February 2, 2012 - The Western Producer

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2012

VOL. 90 | NO. 5 | $3.75

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SEEDING | CANOLA

Soggy canola fields still salvageable Canola is resilient, so don’t count it out in flooded areas BY ED WHITE WINNIPEG BUREAU

BRANDON — Is a waterlogged canola field worth keeping and harvesting, or should farmers just plow it down? Results from a quick study the Canola Council of Canada conducted on saturated Manitoba fields this year suggests farmers should keep it. “I definitely would not write it off right away,” said canola council agronomist Kristen Phillips. “Canola is one of the most resilient crops that we have, and it definitely fights back and branches out.” The study found that a typical saturated field, with some parts waterlogged and higher parts just soaked, had yield reductions of 60 to 70 percent. That sounds bad, but 30 to 40 percent of a typical Manitoba crop isn’t something to throw away. Average yields appear to have been 55 bushels per acre in many parts of Manitoba. access=subscriber section=news,none,none

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SCIENCE | SEED COATINGS

Researchers deliver ‘hard’ news First in Canada | Lentil and pea seeds impermeable to water, won’t germinate BY MARY MACARTHUR CAMROSE BUREAU

EDMONTON — The head of a seed germination lab says last spring’s excess water has created seed characteristics never before seen in this country: pulse seeds impermeable to water. Lentils and peas from southern Alberta are showing signs of hard

seed, said Sarah Foster of 20/20 Seed Labs in Nisku, Alta. “There is not a lot you can do about it because it is a situation where the seed coat is completely impermeable to water. Water cannot penetrate it so therefore it can’t get the germination to start,” Foster said during FarmTech 2012 held in Edmonton Jan. 24 - 26. “It is something we have

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never seen before in Canada and traced it back to specific areas.” Foster said her lab has started to see a trend of hard seed from the Taber, Vauxhall, Vulcan and Enchant areas of southern Alberta, which all had excess water last spring. While most of the seed lab’s samples are from Alberta, Foster believes there would be similar results for peas and

lentils in areas with excess moisture in other parts of the Prairies. Forty-three percent of the lentil samples examined by 20/20 Seed Labs have one to five percent hard seed. Eight percent of the pea samples have one to five percent hard seed and two samples had eight to 15 percent. access=subscriber section=news,none,none

SEE ‘HARD’ NEWS, PAGE 2

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u|xhHEEJBy00001pzYv!:; FEBRUARY 2, 2012 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Box 2500, Saskatoon, SK. S7K 2C4 The Western Producer is published in Saskatoon by Western Producer Publications, which is owned by GVIC Communications Inc. Publisher, Larry Hertz Publications Mail Agreement No. 40069240; Registration No. 10676

Josh Prepchuk watches as his load of wheat empties into a floor grate at the Strathmore seed cleaning plant at Strathmore, Alta. |


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