By STAN BLADE, P.Ag.
FROM LAB
TO FIELD
Earlier torise
During a recent visit to China,
I had the opportunity to visit the Beijing
Drum Tower (“Gulou”). This tower was
originally built in the 13th century, during
the reign of Kublai Khan, as the official
time-keeping device for the people of
Beijing. In addition to the daily keeping
of time, the officials of the Drum Tower
also had the responsibility of guiding the
farmers of the region on timing of plant-
ing, crop development (with specification
on grain-filling and other developmental
stages), as well as harvest. I began to think
about how we address the timing of crop
production in Western Canada, and how
research could assist in extending the
growing season to produce higher yields.
If we agree that the goal is to increase
crop yield, then it makes sense that the
longer the plant is allowed to grow, the
greater the amount of photosynthate (sug-
ar) is produced within the plant’s plumb-
ing. The more sugar available, the higher
the likelihood that it will be transported
into the developing seeds of the plant.
One way of extending the growing
season is seeding early. The easy part is to
confirm that early seeding pays benefits.
Research across Western Canada on wheat,
barley, canola, peas, flax and oats all shows
that delayed seeding results in lower yields.
There are some examples to the contrary,
but the vast amount of research shows
increased yield due to early seeding. The
longer you wait, the more it costs you. So
the goal is to find every possible way to
stretch the growing season—while under-
standing that it is imperative that the crop
is harvested before frost and snow.
Researchers have suggested a number
of reasons for the success of early seeding:
early seeding can result in earlier matu-
rity, reducing possibility of losses due to
early frost; early crops get a faster start
and tend to be able to compete well with
weeds; early-season moisture may be used
more effectively; pest infestations may be
lower; potential physiological damage due
to high temperatures during flowering
may be reduced. There is also the practical
benefit of spreading out the workload by
getting started earlier and varying the field
operations (seeding, spraying, harvesting)
in comparison to other crops sown later.
So how can you make the calendar work
in your favour to maximize the growing
time available to your crop? There is no
doubt that fall-seeded crops make a lot of
sense. Having the plant starting to grow
in the field without the concern of doing
a spring seeding operation provides a big
advantage in stretching the growing sea-
son. However, the history of winter wheat
has been hit or miss in Western Canada.
Statistics Canada is predicting a 900,000-
acre decrease from original projections due
to the late 2013 harvest, which prevent-
ed late-summer/fall seeding. Work has
been done on winter peas and fall-seeded
canola, but there is still much more to do.
Private companies have been marketing
polymer-coated seeds that degrade over the
winter and position the seed to germinate
as early as possible in spring.
A less complicated level of innovation
is selecting a crop that can either tolerate
cold soil during spring planting or signifi-
cant frost tolerance at the end of the grow-
ing season. The obvious course of action
for producers is choosing crops that have a
higher tolerance for low soil temperatures
(such as peas). If producers are locked in
to a specific crop type for rotational or
marketing reasons, then there are also
significant variations among cultivars that
are suitable for early-season planting due
to both cold tolerance and maturity. There
are equipment choices that can make early
seeding easier, since getting on the land in
wet years can be a major issue that reduces
available growing time.
What are the “next generation” options
for extending our growing season in
Western Canada? Research groups such
as the Rodale Institute have investigated
the long-term productivity of perenni-
al cereals and oilseeds. In the future,
perhaps we will be able to seed just once a
decade, rather than pulling out the seeder
every year. Data from Michigan State
showed that perennial wheat produced
grain yields of 50 per cent of annual wheat
and perennial rye yielded 73 per cent of
annual rye grain yield. Perennial cereals
may show yield changes over multiple
years and may be subject to the buildup
of diseases and insects over time. There
are already significant biomass benefits in
perennial systems, but more work needs
to be done to develop cultivars that parti-
tion resources in grain.
How do we extend our growing season
and increase crop yields? There are many
choices now, and there will be more in the
future, to maximize the production capaci-
ty of our fields.
Dr. Stan Blade is Dean of the Faculty of
Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences
at the University of Alberta.
Spring
2015
Grains
West
46
benefits tobumpingup seedingdates
