No-till seeding of canola using the rotary harrow

Date: 1992
Term: 1 year
Status: Completed
Researcher: Gordon Hultgreen, Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute
SaskCanola Investment: n/a
Total Project Cost: n/a
Funding Partners: n/a

Project Summary

In the early 1990s, canola was typically produced using soil incorporated herbicides and extensive seedbed preparation, often followed by post seeding packer/harrow operations. In this study, researchers wanted to determine the effectiveness of incorporating broadcast canola in no-till conditions using the recently introduced rotary harrow at two locations in Saskatchewan. The rotary harrow/packer provided adequate emergence and yield under typical soil moisture and weather conditions at one of two sites.

In the early 1990s, canola was typically produced using soil incorporated herbicides and extensive seedbed preparation, often followed by post seeding packer/harrow operations. Excess tillage results in seedbed quality problems and potential soil erosion, as well as added costs in fuel, machinery wear and operator time. A device, known as the rotary harrow, had recently been introduced to the Canadian prairies. The combination of effective no-till seeding with the rotary harrow, along with the introduction of herbicide tolerance in canola, allowing post-emergent control of weeds, presented an opportunity for producers to reduce the cost of production through energy savings, while greatly enhancing soil conservation in the production of canola.

This study was conducted during 1992 at the Canola Productivity Centres at Naicam and Foam Lake, Saskatchewan to determine the effectiveness of incorporating broadcast canola into standing cereal stubble and no-till conditions using a rotary harrow. Eight seeding methods were compared in this study (Table 1). These sites were seeded into standing cereal stubble and nutrient deficiencies were corrected prior to seeding using broadcast granular fertilizer at Foam Lake and spoke wheel injection of liquid fertilizer at Naicam. Volunteer crop and weeds were controlled with the pre-seed application of Roundup prior to seeding. Horizon Polish canola treated with Vitavax RS and mixed with Furadan was surface broadcast using a Valmar granular applicator at a seeding rate of 10 lb/ac on all plots except the hoe drill treatments which were seeded conventionally. Speed for all seeding and incorporating operations was 5 mph. The Brandt rotary harrow/coil packer and Flexi-Coil 5 bar tine harrow/coil packer were used for the incorporation treatments.

TABLE 1. Seeding Methods at Naicam and Foam Lake

Rotary harrow with coil packers one pass

Rotary harrow with coil packers two passes Hoedrill

Conventional 5 bar tine harrows with coil packers one pass

Rotary harrow one pass

Rotary harrow two passes

Coil Packers one pass

Check no incorporation

*All rotary harrow treatments at 35˚ gang angle.

Overall, the rotary harrow/packer provided adequate no-till germination, emergence and yield of canola under good moisture conditions typical of seeding conditions in the canola adapted area of Saskatchewan. At Naicam, the rotary harrow/packer and the hoedrill both exceeded the minimum 60 plants/m2, which was required for maximum yields of existing open-pollinated varieties. The conventional harrow/packer 1x and packers 1x did not improve germination and emergence beyond the non-incorporated check, with emergence counts below 5 plants/m2. (See Table 2) The highest yields were for the hoedrill, rotary harrow/packer 2x and the rotary harrow 2x, and yield differences were not significant among these top treatments. (See Table 3)

TABLE 2. Canola Emergence at Naicam

TABLE 3. Canola Seed Yields at Naicam

At Foam Lake, under hot, dry, windy conditions at seeding time, the incorporation of broadcast canola using various combinations of rotary harrows/packers resulted in almost no germination and emergence of canola until rainfall occurred about one month following the seeding operation. The hot, dry conditions that occurred at the Foam Lake site were atypical of seeding conditions in the canola adapted areas of Saskatchewan. Consequently, the poor results at this site should not be used to conclude that the rotary harrows should not be used for the incorporation of surface broadcast canola. However, these results do indicate that weather conditions should be considered in the decision to use the rotary harrow for seeding canola.

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