LUARS Research 2023 – Varieties and Practices that can continue on or can be taken to farms*
Dr. Tarlok Singh Sahota CCA
• Six row barley varieties: Chambly, Synasolis and Amberly could be recommended for cultivation on farms for grain production. Synasolis could be preferred over others because of its highest straw yield (in addition to high grain yield). Farmers can continue or start growing PSL Kerns (that outyielded Synasolis and also CDC Bow at LUARS) on their farms! For forage production, considering the dry matter yield, Amberly, Oceanik, Boroe and AB Tofield (a dual purpose grain and forage variety) can be recommended.
• Two row barley varieties: Considering the grain yield from the past three years, CDC Bow, AAC Synergy and CDC Copeland are recommended for cultivation on farms. For forage production, considering the dry matter yield and RFV over three years, CDC Copper can be recommended! CDC Copper is a dual-purpose variety (grain and forage production).
• Spring wheat varieties: Area producers could grow AAC Starbuck, Brandon, Rednet and AAC Wheatland VB. AAC Starbuck and AAC Wheatland could be preferred, if high straw production is also a consideration.
• Oat Varieties: Oat growers could try growing AAC Kongsore, Kalio, and AAC Excellence in 2024.
• Winter wheat varieties: Farmers could continue with AAC Gateway and could try AAC Vortex.
• Farmers may try cultivating McKeller winter barley.
• Farmers can continue growing Hazlet winter rye and try a new variety KWS Serafino.
• Area producers could grow Bourke R2X and Lono R2 soybeans on their farms!
• Canola: Area growers could try cultivating P501L, P506ML and Invigor® L350PC (listed in descending order of seed yield) on their farms in 2024!
• Those who decide to grow RR canola, could choose the new variety DK901TF for cultivation on their farms.
• Those who decide to grow Clearfield canola should prefer 5545CL that recorded the highest seed yield over the past three years.
• Alfalfa varieties: Considering the dry matter yield, protein content and RFV, Response WT, Elite and AAC Trueman can be recommended for cultivation on farms. Farmers could also try Revolution MD and Shockwave BR.
• Silage corn varieties: Considering the yield from 2021 and 2023, DKC26-40RIB, DKC29-89RIB and DKC30-07RIB could be recommended for cultivation on farms!
• Sorghum Sudangrass Varieties: Farmers could choose SS2 BMR that registered the highest dry matter yield (10.8 MT/ha) in two cuts.
• Sorghum Sudangrass seeded at 50, 75 and 100 % of the recommended seeding rate (45 kg/ha) produced similar dry matter yields (4,948 – 5,255 kg/ha). However, seeding Sorghum Sudangrass at 100 % of the recommended seeding rate is recommend because at this seeding rate it had the highest protein content (20.7 %) and the RFV value (165).
• Combined cultivation of alfalfa and sainfoin that outyielded other forage mixtures could be recommended!
• Wheat and barley should be seeded as early as possible in spring and could be supplied with up to 160 kg N/ha and sprayed with growth regulators (Moddus/Manipulator) on the varieties susceptible to lodging and with fungicides (at least Stratego and Prosaro, if not Stratego, Prosaro and Caramba) to cover the risk of foliar fungal diseases and FHB.
• Fungicides (Stratego, Prosaro and Caramba) spray on cereals could lower the Septoria and FHB disease rating to zero! A minimum of two fungicides (Stratego and Prosaro) should be sprayed on the cereals.
• Considering both the seed and the straw yields, farmers could try application of N to canola @ 270 kg N/ha; two third from urea and one third from ESN.
• Farmers can try replacing ESN (44-0-0) with PurYield (45-0-0), if PurYield is less costly than ESN.
• S to canola should be applied @ 36 kg S/ha either through ammonium sulphate alone or through blends of ammonium sulphate and MAP + MST. MAP + MST or its blends with ammonium sulphate had a significant positive effect on the seed yield of the third crop of canola.
• Farmers could also try applying 36 kg S/ha to canola – 1/3rd of S through SymTRX10 (10 % S and 16 % organic matter) and 2/3rd S from ammonium sulphate. SymTRX10 alone was no better than ammonium sulphate!
• Alfalfa needs 36 kg S/ha to produce maximum economic dry matter yields. Farmers could try seeding alfalfa by missing one row after every two rows; in 2 out of 3 years the practice gave higher yield than seeding at regular 15 cm row spacings.
• Seed treatment of wheat with EcoTea @ 4 gram/kg seed is recommended. Averaged over three years, the practice increased wheat grain yield by 1.22 MT/ha, straw yield by 1.32 MT/ha and biomass yield by 2.49 MT/ha). There was no yield benefit of treating barley, canola and soybean with EcoTea. Might sound surprising, but that’s what it is!
• Farmers could try soil application of Holganix 800+ @ 0.625 l/ha before seeding canola. The practice increased the canola seed yield by 1.07 MT/ha, straw yield by 2.06 MT/ha and biomass yield by 3.13 MT/ha at LUARS. Surprisingly, wheat and barley didn’t benefit from the application of Holganix 800+.
• Winter rye cover crop seemed to lower the seed yield of the following canola crop by more than half a MT/ha. Therefore, avoid growing winter rye cover crop before seeding canola!
*Presented to the members of the TBSCIA at their Annual Meeting at Murillo Hall, Thunder Bay, on December 5, 2023!
