”
Choosing a hybrid specific to local growing conditions is a good place to start. Corteva has a complete offering of canola products including both Pioneer® brand and Brevant® seeds canola hybrids that offer everything from shorter more robust options, to sclerotinia, blackleg and industry-leading clubroot trait protection with harvesting options across all herbicide-tolerant systems.
As leaders in clubroot genetics, Corteva plans to launch new hybrids in the future to address the changing clubroot situation. We are continually improving our clubroot resistance genetics to address the constantly changing clubroot pathogens. Corteva has future canola hybrids that provide protection against some of the new more aggressive pathotypes that are starting to show up in the field.
Moisey says the key to having harvest options is everything else you do throughout the growing season. He says it begins with establishing an evenly emerging crop of five to seven plants per square foot. This requires checking soil temperature, understanding canola seed survivability on your farm and adjusting seeding rate accordingly and ensuring proper seed depth. He says farmers also need to consider a seed-placed phosphorus application for early seedling growth.
Start with an even stand
Moisey says that with a solid, even stand and good agronomics throughout the season, you’ll have harvest options in the fall.
“When you maximize your genetics you maximize your yield. Next, consider your seed treatment — all of Corteva’s canola comes treated with standard insecticide seed treatments with the option of adding an additional insecticide seed treatment product, Lumiderm®. Lumiderm has a different mode of action over conventional insecticides which is effective against both types of flea beetles (striped and crucifer) and will protect against cutworms.”
“Although seed treatments are very effective, under heavy pressures from flea beetles and/or cutworms you may need to apply an additional application of an insecticide in some cases but it will provide those extra days of protection to allow a producer to get on top of it if pressures are extremely high.”
To start with a clean field, Moisey says Prospect™ pre-seed herbicide tank-mixed with glyphosate is an effective way to control early-season weed pressure and deal with troublesome weeds like cleavers, flixweed and shepherd’s purse. A weed-free environment at canola emergence is critical to establishing a strong plant stand and helps take full advantage of the hybrid’s genetic potential. Whether it’s a Roundup Ready®, LibertyLink® or Clearfield® herbicide system that is chosen, they each have their advantages when it comes to weed control. Each system offers a different mode of action for growers to help fight the battle against herbicide-resistant weeds. Moisey says it’s all about getting past that four- to five-leaf stage so that the canola can outcompete the weeds.
Control disease and insects
As the summer progresses, the next box on the canola checklist is in-crop disease control, which often coincides with insect management. While many of the new hybrids contain genetic tools to manage against sclerotinia, depending on the growing conditions it may be necessary to spray to reduce the potential for large yield losses.
“A fungicide application can offer a 70 per cent reduction for 10 to 14 days after application,” says Moisey. “If you aren’t proactive, you might not get to every field in time and thus a sclerotinia-resistant hybrid which has genetic resistance built in for season-long control can help if it has been chosen. Otherwise, an option for control of sclerotinia in-crop is Acapela™. Acapela is a Group 11 fungicide from Corteva that controls sclerotinia while also allowing growers to save their Group 3 fungicides for fusarium treatment on their cereal crops.”
Whether and when to swath
The last decision is harvest timing at the end of the season. While in the past seed colour change along the main stem was always the indicator of when to swath, Moisey says the decision process has changed to assess the whole-plant seed colour change.
“If you’ve done a good job throughout the summer and Mother Nature has co-operated, this decision is much easier,” he says. “With the advancement of genetics and plant architecture you can now wait for 70 to 80 per cent whole plant colour change instead of just looking at the main stem. That gives you a lot of flexibility as to when to harvest.”
“You can now wait for 70 to 80 per cent whole plant colour change instead of just looking at the main stem. That gives you a lot of flexibility as to when to harvest.”
Doug Moisey, Corteva
He says it’s important to assess your crop as it nears harvest to decide on the best method to maximize yield. “If it is hot and dry, growers may choose to swath at night, or if it is cool during the day they can swath during the day,” he says. “The decision to straight cut should be made the day you are deciding to swath. If the plants are upright and not knitted well or are uneven or have disease it may be best to swath. However, if the crop is knitted, disease free, and relatively even you can straight cut but I do not recommend leaving it till last. The idea is to take it off as soon as it’s ready to maximize yield”.
Farmers who grow Corteva canola hybrids with a higher pod shatter reduction score can delay swathing with reduced risk of pod shatter to help spread out their workload, or if they are working under adverse weather conditions.
Throughout the season, the decision farmers make on growing their canola crops determines their choices at harvest. By making solid agronomic decisions and establishing an even weed-free stand, and using products that help maintain a clean field, farmers can keep all their harvesting options.
For more information on Corteva’s complete canola solution, reach out to your local Pioneer sales representative or your local seed retailer.
