Research Results

The amount of UV-B radiation reaching the Earth’s surface is increasing yearly, and UV-B radiation, in sufficient doses, harms sensitive plants and reduces yields.

Nitrogen fertilizer is one of the most important external inputs for improving crop growth and yields. Researchers were interested in finding biological alternatives that could optimize and/or replace N-fertilizers, and in 1996 a three-year project was initiated at the University of Saskatchewan to isolate rhizobacteria able to fix atmospheric nitrogen for canola.

Blackleg is an extremely important disease of canola and all of the control measures used have their drawbacks. Because the blackleg fungus survives only in the plant residues, researchers wanted to find out if it was possible that the incidence of the disease could be reduced if the rate of straw decomposition could be increased.

In central Alberta, infestations of root maggots (Delia spp.) and flea beetles (Phyllotreta spp.) cause substantial economic losses in canola.

A field research trial to evaluate the performance of five bolt-on side band openers in crop establishment and final yield and quality was conducted at 10 locations in Saskatchewan in 1995 and 1996.

Research at the University of Saskatchewan in 1995 tested the effects of N, P, and K rates on the percentage emergence of canola, peas and wheat grown in five different soil types.

By the mid 1990s, many farmers on the Canadian prairies were changing from conventional farming to direct or one-pass seeding systems.

Lygus bugs can be important pests of canola in western Canada. At the time of this study in 1994, researchers had developed control strategies, but lacked an efficient sampling method.

Herbicides must be applied in a carrier, usually water, to ensure distribution onto plant surfaces. However, the water may contain bicarbonate ions, which can reduce the activity of clethodim (Select) and sethoxydim (Poast).

A group of compounds known as triazoles, which exhibit varying degrees of both plant growth regulating and fungicidal activity, have been shown to increase the hardiness of plants to many types of environmental stresses.

Researchers at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Scott Research Station conducted a three-year study from 1992 to 1994 to determine if late fall or early spring applications of 2,4-D amine had an effect on subsequent canola emergence and growth.

Researchers at the Melfort Research Station initiated a four-year project in the fall of 1991 to identify which combination of tillage, fertilizer and herbicide applications would provide acceptable control of cruciferous weeds and maintain high canola yields on cereal stubble.