Gregg: Canola Direct-Cut Harvest System Development
Date: April 2017
Term: 3 years
Status: Completed
Researcher(s): Mitchell Drayton, Nathan Gregg, PAMI Saskatchewan, Humboldt SK
SaskCanola Investment: n/a
Total Project Cost: n/a
Funding Partners: WGRF, ADF
Project Summary
Researchers at PAMI compared header types for straight combining canola in field-scale trials over three years, looking for the optimal system. Overall, the results of the study indicate there was no definitive harvest system that had the highest yield, or the most desirable crop qualities, across all conditions encountered. All harvest systems resulted in similar crop quality under the conditions tested. This project highlighted the potential for straight cutting canola, and validated that it is a viable option for Western Canada. Overall crop management, in addition to environmental conditions, will largely determine the potential benefit of straight cutting canola for an individual operation.
Researchers at PAMI initiated a three-year study in 2014 to compare header types for straight combining canola, looking for the optimal system. The first objective of the project was to compare and evaluate the performance of three commercially available combine header types as part of a direct-cut canola harvest system, using the conventional swath-based harvest approach as the benchmarking standard. The second objective was to compare and evaluate the performance impact of settings and modifications to critical loss-influencing components. Factors including yield, seed quality, header shatter loss, and environmental shatter loss were measured.
From 2014 through 2016 crop years, field-scale plots were established at two main sites near Indian Head and Swift Current, Saskatchewan. For 2015 and 2016 harvests, a third smaller-scale site with a focus on test procedure refinement, divider type effect on header loss, and header optimization was added near Humboldt, Saskatchewan. Two commercial canola varieties were used for the test plots at the Swift Current and Indian Head sites, including InVigor L130, a typical canola variety, and InVigor L140P, a variety with “Pod Shatter Resistance”. At the Humboldt site in 2016, all trials were completed using Dekalb 75-65 RR, a variety with 'strong pod integrity’.
Three headers were used for the straight-cut treatments, including a rigid auger, extendable knife auger, and a rigid draper. A New Holland 35 ft Varifeed 760CG was used for the first two treatments, with the cutter bar fore and aft position adjusted to represent two separate header types: a rigid auger header with the cutter bar fully retracted, and an extended knife with the cutter bar extended up to 23 inches. The third straight cut header configuration used was a Honey Bee 36 ft draper header, which represented a common rigid draper header used in North America. A New Holland 790CP-15 belt pickup was used for canola windrows, and is a common configuration used in Western Canada.
Researchers developed a unique method of collecting header and environmental loss, using a multi-layer environmental loss tray, which was useful for both protecting fallen seeds from predators, and to keep the seeds dry. This system worked flawlessly in the environmental loss measures, and could be implemented in future research, public or private, when quantifying environmental losses between canola varieties. The same tray design principle could also be applied for measuring header losses, when comparing either canola varieties or straight cut headers. The unique array of collection trays across the width of the header was found to accurately depict header losses in the respective zones and showcased the type of loss, be it whole pods or individual seeds.
Overall, the results of the study indicate there was no definitive harvest system that had the highest yield, or the most desirable crop qualities, across all conditions encountered. In some site-years, the swathed treatment produced the highest yield in both canola varieties tested, and others years an advantage was seen with straight cutting. The swathed treatments often yielded higher than the straight-cut treatments in the typical canola variety, in which environmental shatter loss reduced yield obtained in the straight-cut treatments. However, in the shatter resistant canola variety, straight-cutting often outyielded swathing. All harvest systems resulted in similar crop quality under the conditions tested. This indicates that overall crop management, in addition to environmental conditions, will largely determine the potential benefit of straight cutting canola for an individual operation.
Although not a direct objective of the original project, the comparison between a shatter- resistant variety and a typical canola variety became a significant aspect of the study. The range in losses between varieties showcases the potential for risk mitigation by growing a shatter resistant variety, both under ideal and adverse environmental conditions. It is recommended that a producer consider growing a canola variety with documented shatter resistance, if they intend on implementing a straight cut harvest strategy. As there is no defined standard for shatter resistance in canola, it is important to evaluate individual varieties and note that varieties labeled as shatter resistant or shatter tolerant may not be a direct substitute for the variety used in this study.
Across the study site years, the extendable knife header averaged the least header loss, followed by the draper, and then the rigid header. The lower loss with the extendable knife was especially noticeable at the centre of the header, where presumably seeds thrown by the reel and rotating auger fingers were retained. Divider type proved to be a major source of harvest losses at the ends of the header. The divider type with the lowest loss varied dependant on crop conditions experienced during the site-year. Overall, the rotary knife divider averaged higher losses than either a passive fixed divider or vertical knife.
This project highlighted the potential for straight cutting canola, and validated that it is a viable option for Western Canada. This study developed a strong comparison of headers for losses, and yield and crop quality differences between windrowing and straight cutting. Despite the knowledge gained, there are still many more unanswered questions that warrant additional research, in order to provide growers and the industry with the best possible advice for utilizing this harvest management system.
Scientific publications.
PAMI. 2018. Guidebook for Straight Cutting Canola.
http://pami.ca/2018/08/guidebook-for-straight-cutting-canola/
Full Report PDF: Canola Direct-Cut Harvest System Development