• Easton, a HRSW which produced high grain and straw yield, could be added to the cropping systems.
• CPRS wheat varieties such as AAC Penhold and SY Rowyn will get $25/MT less price in the market and have no protein premium for higher than normal protein as compared to HRSW varieties.
• AAC Penhold (harvested at dough stage) with higher dry matter yield and better feed quality than barley could substitute barley for silage!
• Grain yield of Durum wheat was over 1100 kg/ha less than HRSW (comparison between the best varieties!).
• Boroe barley maintained its top position in grain yield (this year too), though straw yield was highest with Chambly.
• CDC Bow, a new malting barley variety, gave much higher grain (6,977 kg/ha) and straw (10.8 kg/ha) yields than other varieties. Grow CDC Bow in 2018!
• Oat growers could opt for AAC Roskens that produced highest grain yields (7317 kg/ha; averaged over 2016 and 2017) and protein content (13.9 % in 2017).
• Rotate crops to maximize yields and responses to nutrients application!
• Hybrid winter rye varieties gave higher grain yield than conventional varieties; KWS-H-151: 6,193 kg grain and 15.8 MT straw/ha!
• Perennial Rye: Optimum seed rate was 400/m2 = 3513 dry matter forage yield Or 3208 kg grain + 24.3 MT straw/ha. Try it in marginal or newly cleared lands?
• Prefer Maizex corn varieties for grain production! MS6902R (1950 CHUs) gave 16.4 MT/ha grain yield.
• Soybean: Try NSC Tilson RR2Y that gave 4,580 kg/ha grain yield! I believe it has been popular in Manitoba!
• Non shattering canola varieties gave significantly lower seed yield than the conventional ones; e.g. L140P: 6,014 kg/ha and L230: 7,925 kg/ha (~1.3 MT > L252’s seed yield). Grow L230 in 2018!
• Among RR and CL (Clearfield) canola varieties, 6074 RR had the highest seed yield (7,042 kg/ha)! Club Root Resistant 6086 CR canola seed yield was 6,550 kg/ha.
• AC Vulcan Oriental Mustard’s seed yield was 1689 kg/ha.
• Galega has proved to be better than alfalfa in yield and feed quality over 6 years continuously!
• Grow Galega; seed @ 25 kg/ha if you plan for a period of 3-4 years and @ 35 kg/ha if you wish to go for a longer period!
• To establish Galega well, Follow tips at: www.tbars.net/Questions%20and%20Answers%20on%20Galega.pdf
• Other forage crops options: Union Ultimate Blend (see details in TBARS Annual Report 2017) + barley, barley + berseem, Italian ryegrass and fababeans!
• Choice Chicory, Tonic Plantain and Brassica Blends with high protein (21-27 %) could be good for grazing small ruminants.
• Frosty berseem produced higher dry matter yield (DMY) than the conventional berseem and its yield increased with an increase in seed rate from 13 to 16 kg/ha.
• Cross seeding grasses on farm gave ~300 kg/ha more DMY than conventional seeding.
• For maximizing yield, seed MasterGraze corn on June 5 and harvest it at 100 % tasselling!
• Mid June Seeding Options: Only cereals grew to maturity and oat gave reasonably good grain yield (~5,500 kg/ha)!
• Jumpstart, not Quickroots, significantly improved soybean grain yield in 2017; Reverse was true in 2016. Averaged over 2016 and 2017, Quickroots seed treatment increased soybean grain yield by ~500 kg/ha.
• Canola seed yield increased linearly up to 240 kg N/ha (supplemented with other nutrients)! Urea + ESN was better than urea up to 180 kg N/ha.
• A dollar invested in canola nutrition/and protection could bring $9.36 in return. Including straw, the return per dollar will be $10.22!
• Except @ 36 kg S/ha, Gypsum was no better than ammonium sulphate as a source of S in canola.
• Seed row placement of Gypsum @ 19.5 kg S/ha had no advantage over incorporated ammonium sulphate (at the same rate of S) in canola, barley and peas!
• Flax didn’t respond to S application!
• N @ 105 kg/ha gave higher flax seed yield than 70 kg N/ha only with Manipulator spray.
• P2O5 and K2O each @ 20 kg/ha seemed optimum for flax production.
• Dry matter yield of alfalfa was similar with NK21 and ammonium sulphate @ 21 and 31.5 kg N and K/ha. Protein % appeared to be better with ammonium sulphate!
• Quinoa seeded on June 6 didn’t develop seeds. DM yield increased with increasing seeding rates from 2 to 10 lbs/acre!
• Use blends of urea, ESN and ammonium sulphate for crop production!
Good Luck for the Season 2018!