Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108 Page 109 Page 110 Page 111 Page 112 Page 113 Page 114 Page 115 Page 116Canola Yields Understanding limiting factors is a huge part of driving yields in canola. Photo: Janet Kanters IN RECENT years all across Canada, contests have been pop- ping up challenging canola growers to put their management skills to the test. In 2015, a grower at Birch Hills in Saskatchewan recorded 116.8 bu/ac on 1.26 acres to win a Pioneer Yield Challenge. Last year, hundreds of growers entered DEKALB’s Seed for Yourself Yield Challenge, DuPont Pioneer’s Yield Hero Challenge and the Canola Council of Canada’s Ultimate Canola Challenge. What is the goal of these challenges? And can they help address the needs of the world’s ever-growing population? How high can we go? According to Murray Hartman, provincial oilseed specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, the Canola Council of Canada (CCC) goal for 2025 is 52 bushels canola per acre average for the Prairies. With that said, three of the western Canadian winners of last year’s DEKALB’s contest reached 70 bushels per acre or more. Hartman points out yield doesn’t always equal profit, though. “Achieving very high yields for bragging rights is much different than achieving high yields that produce maximum profit,” he says. So what did the winners do to achieve such high yields? And are their management techniques economically viable? Joanne Kuhn, one of the winners of last year’s DEKALB challenge, hit 70 bushels per acre in the Fort Saskatchewan region. She chose DEKALB’s 74-54 RR, a high-yielding canola variety she knew would perform well in her area. She seeded at a rate of 4.25 lb/ ac, and used a balanced nutrient program and sprayed for early weed control. “Last spring was cold and there was a frost on the 18th of May, so the field in the yield challenge was reseeded on May 22,” she recalls. “We had to reseed about half our acres of canola.” Luckily, a dry summer with timely rains kept input costs down. “With it being dry there wasn’t disease pressure, so we didn’t spray with a fungicide,” says Kuhn. “There wasn’t a need to use a pesticide on the field either.” Pushing Canola Yields 10 www.seed.ab.ca | Advancing Seed in Alberta