Overall, this project clearly demonstrates benefits to diversity in IWM tactics studied, and the ability to eliminate herbicide application for three years although it may require significant compromises to the desired rotation. Lower responsiveness from twining weeds like wild buckwheat and cleavers illustrate a gap in our current IWM strategies based on the growth morphology of these weeds. In addition there is a need to understand the lack of impact of perennials and silaging on specific weed species and their weed seedbank densities.
Read MoreIn late 2018, the Agri-Arm group devised a study to compare the quality and performance of certified wheat seed against farm-saved seed (FSS). Farm-saved seed is the producer’s own seed which they clean and use as a seed source for their own farm, because it is cheaper than buying certified seed. Historically, the majority of wheat acres in western Canada are seeded with FSS. Producers will typically introduce better genetics by purchasing certified seed and then use FSS after that for a few years. SaskWheat wanted to know if this was a best practice or whether certified seed should be used more often because it may be better quality, more productive seed. A fair comparison between certified and FSS would require the generation of a lot of data. To this end, the project involved all 8 Agri-Arm locations in Saskatchewan and was funded for 3 years (2019-2021).
Read MoreResidue management is a significant challenge for producers on a year-to-year basis. Uneven and poorly distributed residues can lead to many complications for producers, such as uneven seed depth the following spring, blocked drill openers, and uneven plant stands and emergence. Because Western Canadian producers often seasonally rotate wheat and canola crops, it is important to have a better understanding of how wheat residue management can affect the emergence of canola in a rotation. The objective of this research was to analyze canola emergence and yield based on different wheat residue harvest management strategies.
Read MoreSpring wheat remains the most important crop in western Canada, with high-quality Canadian western red spring wheat accounting for about two-thirds of the total. Because of the short growing season, yields of spring wheat are generally lower than those obtained with winter wheat. In addition, a great deal of bread wheat grown in the northern regions of the Prairie Provinces is downgraded because it becomes frost-damaged before full maturity. Later maturing wheat can also be more difficult to harvest. Hence, early maturity is a desired trait to be incorporated (without compromising high yield and quality) into Canadian spring wheat.
Read MoreSoils are the largest terrestrial carbon sink on Earth and increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) content is a means of sequestering atmospheric CO2. Limited work has been done to examine the effect of long-term conservation agriculture management practices on the stability of SOC in prairie soils. The objective of this study was to assess the nature and permanence of sequestered SOC in contrasting Saskatchewan soils after 21 years of conservation management practices.
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