Evaluation of on-farm crop management decisions on canola productivity

Abstract

Liu, C., Gan, Y. and Poppy, L. 2014. Evaluation of on-farm crop management decisions on canola productivity. Can. J. Plant Sci. 94: 131–139. This study determined key factors affecting canola productivity in western Canada and evaluated the differences among soil-climatic zones in canola crops responding to the key agronomic factors. A total of 68 canola farm fields were randomly selected in western Canada, and multiple correspondence analysis, coupled with multivariate predictive model with partial least squares projection and regressions, was used to analyze the data set. Canola produced in Alberta averaged 2500 kg ha−1, and was 23% greater than canola produced in southern Saskatchewan, 10% greater than canola produced in northern Saskatchewan, and 59% greater than canola produced in Manitoba. Canola produced on chem-fallow averaged 2557 kg ha−1, and was 17% greater than canola grown on cereal stubble, or 43% greater than canola grown on pea/lentil, corn stubble. Canola grown on canola stubble produced 54% of the seed yield as canola grown on cereal stubble, or 46% of the seed yield as canola grown on chem-fallow. Shallow and earlier seeding with narrow row spacing increased canola seed yields consistently. Canola receiving K fertilizer increased seed yield by an average of 25% compared with those receiving no K fertilizer. Straight combine resulted in 500 kg ha−1 or 24% more seed yield than conventional swath-combine method. Those key factors may serve as the first-hand information in the development of sound guidelines for less experienced canola producers in western Canada.

Yield Response to Early Defoliation in Spring‐Planted Canola

“…Recent surveys in the North American prairies have shown that delaying canola planting past 25 April reduces yield by an average of 16 kg ha −1 d −1 (Liu et al, 2014) consistent with a range of ~20 to 50% yield loss reported by other authors when the crop is seeded after mid-May (Angadi et al, 2004;Chen et al, 2005). When confronted with a severely defoliated crop early in the season, both farmers and insurance providers may contemplate whether it is worthwhile to reseed.…”

“…When confronted with a severely defoliated crop early in the season, both farmers and insurance providers may contemplate whether it is worthwhile to reseed. Recent surveys in the North American prairies have shown that delaying canola planting past 25 April reduces yield by an average of 16 kg ha −1 d −1 (Liu et al, 2014) consistent with a range of ~20 to 50% yield loss reported by other authors when the crop is seeded after mid-May (Angadi et al, 2004;Chen et al, 2005). Even with total loss of leaf area, the additional yield from reseeding covered the cost of seed in only 1 of 5 yr if reseeding could be done before the first week of June (Table 4).…”

Effects of row-spacing and stubble height on soil water content and water use by canola and wheat in the dry prairie region of Canada

“…However, there were no row spacing effects on spring wheat and winter wheat in Saskatchewan, Canada (Lafond and Gan, 1999;Johnston and Stevenson, 2001) and in the North China Plain (Chen et al, 2010). While most studies found that canola yield was higher for narrower row spacing in different regions (Kutcher et al, 2013;Liu et al, 2014), a higher canola yield was also observed for wider row spacing under coastal climatic conditions of Lasbela (Waseem et al, 2014). Therefore, row spacing effects may depend on specific climatic conditions of an area, and yield component compensation may contribute to non-decreasing crop yields with wider row spacing in some regions.…”

Pod Shattering: A Homologous Series of Variation Underlying Domestication and an Avenue for Crop Improvement

“…Crop improvement is an essential part of the modern agriculture, and developing new techniques and optimizing plant breeding tools are necessary to meet the food demand of a growing human population in drastically changing environments [127,[137][138][139]. Early plant breeding efforts were limited to utilizing the advantageous traits via selective breeding, which is a slow process and not a viable option in a rapidly changing environment.…”