A four-year, multiple location study was initiated in Saskatchewan in 2011 to provide information on the overall risk of environmental yield loss in straight-combined canola, and to quantify genetic differences in Brassica napus seed losses due to pod drop and pod shattering.
In 2014 researchers initiated a project to collect baseline information on how management practices affect the storage conditions of canola over the summer months.
The management of large volumes of hog manure on agricultural land is a critical challenge due to its low N:P ratio and stringent regulations based on soil test phosphorus (P) levels.
Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide in the world, and frequent glyphosate use has selected for glyphosate-resistant (GR weeds). In 2011 and 2012, surveys documented the occurrence of GR kochia in Alberta.
Straight combining canola can save time and money and result in improved seed quality. However timing of harvest is critical to reduce the risk and magnitude of yield losses from preharvest shattering and pod drop losses.
Cabbage seedpod weevil (csw) has become a chronic problem for canola growers in areas south of highway 1 in Alberta and SW Saskatchewan. Lygus bugs, like the csw arrive to canola fields at bud and early flower, but they peak later at the early or mature pod stage.
Every year in western Canada there is a large investment in testing of canola genotypes/varieties in both small-plot and larger-scale trials, or strip plot trials.
Clubroot poses a serious threat to the canola industry in Alberta and western Canada because of its long-lived spores, its ability to rapidly multiply, and its detrimental effect on canola yields.
Root maggots are serious insect pests of canola across western Canada, and especially throughout central and northern Alberta. Researchers at the University of Alberta initiated a project to develop canola germplasm resistant to infestation by root maggots.
In western Canada, Sclerotinia stem rot continues to be a serious disease of canola. Researchers at the University of Manitoba led a two-year study to assess the risk of sclerotinia stem rot disease on canola based on standard weather conditions and the canopy microclimate.
Early season phosphorus nutrition is critical for optimum crop yield. Researchers at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada conducted a three-year multi-site field study to assess the impact of phosphorus fertilizer applied with and without phosphate-solubilizing inoculant Penicillium bilaii on the growth, phosphorus uptake, yield and quality of canola.
Researchers in Saskatchewan led a three-year study to assess the potential effects of increasing the frequency of canola in rotation on weed abundance, species distribution, community diversity and function in canola-inclusive rotations across western Canada.
