The Rural Voice, 2019-08, Page 70reduce disease pressure.
Meghan then added that farmers
should either be alternating boots
when going from field to field or
wearing plastic covers on their boots.
“We really need to make sure we
are not transferring clubroot from
field to field,” she said. “I keep three
sets of boots, disinfect them when I
get home, and wear a clean set when
I go into fields.”
To combat all diseases and pests,
canola should never be grown in the
same field two years in a row. Mike
uses it in a four-year rotation, and is
careful to spread his canola fields far
away from the previous year’s crop.
Also, he chooses resistant varieties.
Canola is a tough crop, admits
Meghan. Mike agrees but he finds it
a fascinating crop and he knows if he
grows canola (which is harvested in
August) he will have lots of time to
plant winter wheat.
“I need to harvest one tonne per
acre (2,204 pounds) but I’ve seen
yields under 2,000 pounds,” he
admits. Especially last year after a
hot and dry season.
This is his fifth year growing
canola and he has had yields
averaging 2,500 pounds per acre.
“The average harvest of canola in
Bruce County is 2,400 pounds per
acre. In Ontario, we find the best
yields in Nipissing and they can yield
over 2,800 pounds,” said Meghan.
Prices for canola have also been
stale, adding to disinterest among
crop farmers.
Peter added that after growing
canola, don’t try growing corn in that
field. “The corn goes purple and does
not perform like it should,” he said.
Meghan explained that canola
does not support mycorrhizal fungi
which is needed for phosphorous
uptake. Corn needs mycorrhizal
fungi as well so it suffers from a lack
of phosphorous.
Peter was thrilled to report,
however, that wheat thrives when
grown after canola. It does not
require mycorrhizal fungi for
phosphorous uptake.
The tour continued with a visit to
a bean field planted into a tall rye
crop and then a late-planted organic
bean field. More on what was learned
in those fields in the September issue
of The Rural Voice. ◊
August 2019 67
Crops
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