The Canola Council of Canada (CCC) recommends a canola stand of five to eight canola plants per square foot. This is based on hybrid canola studies from Western Canada, which show canola crops need a minimum of three to four plants per square foot to maintain yield potential. Crops with plant populations lower than this will almost always yield less. A target of five to eight allows for some loss — say from frost or flea beetles — so the crop stays at or above the four-plant threshold.
It also helps when stands are uniform in number across the field and uniform in staging. This uniformity makes pest management and harvest timing easier, and can also add to yield, especially if stands are below the target.
In CCC’s Canola Watch emails, which provide timely agronomy tips weekly through the growing season, we use quizzes to make agronomy fun. To continue that theme, here are three quiz questions to test your knowledge on canola plant establishment. The answers are provided at the end of the article.
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Question 1. One way to meet the target stand while also improving the return on investment for seed is to increase the percentage of seeds that emerge to form plants. What is the typical emergence percentage for canola crops in Western Canada?
A. 10-20 per cent
B. 30-40 per cent
C. 50-60 per cent
D. 70-80 per cent
Question 2. Canola seeded into cool soil takes longer to germinate than canola seeded into warm soil. Research from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Beaverlodge, Alta., measured the pace of canola seed germination based on soil temperature. In soil at 8 C, the study found it took about five days for all seeds to germinate. In soil at 2 C, what percentage of seeds had germinated after five days?
A. Zero per cent
B. 10 per cent
C. 25 per cent
D. 50 per cent
Question 3. Plant density can influence days to maturity. CCC’s Canola Encyclopedia cites one study showing canola crops with 20 to 30 plants per square metre (two to three per square foot) will branch up to four times more than those with 70 to 140 plants per square metre (seven to 14 per square foot). This extra branching can delay seed maturity up to ___ days, depending on environmental conditions.
A. 3
B. 7
C. 14
D. 21
Canola calculator
Using the Canola Calculator on the CCC website, canola growers can find various tools to set seeding rates based on seed size, target stand and estimated emergence percentage. That same site also has the Canola Counts survey, a citizen science program the CCC launched last year. Participants enter data from a specific field, including plant count per square foot, seed size (grams per thousand) and seeding rate (pounds per acre). The calculator provides the emergence percentage for that field.
Canola Watch has lots of tips on seeding rates and how to increase emergence percentage. Find articles and sign up for timely email updates at canolawatch.org.
Quiz answers: 1 (C), 2 (A), 3 (D)
