By the mid 1990s, many farmers on the Canadian prairies were changing from conventional farming to direct or one-pass seeding systems.

Lygus bugs can be important pests of canola in western Canada. At the time of this study in 1994, researchers had developed control strategies, but lacked an efficient sampling method.

Herbicides must be applied in a carrier, usually water, to ensure distribution onto plant surfaces. However, the water may contain bicarbonate ions, which can reduce the activity of clethodim (Select) and sethoxydim (Poast).

A group of compounds known as triazoles, which exhibit varying degrees of both plant growth regulating and fungicidal activity, have been shown to increase the hardiness of plants to many types of environmental stresses.

Researchers at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Scott Research Station conducted a three-year study from 1992 to 1994 to determine if late fall or early spring applications of 2,4-D amine had an effect on subsequent canola emergence and growth.

Researchers at the Melfort Research Station initiated a four-year project in the fall of 1991 to identify which combination of tillage, fertilizer and herbicide applications would provide acceptable control of cruciferous weeds and maintain high canola yields on cereal stubble.

In 1991, canola was the second largest crop in Saskatchewan, with annual production of about 1.7 million tonnes. With over half of Canada’s canola and canola oil exported, some customers had expressed concern over the high levels of chlorophyll in the seed or crude oil.

The blackleg disease of canola, caused by Leptosphaeria maculans, has resulted in serious economic losses to canola crops on the Prairies.

Wild oats and green foxtail are two of the most troublesome annual weeds encountered by canola producers in western Canada. Several postemergence herbicides are available that will control these two weeds.

Researchers conducted trials throughout the Prairie provinces from 1989 through 1991 to determine the relationship of canola yield and quality to temperature and precipitation received during the growing season.

In the early 1990s, canola was typically produced using soil incorporated herbicides and extensive seedbed preparation, often followed by post seeding packer/harrow operations.