HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1984-03-21, Page 5928 - The Fars Edition, • Week of March 219 1984
Ontario's canola crop
increasingbetween '82 -
By Joan McDonald
Soll and Crop Specialist
Plant Industry Branch
Walkerton
Canola has been increasing in popularity
until it is now second only to wheat for farm
gate receipts in western Canada. In Ontario,.
the acreage grown has tripled between the
'82 and '83 crop years to 8000 hectares.
Markets are available for canola oil both
within Canada - domestic production now
accounts for 53 per cent of the vegetable oil
market - and for the export trade. Japan is
the major export market. Canada is the
largest producer of canola oil for export in
the world. Providing a high quality product
is essential to maintaining these markets.
Canola, developed from rapeseed, but
with low erucic acid and glucosinolate levels
(the undesirable qualities of rapeseed), is
suited to cool season growing areas; hot
temperatures abort the flowers and reduce
seed set. Good yields from commercial
production have been recorded iii areas with
fewer than 2700 corn heat units in southern
Ontario as well as in the New Liskeard and
Rainy River areas. The past five-year
average of production at the University of
Guelph is 1900 kg/ha and the ten-year
average at the New Liskeard College of
Agricultural Technology is 1652 kg/ha.
These yields make canola a cash cropping
alternative.
The 1983 season attracted many new
producers into the market but an unusually
hot, dry summer reduced yields to an
average of 1047 kg/ha f4f southern Ontario
and produced crops with excessive amounts
of green seeds which affect the quality of the.
oil. Table 1 shows the grading system for
canola.
However, the lower yields and reduced
quality were offset to some extent by higher
v cess shoat inventories_ rill. ,-.lie-.Rl .visa s _
year and high soybean prices supported the
price for canola.
There are a number of production pract-
ices ' that should be followed toproduce
canola at economical levels. The following
brief guide was prepared by D. J. Hume and
G. W. McNulty of the Crop Science
Department at the University of duelph.
Spring Canola
Site Selection: Well drained loam soils are
best. Canola does not tolerate wet feet and is
badly hurt by drought. The site must be free
from wild mustard unless triazine-tolerant
canola is to be grown. Spring canola is
recommended for areas with less than 2700
heat units.
Crop Rotation: Canola can fit several places,
'83
dep_ending on the type of operation ,and
cropping schedule. It is preferable to follow
canola with wheat or other cereals so
volunteer canola can be controlled with 2,
4-D, MCPA or other phenoxy herbicides.
Canola should not occur more than once
every four years in the rotation because
diseases and insects may build up. Triazine-
tolerant canola may follow corn because it is
unaffected by atrazine residues.
Varieties: Regent, Altex and Tower are
triazine-susceptible Brassica napus (Argen-
tine) varieties recommended for southern
_ Ontario and as far north as the New Liskeard
area. Candle is an earlier maturing B.
campestris (Polish) variety recommended for
northern Ontario. A new, triazine-tolerant B.
napus from OAC is expected to be licensed
this winter and to be available in the spring
of 1984. Westar is a new B. napus likely to
be available on delivery contract in 1984
from Bonis and Co. in Lindsay. Under good
growing conditions it lodges less than other
varieties and has higher yield potential.
Fertilizer: Soil test results should be used, if
possible. A general recommendation is 100
kg znl ha, 40 kg P205/ha and 30 kg K20 /ha
broadcast prior to planting.
Planting' Equipment: Several options are
availble. Single or double disc drills are most
commonly used, with the seed and insectic-
ide planted through the grass seed box, and
through plastic tubes inserted into the disc
openers: Seed hoppers niay be used on some
new drills. Presswheels or cultipacking help
if there is a chance the soild will dry out
before emergence. Seeding with a brillion
type seeder has generally been successful as
well. Broadcast seeding and harrowing or
packing after planting can also be done, but
this has the disadvantage of uneven seeding
depth, and the insecticide is not placed with
the seed.
Seed Bed Preparation: Prepare a level, firm
–seed -be&-Don't overwork: ;finally- moisture ---
should be within 2.5 cm (one inch) of the
surface. If moisture is more than five cm
(two inches) deep, it is advisable to wait for
moisture. Avoid having the seed start to
germinate and run out of moisture. Make
sure clay soils . have only -small clods.
Planting Date: Planting- should occur as
early as possible. Late April to early May
planting is ideal. Late planting causes large
yield reductions.
Seeding Rate: Seed at a rate of four to five
kg/ha of seed plus five kg/ha of insecticide.
This usually means calibrating the drill to
deliver six seeds per 30 cm (one foot) of row.
it is preferable to use a slow speed sprocket
to avoid grinding seed. If the drill has been
calibrated and is delivering to much seed
Custom
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Cleaning
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TAKING ORDERS FOR
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Canola is second to wheat for farm gate receipts In western Canada. In Ontario the
acreage has tripled to 8000 hectares bet -ween the 1982.83 crop years.
and insecticide, it may be easier to'dilute the
seed and insecticide with pelleted triple
superphosphate as necessary to achieve the
proper seeding rate.
Planting - Depth: Plant to moisture. Ideal
depth is two to three cm. (0.75 to 1.25
inches).
Insects: Flea beetles are shiny, black
beetles, 10 to 15 mm long. They feed on both
seedlings and older plants, but the feeding
on seedlings can cause serious damage.
Seedling damage is usually `conjolle d with
seed applied insecticides, which are sold as
_.five per cent granular materials formulated
so the granules are the same size as the
seed. Registered insecticides are Counter
5G, Furadan 5G, Furandan 480 Flowable,
Vitavax R.S. Powder and Vitavan R.S.
Flowable. Use protective gloves, goggles
and a respirator when using these insectic-
ides.
Diamondback moth larvae are trouble-
some in dry years. The larvae are pale yellow
t® `lighi green; ri fo'T3 mm tti Ierigt}, and
often hang by spun silken threads. The
larvae eat flowers and young pods and peel
older tissue. Seeds under peeled pods are
often moldy. Foliar sprays with Guthion or
Sevin are recommended only if heavy
infestations (more than 20 larvae per plant)
occur.
Diseases: White mold can be serious after
flowering in seasons with cool, moist
growing conditions. Infection occurs where
dropped petals contact the stem. Bleached
stem lesions occur around - the initial
infection, then white mold and black fungal
bodies grow inside and outside the stem.
These fungal bodies plug the stem and the
sudden wilting of individual plants is usually
the first noticeable sympton.
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8'&10'
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1
The disease is difficult to control because
it has many alternate hosts. Avoid following
soybeans, sunflowers and white beans with
canola, because all these crops are suscept-
ible. Sprays with Benlate at early flowering
can help protect against the disease, but
good coverage is essential.
Other Pests: On lighter soils, groundhogs
can cause considerable damage and need 'to
be controlled.
Herbicides: For conventional varieties,
Tern to page 29
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