Our proposal describes ethanol and small molecule extraction. This process is similar to hexane extraction used to recover oil but uses potable anhydrous ethanol as the solvent. Our local industries can produce potable anhydrous ethanol and also recover the ethanol after it has been used for extraction.
This research will promote the use of these important Canadian feed resources, effectively in animal nutrition. A comprehensive database on the chemical and nutritional profiles will be generated and specifications on the digestible energy and available amino acids and P contents for poultry and swine will be developed.
MORSE has the potential to increase the adoption of variable rate technologies, which could increase production in SK by 5% while improving environmental sustainability. It could revolutionize the way that agronomic experiments are done by replacing the conventional small plot experiments which have higher variability in the results.
This type of deep knowledge will be particularly essential for farmers facing an increasingly variable climate - they need to understand how and why different areas of their fields might respond under marginal production conditions in order to maximize both their profits and their productivity.
This research has been an integrated and collaborative approach to addressing the major research priorities around the new disease, verticillium stripe, in Canada. It includes four specific objectives; to measure yield loss, monitor disease development, evaluate canola genotypes resistant to verticillium stripe and determine the interacting effects of verticillium stripe and blackleg.
We did not find that high rates of phosphorus (P) fertilizer affected crop yield and had only a minimal impact on the overall canola microbiome community structure. In our study, the intermediate-rate P supplied in a narrow opener was the most cost-effective fertilization method which generated equivalent canola yield to the high P rate. Our rhizobox studies showed that early canola growth was higher in plants where half of the root system was exposed to fertilized soil and the other half to unfertilized soil. Each half of the root system had a distinct root microbiome indicating that the root-microbiome system may confer the best advantage in soil where P availability is heterogenous as would be found in most field soils.
An understanding of the effectiveness of liming to control different pathotypes will help in decision making, since liming to increase soil pH can be costly and will not produce satisfactory results if the pathogen strains present are less sensitive to pH.
This research project will provide canola producers with practical approaches to managing small patches of clubroot. This will be especially important in situations where the patch represents a new introduction to the area or farm, or where commercial sources of resistance are not available.
The objective of this project is to determine the best combination of fertilizer source, placement, and timing to maximize yield, improve fertilizer N use efficiency and reduce losses of N2O and ammonia (NH3) on light textured soil (sandy loam) in south-central Manitoba.
Flea beetles (both Crucifer and Striped), diamondback moths and aster leafhoppers are major pests of canola, all feeding on the plant at different times throughout the growing season. The outbreaks of each of these insects are difficult to predict year to year and currently there are no resistant varieties available, leaving insecticide application as the only control option.
This project has identified several soil-derived bacteria that are effective at inhibiting disease progression caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, a fungal pathogen of canola and other plants that causes stem rot, yield decline, and plant death. The mechanisms of action of the most effective biocontrol agent were investigated, and the bacterium was grown in formulations according to commercial standards. These industry-ready formulations were demonstrated to be as effective as the laboratory cultures, resulting in a biocontrol product that will soon be available as an option for producers.
Nitrogen fertilizer to wheat and canola is one of the major input costs for growers and there has been continuous effort to improve N use efficiency for higher yield and seed quality.
