This study developed seed placed fertilizer rate recommendations for use when direct seeding canola with air seeders that have wide distribution patterns of seed and fertilizer.
Canola meal (CM) is used in animal nutrition but has to compete with other protein sources, and is currently not used to full potential in swine nutrition.
Feeding canola meal to brown-shelled laying hens can result in the production of eggs with a fishy odor. Fishy-egg tainting is a nutrigenetic condition because both genetic and dietary factors must be present for egg tainting to occur.
In a one-year project conducted by the Wheatland Conservation Area at Swift Current in 2005, researchers evaluated straight cutting Brassica Juncea, Argentine canola, and Oriental mustard using three different headers, including a rigid straight cut header, a stripper header, and a BISO header extension.
A three-year project conducted at Brandon and Saskatoon from 2002 to 2004 examined the effects of decreased proportions of seed treated with insecticide on control of flea beetle damage to canola seedlings.
Overall seed damage (physical and germination) due to metering and distribution was less than 10% with no measurable effect from ground or air speed.
False cleavers, Galium spurium, is a major and increasing weed of canola and other crops in Alberta. Based on previous research in France, the European gall mite, Cecidophyes rouhollahi, was selected for field studies in Alberta to evaluate its potential as biological control of false cleavers.
For this two-year study, objectives were to evaluate the effect of seed production practices on canola seed performance, and to assess the ability of germination and vigour tests to predict the field performance of canola seedlots.
Several Lygus species are an important pest of many crops in Canada, particularly of canola and seed alfalfa, including the principal species Lygus lineolaris or Tarnished Plant Bug.
Three years of study have been completed toward developing an integrated management strategy of cabbage seedpod weevil, and to determine aspects of the overwintering biology of lygus bugs and cabbage seedpod weevil.
The effect of root maggots feeding on canola roots has not been fully quantified, but it is clear that large numbers of maggots reduce yield, and can cause plant death.
Canola yields are affected by year to year variations in growing season conditions, but also by many biotic actors on a field scale basis. A three-year Precision Farming study was conducted in Indian Head, Saskatchewan from 2000 to 2002 to look at the effects of nitrogen fertility, management zones, crop plant population, weeds and diseases on canola yields using a field scale approach.
