Agronomy - Canadian Agronomist

Digging into Research

10 Mar Impact of seed size and seeding depth on barley and oat production

Posted at 18:03h in Agronomy

Large seed and shallow seeding independently improved organic barley and oat production. In organic production, pre-seeding tillage is an important weed management strategy, however this can cause drier seeding conditions. To compensate, greater seeding depths are often used, which may reduce crop performance. A 2-year research project...

17 Feb Environment has bigger impact than soybean seeding date

Posted at 22:53h in Agronomy

Up to 90% of total variation in soybean yield and quality was explained by environment, seeding date, cultivar and their interactions, with environment often responsible for the majority of the response. Overall, very late seeding reduced yield, seed weight, and oil but did not affect...

03 Feb Pasture rejuvenation with bloat-free legumes

Posted at 18:12h in Agronomy

Direct seeding of productive and nutritive legume species into existing pasture is considered the most attractive option for pasture rejuvenation. For high performance grazing systems, identification of suitable bloat-free legumes and methods for direct seeding into old grass and legume stands will be essential strategies. The...

21 Oct Niger response to nitrogen and seeding depth

Posted at 16:54h in Agronomy

Niger grain yield increased linearly by 18% with increasing nitrogen rates. Seeding depths down to one inch (2.5 cm) allowed placement of seed into soil moisture to support emergence and optimize yield. Niger is an open-pollinated oilseed crop, and was domesticated in Ethiopia. While niger is...

26 Aug Defining Best Management Practices for Using Supplemental Heating with Natural Air Drying

Posted at 16:50h in Agronomy

Overall, supplemental heating for natural air drying (NAD) systems does have the potential to be a lower capital alternative to heated air drying to extend the drying season; however, careful management is required to keep operating costs comparable to that of a dedicated dryer system....

20 Aug Pre-harvest herbicide and desiccation options for straight-combining canola

Posted at 17:37h in Agronomy

While applying a pre-harvest or desiccant frequently provided drydown benefits in straight-cut canola, not applying a pre-harvest herbicide or desiccant should be considered a potentially viable option, especially for early seeded, reasonably uniform and weed free fields where a hybrid with good pod shatter tolerance...

25 Jun PGRs on malt barley

Posted at 19:01h in Agronomy

Overall, all PGRs reduced lodging in some site-years on CDC Copeland malt barley. Moddus showed the largest reduction in lodging followed by Ethrel, although the Ethrel response was not consistent. Manipulator affect on lodging was inconsistent and quite minor in reducing lodging. None are recommended...

14 May Assessing sunflower seeding and N rate

Posted at 19:16h in Agronomy

An optimum seeding rate between 30,000 and 35,000 seeds/ac for hybrid 63A21 sunflower, and between 40,000 and 45,000 seeds/ac for open-pollinated AC Sierra was determined under no-till cropping systems in Saskatchewan. At N fertilizer prices of around $0.50/lbs., the recommended N fertilizer rate based on...

07 May Maintaining test weight in milling oats

Posted at 15:45h in Agronomy

Seeding early should increase the likelihood of harvesting quality grain before weathering, but this did not guarantee higher yields or higher test weights. Generally, 71 lbs. N/ac resulted in optimum test weights and often produced optimum economic returns. Selecting a variety with genetics for high...

07 May Pea oat intercrop has potential

Posted at 15:41h in Agronomy

Intercropping may be beneficial when the desired crop is field pea, with potential contributions to weed suppression and reductions in lodging. There was no indication of a yield advantage to intercropping peas and oats. If profitability can be derived from reductions in in-crop herbicide use,...