This will accelerate the breeding of improved canola varieties as breeders from academia/government/industry use this service to phenotype larger breeding programs. This builds research capacity at GIFS, and will provide a useful phenotyping platform that will be utilized in future research proposals.

The ability to measure soil fertility on the fly would revolutionize how producers test their soil. Instead of collecting soil core samples in a limited fashion in a field and mailing them for testing each year, soil fertility levels would be measured in real time by a NIR probe linked to variable rate equipment to deliver the optimal amounts of inputs.

Healthy soils form the basis of productive farming systems, and soil health tests can be useful tools to support good management decisions. The concept of soil health recognizes soil as a living and dynamic natural system, a notion that aptly fits in the realm of biology; however, soil health tests are often dominated by indicators of soil fertility and chemistry. Biological indicators of soil health remain understudied and underrepresented in soil health assessments.

MORSE has the potential to increase the adoption of variable rate technologies, which could increase production in SK by 5% while improving environmental sustainability. It could revolutionize the way that agronomic experiments are done by replacing the conventional small plot experiments which have higher variability in the results.

This type of deep knowledge will be particularly essential for farmers facing an increasingly variable climate - they need to understand how and why different areas of their fields might respond under marginal production conditions in order to maximize both their profits and their productivity.

The survey provides information on the abundance and distribution of weed species in major annual crops including wheat, durum, barley, oats, corn, canola, soybean, flax, mustard, peas, lentils. The weed survey data can be used to document the changes in weed population that have occurred since the previous provincial survey.

This research has been an integrated and collaborative approach to addressing the major research priorities around the new disease, verticillium stripe, in Canada. It includes four specific objectives; to measure yield loss, monitor disease development, evaluate canola genotypes resistant to verticillium stripe and determine the interacting effects of verticillium stripe and blackleg.

We did not find that high rates of phosphorus (P) fertilizer affected crop yield and had only a minimal impact on the overall canola microbiome community structure. In our study, the intermediate-rate P supplied in a narrow opener was the most cost-effective fertilization method which generated equivalent canola yield to the high P rate. Our rhizobox studies showed that early canola growth was higher in plants where half of the root system was exposed to fertilized soil and the other half to unfertilized soil. Each half of the root system had a distinct root microbiome indicating that the root-microbiome system may confer the best advantage in soil where P availability is heterogenous as would be found in most field soils.

An understanding of the effectiveness of liming to control different pathotypes will help in decision making, since liming to increase soil pH can be costly and will not produce satisfactory results if the pathogen strains present are less sensitive to pH.

This research project will provide canola producers with practical approaches to managing small patches of clubroot. This will be especially important in situations where the patch represents a new introduction to the area or farm, or where commercial sources of resistance are not available.

The objective of this project is to determine the best combination of fertilizer source, placement, and timing to maximize yield, improve fertilizer N use efficiency and reduce losses of N2O and ammonia (NH3) on light textured soil (sandy loam) in south-central Manitoba.

Flea beetles (both Crucifer and Striped), diamondback moths and aster leafhoppers are major pests of canola, all feeding on the plant at different times throughout the growing season. The outbreaks of each of these insects are difficult to predict year to year and currently there are no resistant varieties available, leaving insecticide application as the only control option.

This project has identified several soil-derived bacteria that are effective at inhibiting disease progression caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, a fungal pathogen of canola and other plants that causes stem rot, yield decline, and plant death. The mechanisms of action of the most effective biocontrol agent were investigated, and the bacterium was grown in formulations according to commercial standards. These industry-ready formulations were demonstrated to be as effective as the laboratory cultures, resulting in a biocontrol product that will soon be available as an option for producers.

Nitrogen fertilizer to wheat and canola is one of the major input costs for growers and there has been continuous effort to improve N use efficiency for higher yield and seed quality.

4R Nutrient Stewardship is a tremendous success story of a decision support framework that has been widely adopted among Canadian Prairie farmers as an easily understood tool to optimize agricultural productivity through judicious fertilizer use and subsequently manage risk.

Consumers are increasingly concerned about the safety and sustainability of agricultural production practices. In response, many corporations now require suppliers to demonstrate the sustainability of their products and practices.

In 2018, Health Canada proposed to phase out all agricultural uses of thiamethoxam and clothianidin neonicotinoids which are the most used insecticides for canola protection against flea beetles in the Canadian prairies.

Pollen beetles were susceptible to three of four insecticides tested. Yield reductions was detected at 7-9 beetles per plant but not at four beetles per ten sweep. Pollen beetles were not detected in the Prairies provinces and no native parasitoids were found attacking pollen beetle larvae in Atlantic Canada.

Crop residues supply critically needed carbon (C) and nutrients to the soil. These residue-derived resources support plant growth and the formation of soil organic matter, a cornerstone of soil health.

Prairie crop producers have been seeking effective approaches to increase crop yields, improve resource use efficiencies or minimize input costs, enhance agroecosystem resiliency and the whole-farm economics, and decrease the negative impact of farming on the environment while protecting the soil resource. To achieve those multiple goals simultaneously, a systems approach must be taken where Best Management Practices (BMPs) are integrated together for the entire farm.