Getting some of the crop seeded toward the tail end of a western Canadian winter may seem like a whimsical idea, but field research has shown on those slightly warmer days when the snow is gone, ultra-early seeding of a cereal crop becomes a viable option.
The concept of ultra-early seeding does come with a common proviso — this isn’t going to work for every farm or every year, but if the stars line up (the fields are bare and the ground temperature gets to at least 2 C), seeding hard red spring wheat or durum in early April, early March, or even mid-February, can produce an excellent crop.
Several years of field research by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) as well as Farming Smarter, an applied research association in southern Alberta, comes to the same conclusion — cereals seem to do well with ultra-early seeding, producing yields as good as if not better than crops seeded during a more conventional seeding window.
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It is early days in analyzing some of the latest research figures from the 2022 growing season, but in Lethbridge, Alta., durum yields under irrigation ranged as high as 130 bushels per acre on plots seeded in March when the soil temperature was only about 2 C. “There were a range of yields,” cautions Mike Gretzinger research co-ordinator with Farming Smarter. “That was the top end, but it shows the crop can do well when seeded at these colder temperatures.”
Farming Smarter looked at ultra-early seeding of durum under irrigation, while Brian Beres, an AAFC research scientist specializing in agronomy, has been looking at ultra-early seeding of spring wheat and durum under dryland conditions in several locations across Western Canada — more on that to follow.
In its 2022 research plots, Farming Smarter looked at a couple of aspects of ultra-early seeding — in some plots, how soil temperatures at seeding (ranging from 0 to 10 C) affect yields. Gretzinger says seeding started at a soil temperature of 0 C in late February to early March, and then about every two weeks after that, plots were seeded as soil temperatures increased. The soil temperature reached 10 C by early May.
Other Farming Smarter research plots evaluated ultra-early seeding but at different soil depths ranging from shallow to deep — from about one inch to three inches.
Yields from the 2022 research trials with ultra-early seeded durum ranged from about 80 to 130 bushels per acre. “The best yields were on plots seeded when soil temperature was at 2 C, and we saw a slight improvement in yield with the crop seeded deeper at about three inches,” says Gretzinger.
At the deeper seeding depth, there appeared to be improved seedling survival and higher plant counts. While the crop seeded at other dates and at shallower depths had respectable yields in the 110- to 120-bushel range, germination may have been reduced by 10 to 15 per cent, with slightly fewer plants but more tillering.
Gretzinger says with seeding at 0 C it took the crop up to about 70 days to emerge, while at soil temperatures around 2-4 C it took about one month. At 8 and 10 C, which is getting into late April and early May, the crop emerged in about six to 10 days.
“If we had a nice day in late February or early March, with the soil at 0-2 C, we would seed, but then it would get cold again, so not much happened,” says Gretzinger. “But then it would warm up again and we’d seed again. The early-seeded plots would germinate and then perhaps not do much when it got cold, but when it did warm up, they really took off.
“The late-seeded plots, which were probably a bit late for southern Alberta, got out of the ground faster, but some of the ultra-early seeded plots were already two weeks ahead of them.”
Some of the lowest yields in this research project were on plots seeded late in warmer soils.
Gretzinger says the ultra-early seeded plots had good stand establishment and grew vigorously, providing strong competition against weeds. There wasn’t an opportunity to apply a pre-seed burnoff to ultra-early seeded plots as there were no weeds. However, when it was time for the usual in-crop treatment, the crops on some of the early-seeded plots were growing vigorously and were already at the boot stage and there was no need for a herbicide application.
The plan is for Farming Smarter to continue research trials with ultra-early seeding under irrigation again in 2023.
Dryland study
Beres conducted a four-year study that involved ultra-early seeding dates with hard red spring wheat on dryland sites in several locations across Western Canada, including Dawson Creek, B.C., Edmonton and Lethbridge, Alta., and Scott, Indian Head and Swift Current, Sask. The overall conclusion was ultra-early seeding produced as good as and, in several cases, higher yields than crops seeded during the more traditional April/May seeding dates.
Beres says the take-home message is if conditions appear right on your western Canadian farm this winter, be ready to give ultra-early seeding a try.
“Really, the standard practice of seeding crops in late April or early May was just an arbitrary seeding date often determined by crop insurance deadlines,” says Beres. There really wasn’t any science saying a crop couldn’t be seeded before the soil warmed to 10 degrees Celsius.”
About six years ago, Beres designed the first “proof of concept” research project to see if there was any reason hard red spring wheat crops couldn’t be seeded much earlier. In different locations from the B.C. Peace River region to southern Saskatchewan, conventional spring wheat varieties were seeded at different soil temperatures ranging from 0-10 C.
Beres says crops produced by the ultra-early seeding temperature dates of 0-2 C yielded just as well if not better, and following an economic analysis showed if growers waited for the conventional 10 C seeding temperature, they could see a $200-per-acre loss.
Beres says similar to winter wheat, the early-seeded spring wheat was able to make use of early spring moisture, got a head start in producing leaf biomass for vigorous growth, developed a canopy that choked out weeds, flowered early ahead of the mid-summer heat, which can often affect yield, and could be harvested in August often under more ideal harvest weather.
Beres says as a bonus, the concept of seeding early will work with existing crop varieties. “We don’t need to come up with anything special,” he says. The wheat and durum varieties developed in Western Canada are already adapted for cold tolerance. And ultra-early seeding isn’t something that can be done only in southern Alberta. If field conditions are right, it can be done in any part of Western Canada.”
Beres says he doesn’t expect farmers to seed early every year — seeding conditions will have to line up. And also a lot will depend on a producer’s comfort level.
“But we found seeding these cereals into cold soils is much less problematic than many people thought,” he says. “There is no problem seeding into cold soils under direct seeding or zero-till farming practices, the seed isn’t going to just sit there and rot.”
Beres had a few pointers on preparing for ultra-early seeding. Since February is too early for a pre-seed burnoff with glyphosate, for example, farmers may need to apply some soil residual herbicides in the fall. Also, seed at a higher seeding rate — Beres recommends starting at 40 seeds per square foot for spring wheat and 45 seeds per square foot for durum. Additionally, make sure seed is treated with a dual action fungicide and insecticide seed treatment. “Have your seed lined up and equipment ready, and as soon as the soil hits that 0 to 2 C range, start seeding,” he says.
With promising results on hard red spring wheat and durum, ongoing research will look at ultra-early seeding of other cereals, such as barley and oats. While the answer will be in the results, researchers expect most crops will perform well seeding early into cold soils.
Management change would be required
Southern Alberta farmer John Kolk finds the concept of ultra-early seeding interesting, and even though he has tried it a couple of times, he’s not sure how it would fit in with his cropping operation.
Kolk, who owns and operates Kolk Farms Conrich Ltd. near Picture Butte, says seeding a crop in late winter wasn’t a bad expe- rience, but it isn’t something he needs to do every year.
He seeded barley early in March 2022, hoping it would serve as a cover crop on some highly erodible land where he planned to seed canola. He wanted something to protect the soil from wind erosion and then once the canola was seeded the barley residue would also protect canola seedlings from being sandblasted by strong westerly winds.
“As I recall, it was bloody cold when we were trying to seed and we had problems with the drill,” says Kolk who grows grains, oilseeds and corn on both rainfed and irrigated farmland. “But we got it seeded. It was about -4 C and then the temperature dropped to about -16 C. Eventually the barley did grow and provide ground cover.” He sprayed out the barley just before seeding canola, leaving the crop residue to protect the canola seedlings.
“That was a situation where we had a specific need for an early crop,” says Kolk. “I don’t see it as something we’ll need to do every year.”
A few years before seeding barley as a cover crop, there was a very early spring and in February Kolk seeded barley for silage. “It was just that the year was right and we said why not,” he says. “It turned out to be a very good silage crop. We didn’t have to worry about weeds because it was all cut for livestock feed.”
Kolk says the value of ultra-early seeding has more to do with management than biology. “I know the plants can do it,” he says. “You look at winter wheat or winter rye and even spring wheat and those crops can handle adverse growing conditions. It’s not a question of whether the crop can handle it, but does it fit into my management?
“We are not afraid to try ultra-early seeding, but for us the year has to be right and we need a reason,” he says. “If a person wants a cover crop, or perhaps they are planning to double crop, then ultra-early seeding might be an option.”
Weed control concerns
Kolk says proper weed control is one of his biggest concerns in using ultra-early seeding for a grain or oilseed crop.
“If you are planning to seed in March and it is cold, the weeds aren’t growing,” he says. “So, you can’t use a pre-seed burnoff to control weeds. If you seed early, once it does start to warm up, then your crop and weeds are growing at the same time.”
Kolk says the spring of 2022 was an example where poor growing conditions would have worked against ultra-early seeding. “It was a cold spring where everything was delayed, and I think if we had tried ultra-early seeding with a grain crop, it would have been a complication or a headache,” he says. Crop germination was delayed, weeds were delayed and when a herbicide was applied, it was too cold for the product to be effective.
“Ultra-early seeding is an interesting concept, and if it fits with your management, be brave (and) go ahead and try it,” says Kolk. “For my farm, would the change in management practices to accommodate ultra-early seeding provide a return on investment? I am not convinced yet.”
Southern Alberta agronomist George Lubberts, owner of Complete Agronomic Services at Nobleford, says he has been following the research into ultra-early seeding. He doesn’t doubt that early-seeded crops can perform well, but some farmers he has talked to are still in the “wait-and-see” frame of mind.
“Farmers can be a pretty progressive bunch, but there are still some practices that might be considered traditional,” says Lubberts. “Getting seed and seeding equipment ready for February and March is somewhat of a foreign concept. I think it will take some time for producers to adopt the concept.”
Lubberts says ultra-early seeding might be more applicable to dryland farming operations. Seeding early, enabling crops to make use of winter moisture, may not be so much about increasing yields as it is about achieving yield stability.
“It is important to know it is an option,” says Lubberts. “But we need to keep following research results. We need to remember data collected from research plots may not hold up as well at the field-scale level. There can be considerable variability over a 160-acre field.”
