Canola yields at K-State Research and Extension trial sites and producer fields were lower than recent years. Similar to the state’s wheat crop, canola was affected by challenging weather conditions. Limited soil moisture, cold winter temperatures, a cool start to spring, and a warmer-than-normal May contributed to reduced biomass, shorter flowering and grain filling periods, and lower yield potential. Despite these challenges, yields tended to be somewhat better than expected.
Yields were the lowest where plant stands were thinned by cold temperatures in late December 2017 and early January 2018. Yields were the highest where plant stands remained relatively intact. This was particularly true near Manhattan. Variety trials were planted in mid-September after a three-quarters inch rain, allowing the plants to achieve adequate fall growth going into the winter months. Even though temperatures dropped below 0 degrees F six times, with a minimum low temperature of -8 degrees F, winter survival still averaged near 90%.
Trial sites for the canola breeding program were harvested at Colby, Garden City, Manhattan, and Norwich. Cultivar averages were in the upper 30s near Manhattan and upper 20s/low 30s near Norwich. The Colby and Garden City trial sites was negatively affected by hail (results are pending). Trial sites near Hutchinson and Kiowa were lost to poor establishment. Trial sites near Belleville and Troy were lost to poor establishment and eventually winterkill because the plants were too small for overwintering.
One positive outcome to the challenging year is that 2018 was a good year for rating winter survival. Winterkill does not occur every year in canola so in colder years it is important to see differences in survivability. We continue to add to our knowledge base about how particular cultivars handle the cold. This information provides us with a means for making better variety recommendations and advancements.
The 2018 National Winter Canola Variety Trial (NWCVT) entries are provided in Table 1. Yields for Manhattan and Norwich are summarized for the open-pollinated (OP) and hybrid entries in Figures 1 and 2, respectively.
Table 1. Entries for the 2018 National Winter Canola Variety Trial
|
Name |
Source |
Type† |
Trait‡ |
|
KS4670 |
Kansas State University |
OP |
|
|
KSR4723 |
Kansas State University |
OP |
Roundup Ready |
|
KSR4724S |
Kansas State University |
OP |
Roundup Ready/SURT |
|
Surefire |
KSU / Spectrum Crop Development |
OP |
SURT |
|
Riley |
Kansas State University |
OP |
|
|
Sumner |
Kansas State University |
OP |
SURT |
|
Wichita |
Kansas State University |
OP |
|
|
Torrington |
Ohlde Seed Farms |
OP |
|
|
QUARTZ |
KWS-MOMONT / Photosyntech |
OP |
|
|
HIDYLLE |
KWS-MOMONT |
H |
|
|
HARMOUR |
KWS-MOMONT |
H |
|
|
MH 15HIB001 |
KWS-MOMONT |
H |
Clearfield |
|
MH 15HIB002 |
KWS-MOMONT |
H |
Clearfield |
|
MH 15AY085 |
KWS-MOMONT |
H |
|
|
MH 15HT229 |
KWS-MOMONT |
H |
|
|
Edimax CL |
Rubisco Seeds |
H |
Clearfield |
|
Inspiration |
Rubisco Seeds |
H |
|
|
Mercedes |
Rubisco Seeds |
H |
|
|
Popular |
Rubisco Seeds |
H |
|
|
Atora |
DL Seeds |
H |
|
|
Event |
DL Seeds |
H |
|
|
Phoenix CL |
DL Seeds |
H |
Clearfield |
|
Plurax CL |
DL Seeds |
H |
Clearfield |
|
Temptation |
DL Seeds |
H |
|
|
HyCLASS115W |
CROPLAN by WinField |
OP |
Roundup Ready/SURT |
|
HyCLASS225W |
CROPLAN by WinField |
OP |
Roundup Ready/SURT |
|
CP320W |
CROPLAN by WinField |
OP |
Roundup Ready |
|
Star 915W |
Star Specialty Seeds |
OP |
Roundup Ready/SURT |
|
Star 930W |
Star Specialty Seeds |
OP |
Roundup Ready |
|
DKW44-10 |
Monsanto / DEKALB |
OP |
Roundup Ready |
|
DKW45-25 |
Monsanto / DEKALB |
OP |
Roundup Ready/SURT |
|
DKW46-15 |
Monsanto / DEKALB |
OP |
Roundup Ready/SURT |
|
DK Imiron CL |
Monsanto / DEKALB |
H |
Semi-dwarf, Clearfield |
|
DK Imistar CL |
Monsanto / DEKALB |
H |
Semi-dwarf, Clearfield |
|
DK Sensei |
Monsanto / DEKALB |
H |
Semi-dwarf |
|
DK Severnyi |
Monsanto / DEKALB |
H |
Semi-dwarf |
|
†OP=open pollinated; H=hybrid ‡SURT: sulfonylurea herbicide carryover tolerant |
|||
At Manhattan, Surefire was the highest yielding OP at 46.4 bu/acre. Surefire is a new variety release from K-State in 2017 that has been licensed to Spectrum Crop Development. The next highest yielding variety was DKW44-10 at 46.2 bu/acre. Rounding out the top 5 included K-State experimental varieties KS4675 (46.0 bu/acre) and KS4670 (42.2 bu/acre), and Star 930W (39.9 bu/acre). Star 930W is a K-State-released variety (KSR07363) that was recently licensed to Star Specialty Seeds.
At Norwich, the highest yielding OP was Wichita at 34.2 bu/acre. Rounding out the top 5 included Riley (33.7 bu/acre), Surefire (32.8 bu/acre), CP320W (32.6 bu/acre), and KS4670 at 32.3 bu/acre. CP320W is a 2017 K-State-released variety that was licensed to CROPLAN by WinField.
Harmour, a conventional hybrid from KWS-MOMONT was the highest yielding hybrid at 46.1 bu/acre in Manhattan. DK Imiron CL (46.0 bu/acre), DK Imistar CL (45.8 bu/acre), Event (45.0 bu/acre), and Plurax CL (43.8 bu/acre) rounded out the top 5. In Norwich, Plurax CL was the top yielding hybrid at 38.0 bu/acre followed by Event (38.0 bu/acre), DK Severnyi (37.9 bu/acre), Popular (37.0 bu/acre), and Mercedes (36.4 bu/acre).
Figure 1. Yield results for the Manhattan and Norwich OP NWCVT in 2018.
Figure 2. Yield results for the Manhattan and Norwich Hybrid NWCVT in 2018.
Careful variety selection is very important for successful winter canola production. Watch future Agronomy eUpdates for additional trial site results and suggestions to help with variety selection.
Mike Stamm, Canola Breeder
mjstamm@ksu.edu
Tags: canola yield results