Striped and crucifer flea beetles are chronic pests of canola grown on the Canadian Prairies and as a result over 99% of canola seed is treated with a neonicotinoid insecticide. The flea beetles are known to differ in their tolerance to the neonicotinoids with striped being more tolerant than crucifer flea beetles. Our current project (Ag Funding Consortium: 2021F062R) has found potential differences in the tolerance of both flea beetle species to the neonicotinoid seed treatments depending on collection region. In addition, the two species have differences in their overall physiology in terms of cold temperature tolerance (striped emerge early in the spring) and flight ability (crucifer flies more actively than striped). These differences may affect the overall distribution of flea beetles within and across regions on the Prairies and have implications for management.

Two species of midge pose a threat to canola production in western Canada. Swede midge is invasive to eastern Canada where it has caused significant economic yield losses. Thus far, swede midge has not established in western Canada, but its geographic range is expanding westward from the northeastern United States. Swede midge could have a devastating impact on the canola and horticultural industries in western Canada. If swede midge continues to disperse westward, early detection will be key to attempting its eradication and preventing it from becoming an established pest in western Canada that requires management using insecticides or other inputs. 

Activity 6: Increasing soil carbon sequestration and reducing greenhouse gas emissions will directly address the priorities of reducing GHG emissions and sequestering carbon through agricultural management practices. Activity 7: The coordinated suite of objectives will provide farmers, agronomists, agricultural industry, researchers, and policy makers with information required to manage weeds effectively, anticipate new weed threats to farming systems, and mitigate selection pressure for HR weeds.

This study will explore the possibility of controlling one of the most destructive fungal pathogens of Saskatchewan, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum using mycoviruses isolated from Canada. 

This demonstration holds considerable significance for local canola producers due to its comprehensive approach to addressing the intricate challenges posed by diseases like Blackleg, Sclerotinia stem rot, and Verticillium stripe. The primary objective is to narrow the knowledge gap among farmers, recognizing the distinct management strategies required for each disease.

Saskatchewan producers are in a constant struggle to find water sources that are suitable for pesticide applications, and therefore sometimes use water of inadequate qualities. Producers commonly use the water that is available to them for spraying, surface waters like sloughs or dugouts or well water from underground aquifers are the more common sources of spray water. Using water that is too hard can lead to inefficient and wasteful applications.

The EEF products we propose to demonstrate are widely available and have shown to be effective for their intended purposes in both the scientific literature and other extension material.

The objective of this field-scale trial is to determine if farms can see agronomic and economic benefits from applying nitrogen-fixing bacteria product in wheat or canola. Producer-cooperators will determine the value of utilizing this product under the typical management practices and environmental conditions of their operation.

New opportunities protecting canola yield from biotic and abiotic stress can be developed by harnessing genetic diversity found in crop wild relatives. However, significant barriers prevent breeders from accessing this variation, impeding crop improvement goals.

The proposed research will characterize CR genes based on genome-wide association analyses between clubroot disease data and the whole genome sequence (WGS) data from UA clubroot resistance donors and 28 Brassica hosts available from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and Brassica database (BRAD) websites.

Both SaskCanola and Saskatchewan Flax Development Commissions have expressed an interest in having humic acid fertilizer studies conducted. This attention originated from their producer boards and members and was suggested to Agri-ARM as a potential ADOPT demonstration.

Early seeding typically results in better yielding crops, especially for canola, barley, wheat, peas and oats (Weir, 2019). But not all crops can be seeded early. This demonstration aims to show producers how their canola crop may have performed differently based on seeding date.

The project objective was to demonstrate the effects of commercially-available, foliar-applied nitrogen (N) fixing bacteria products on the yield and seed quality of canola grown under varying fertility levels and contrasting environments.

Engineering apomixis, the asexual reproduction through seeds without fertilization, will provide major advances to plant breeding. This is a technology which could quickly capture and maintain valuable genotypes and associated traits without inbreeding depression and help select for traits not available to current breeding strategies.

This proposed research aims to study new resistance modes of action based on S genes in canola and potentially develop novel R resource for sustainable management of blackleg in western Canada. This study will tap into a unique diversity-rich TILLING canola population…

Clubroot is a devastating disease putting at risk the Canadian canola industry. Nowadays clubroot management heavily relies on the use of clubroot resistant varieties. However, the current reality is that the resistance is being rapidly overcome by P. brassicae1, calling for new and well understood sources of resistance.

The project will identify new diversity that ensures the long term sustainability of the canola crop; specifically it will target traits that have been linked to generating a more environmentally aware and climate responsive plant, through increasing yields…

The main objective of this project is to use genome-wide association studies to identify resistance in B. napus against the Verticillium longisporum pathogen, which will directly provide resistance sources for breeding programs in the control of verticillium stripe disease.

In a previous 2019 study, the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute (PAMI) completed a survey of canola harvest losses in Western Canada to identify harvest factors had an impact on combine losses.

Greater milk yield is achieved when canola meal replaces soybean meal in the diets of high producing dairy cows. In addition, persistency of milk yield is greater for cows fed canola meal. Part of the explanation for greater milk is because cows fed canola meal consumed more feed resulting in greater milk production.