What is new at LUARS this year (2024)?
Dr. Tarlok Singh Sahota CCA
We keep on testing new fertilizers/and other products, new crops and new crop varieties every year to find out if there is anything that works better than the existing ones. One exciting thing we have to show you this year is winter camelina, an oilseed crop like canola, that survived our winter. Winter camelina is resistant to flea beetles and black leg disease. Pod shattering is not an issue in camelina; therefore, it can be straight cut.
Taurus Ag Poly Phosphate (TAPP) is a new Phosphorus (P) fertilizer that we are testing against the conventional P fertilizer in spring wheat and canola. It is a unique combination of essential plant nutrients, strategically designed to ensure season-long plant nourishment. It is a special blend of Crystal Green Synchro™ 50 and Polysulphate Premium® that ensures delivery of Nitrogen (4 %), Phosphorus (20 %), Potassium (6.75 %), Sulphur (9.9 %), Calcium (5.9 %), Magnesium (4.15 %), and also some other nutrients; Chloride, Boron and Zinc (https://taurus.ag/product/tapp/).
We are evaluating Holganix Bio 800+ Agriculture on spring crops, especially its effect on N and P requirements of canola; the latter is new this year. Holganix harnesses the power of over 800 species of soil microbes to increase yield, reduce the need for fertilizers, improve crop resilience against stress, and boost soil health.
We have added 16 new crop varieties to our varieties portfolio; 3 HRSW (AAC Spike, AAC Westking and AAC Stoughton VB), 2 malting barley 2-row varieties (AB Dram and BC100), one AAC Lariat 2-row feed barley, 2 Truflex canola varieties (BY 6216TF and DK903TF) one DK400TL (Truflex and Liberty combine) canola, 2 flax varieties (CDC Esme and CDC Kernen), 4 soybean varieties (DKB0008-87, DKB0005-03, EXP006-24XF, EXP006-24E3) and one RR alfalfa variety (WL 375HVX.RR).
We are continuing testing plant growth regulators (Manipulator and Moddus) on wheat and barley, high efficiency N fertilizers (ESN, urea SuperU and PurYield) on spring and winter wheat and canola. This is the first time we are evaluating GHG emissions from these fertilizers vis-à-vis urea in canola with Dr. Gautam Das, Professor Physics, Lakehead University as the lead researcher.
We have a lot more to show you. We have 51 experiments in total. Our new collaborative project with RAIN Algoma funded by OAFRI “Maximizing Crop Potential through Nutrient Management for alfalfa and Sustainability Practices for Sorghum Sudan Grass in relation to seeding rate and allelopathy effects” is on forages. Come join us on our Annual Summer Tour Day at LUARS on August 1, 2024 and we will show you all what we are doing for our enterprising producers!
