Grant: Improving Nutrient Management in Canola and Canola-Based Cropping Systems
Date: March 2013
Term: 3 years
Status: Completed
Researcher(s): C. Grant, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), Brandon MB, S. Malhi (AAFC Melfort), B. Beres (AAFC Lethbridge), D. Pageau and J. Lafond (AAFC Normandin), J. Schoenau and F. Walley (University of Saskatchewan), J. Heard (MAFRI), D. Flaten (University of Manitoba), T. S. Sahota (Thunder Bay Research Centre), B. Hellegards (Kellburn Farm)
SaskCanola Investment: n/a
Total Project Cost: n/a
Funding Partners: n/a
Project Summary
Researchers conducted a broad three-year project to evaluate improved practices for S and P management in canola. Under the project four main studies were conducted in 2010, 2011 and 2012 in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. The results confirmed that optimum yield was obtained when both N and S were supplied in adequate amounts. Although yield response to P and S varied considerably from site to site, generally yield was not strongly affected by the source of fertilizer. However, the results showed that canola stand density can be significantly reduced when seed-placed P and S fertilizers are used in combination, with sulphur being particularly damaging.
Led by Dr. Cynthia Grant, AAFC, Brandon, Manitoba, researchers conducted a broad three-year project to evaluate improved practices for S and P management in canola. Under the project four main studies were conducted in 2010, 2011 and 2012 in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. The project included field, growth chamber and laboratory studies. For each study, researchers set out to answer a specific question or objective to help improve nutrient management in canola-based cropping systems.
Study 1a and 1b:
What are safe rates of P and S blends that can be seed-placed across a range of environments?
Do traditional and enhanced efficiency P and S fertilizers differ in their effect on seedling damage, nutrient use efficiency, crop yield, and canola quality when applied alone and in blends across a range of environments?
In Study 1a, researchers assessed the influence of combinations of seed-placed P and S fertilizer forms and rates on hybrid canola. Various combinations of seed-placed P and S fertilizer forms and rates (26 treatments) were applied and their effects on seedling damage, crop yield, and quality of hybrid canola were assessed at locations on the Prairies (Lethbridge, Brandon, Carman and Glenlea), Ontario (Thunder Bay) and Quebec (Normandin) over three years from 2010 to 2012. A growth room experiment was also conducted to determine the effect of soils from different landscape positions on the toxicity of AS and MAP fertilizers placed in the seed-row with canola.
The results showed indications of seedling toxicity with excess rates of monoammonium phosphate + ammonium sulphate (MAP + AS) or ammonium polyphosphate + ammonium thiosulphate (APP + ATS) in combination at about half of the site-years. Seed-placed P and S significantly reduced stand density at several of the sites, with the effect of S being particularly damaging. The use of the Microessentials S15 (MES15) or the rapid release sulphur (RRS) product occasionally reduced seedling damage but did not generally increase final seed yield as compared to the traditional MAP+AS.
The study also showed significant increases in seed yield with applications of P and S at two thirds of the sites, with the highest yield occurring when both nutrients were applied. Yield response to P and S varied considerably from site to site and was generally not strongly affected by the source of fertilizer. However, where the yield response to S was strong, yield tended to be greater with the AS sources than with the other, possibly more slowly available forms. For more information: http://www.usask.ca/soilsncrops/conference-proceedings/2013 pdf/Day_1_Room_1_Presentations/002-Laryssa_Grenkow.pdf
In Study 1b, a series of growth chamber studies were conducted at the University of Saskatchewan to determine the influence of combinations of seed-placed P and S fertilizer rates on seedling damage of several oilseed types under controlled environment conditions. Treatments included 0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 kg S/ha as ammonium sulfate (21-0-0) alone, and the same rates in combination with 15 and 30 kg P205/ha as monoammonium phosphate (12-51-0).
The study showed that rates of seed-row placed AS above 20–30 kg S/ha caused significant reductions in emergence and biomass of many Brassica species/cultivars. The addition of 15 to 30 kg P205/ha MAP along with AS often caused further reductions in emergence and biomass, although these were generally not large with B. napus cultivars.
In the study Brassica cultivars and species differed in their sensitivity and responsiveness to seed-placed MES15. All B. napus cultivars could tolerate up to 30 kg S/ha, 66 kg P205/ha and 26 kg N/ha when applied together in the MES15 formulation. Rates of seed-row placed S as MES15 above 20 to 30 kg S/ha were associated with significant reductions in emergence of many Brassica species/cultivars. In general small seeded cultivars were more prone to germination damage than larger seeded B. napus and B. carinata cultivars. Yellow-seeded canola was slightly more prone to reduced emergence with seed-placed MES15 than the black-seeded cultivars.
Controlled environment studies using various Saskatchewan soil types showed no significant differences in biomass yield among the three S fertilizers on the Brown and Black soils. However, on Gray soils, biomass yield was highest for AS followed by ATS then NPS.
Study 2:
How does preceding crop (flax, wheat or canola) influence soil quality parameters (aggregation, microbial activity, penetration resistance), microbial activity, canola yield, crop quality and rate of N and S fertilizers needed for optimum crop yield and quality? (Study 2)
In study 2, researchers evaluated the influence of preceding crop on relative response of canola to N and S fertilization. Flax, canola and wheat were grown as preceding crops in the first year of a two-year cropping sequence, fertilized with the recommended rate of N, S and P for the location and crop, based on soil test values. The following year, canola was grown after each of the three preceding crops using a standard rate of 20 kg P205/ha as seed-placed MAP, with varying rates and sources of N and S fertilizer. The N source in year 2 was 75 per cent ESN and 25 per cent urea and side-banded at seeding. The sulphur was side-banded as ammonium sulphate (21-0-0-24). The N treatment rate was balanced for the N in the ammonium sulphate.
Throughout the study, canola yield consistently tended to be higher after wheat than after either oilseed crop, with seed yield of canola tending to be lowest when grown after canola. The highest yields generally occurred when both N and S were applied at moderate to high levels. Nitrogen management was influenced by preceding crop, with N depletion by canola sometimes leading to reduced yields when canola followed without adequate N. While low canola yields following a canola crop were not solely due to enhanced N depletion, it appeared to be a factor at several sites. On S-deficient sites, low S supply prevented the crop from responding efficiently to N applications. At one location, application of N in the absence of S led to no increase or a slight decrease in seed yield, indicating a severe S deficiency.
Including canola in the crop rotation did not appear to negatively impact important soil parameters such as microbial biomass, glomalin production, or associated physical characteristics such as water stable aggregation.
Study 3
How do various novel S fertilizer sources influence canola yield and quality for biodiesel production?
In this study, researchers assessed the feasibility of rapid release micronized elemental S (RRES) in preventing S deficiency in hybrid canola for diesel. Replicated field trials were conducted at a sulphur deficient site near Star City, Saskatchewan for three years. Treatments included RRES and potassium sulphate fertilizer at different application timings and placements to compare their relative effectiveness on seed and straw yield, oil and protein concentration in seed and N and S uptake of canola. Rates were 20 kg/ha for S and 150 kg/ha for N.
Canola seed yield increased considerably with all sulphate-S treatments compared to the zero-S control, although seed yield tended to be slightly lower in the sideband spring and autumn broadcast treatments than the other sulphate-S treatments. Compared to zero-S control, seed yield also increased significantly with all rapid release elemental S (RRES) treatments, but the increase was much greater with autumn applied RRES than spring applied RRES. Autumn applied RRES produced only slightly lower and spring applied RRES produced much lower seed yield than the highest yielding spring applied sulphate-S broadcast pre-till or seedrow-placed S treatments.
Full Report PDF: n/a