Progress 09/01/08 to 08/31/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Selected Outputs Whereas the 2007-2008 cropping season was beset with drought, a cold snap that hit the Texas Panhandle killed the late-planted winter canola north of Dumas, which had not been irrigated sufficiently to carry the plants through the winter. Then a major late season freeze hit the flowering winter canola at Halfway, TX (but Clovis was not as far along and suffered minimal damage) all but killing seed yield. Scattered reflowering occurred but little seed yield was produced at Halfway. 1) Winter freeze injury killed the canola tests at Etter, TX, (planted 9/23/08) as all plants died in late December 2007 through early January 2008. More irrigation might have increased winter survival as well as planting at least two weeks earlier. 2) A March 28 hard freeze during flowering annihilated the winter canola test at Halfway as the canola was in the midst of flowering. This disrupted both variety trial, N, and forage work. 3) Production conditions were favorable for canola growth at Artesia and Clovis, NM for variety trials and irrigated tests. 4) The second year of the winter canola research was expanded to include Colorado State University work at Rocky Ford (east central) and Yellow Jacket (southwest, mountain region, elevation >6,000') for variety trials and irrigation. Planting Date This test was implemented again for Halfway, TX with planting dates of 9/23, 10/7, and 10/20 similar to 2007. Nitrogen Fertility N fertilization tests were conducted at Halfway, TX and Clovis, NM for winter canola for 0, 30, 60, and 90 lbs. of N per acre. This is an important consideration as canola may require more N than comparable winter wheat. Forage Biomass for Grazing Similar to 2007, tests were implemented at Halfway and Etter, TX for late fall and/or late winter clipping. Insects in Canola Continued work at Halfway and Clovis examined aphid activity, other insects, and seed treatments. PARTICIPANTS: Dr. Calvin Trostle, Texas AgriLife Extension, Lubbock. Trostle served as the project director and coordinated activities among colleagues. He oversaw project work at Halfway, TX, and planted all trials for Nansen and Auld as well. In addition, Trostle attended the Oklahoma State winter canola meeting in June in Enid, OK to learn more about winter canola. Dr. Sangu Angadi, NMSU-Clovis, has spring canola experience from research in Canada. He was a valuable resource to all of the rest of the project participants. He coordinated his own CSREES work with other work on winter canola physiology, and he coordinated the winter canola meeting in Clovis in conjunction with the NMSU Clovis field day. Dr. Christian Nansen, entomologist, supervised a student worker, Dustin Davidson, to collect and assess numerous insect samples at regular intervals throughout the growing season at both Halfway and Clovis. Dr. Bean supervised the Etter plots that were lost overwinter. Dr. Robert Flynn, NMSU at Artesia, conducted primarily variety and planting date trials. Dr. Flynn also supervised input into the N trial work due to his background in soil fertility testing. Jim Valliant/Dr. Perry Cabot, Colorado State, Rocky Ford. Supervised and reported the irrigation work at Rocky Ford. Dr. Abdel Berrada, Yellow Jacket, CO. Implemented irrigated spring canola trials at Yellow Jacket, which was of immediate interest to a local biodiesel plant. TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audience is farmers in diverse areas of Texas, Colorado, and New Mexico. NO survey work was formally conducted, however, producer knowledge of winter canola is low. Fewer growers in the region tried winter canola in 2008. The permanent closure of the biodiesel plant under construction in Clovis, NM dampened enthusiasm for winter canola without having to haul to Oklahoma City, OK to a market. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Extension Education Winter canola information meetings were conducted in Littlefield, TX and Clovis, NM for prospective growers. In addition, two informal factsheets on producer comments, initial observations, and planting date guidelines were issued by Texas AgriLife. Variety Trials The primary 2007 test sites with 16 varieties were Halfway and Clovis. The Halfway trial was lost due to the late freeze, and the Etter trial froze out over the winter. Clovis results had excellent irrigated growth and yield at 3,463 lbs./A with all varieties yielding over 3,100 lbs./A. Artesia yields were much lower, the average at 1,354 lbs./A in spite of significant irrigation (no significant differences among varieties). Spring canola. Colorado State's Yellow Jacket test compared yields of spring canola, which were exceptional for May planted canola averaging 3,548 lbs./A in spite birds and flea beetles were a major problem. Planting Date Similar to 2008 results, plant survival of winter canola is heavily dependent on early establishment, about 1 month before wheat. At Halfway, 100% survival of winter canola was recorded for 9/23 planting, but only 30% establishment (and 20% survival) was observed for 10/7, and only 10% establishment of winter canola was recorded for 10/20 planting with no winter survival. Additional data suggests that realistic targets for winter canola planting in the Texas Panhandle/eastern NM is Sept 10 and Sept. 20 in the central South Plains. NMSU trials at Clovis reported 100% plant death with planting at October 20. Nitrogen Fertility No significant differences in canola yield were recorded at Clovis with 0, 30, 60, and 90 lbs. of N per acre. Soil test nitrate indicated ~40-45 lbs. of N in the top 12" of soil which may have masked applied N enough to preclude significant differences in yield response.. Insects in Canola Turnip aphids started to appear at the 8th sampling event in all treatments and highest numbers were observed in plots without seed treatment. Thus, it appears that seed treatments provided considerable protection against aphids for an extended time period, while thrips populations appeared to be less affected of seed treatments. Data shows proportions of infested (combined number of aphids and thrips) and non-infested canola plants from the three treatment groups during the first six sampling events, and it is seen that initially about 22% of canola plants in all plots were infested, but the proportion of infested plants in untreated plots increased faster over time than in plots with seed treatments. Canola Irrigation Surface application of irrigation water at Halfway resulted in significant white encrusting residue on the soil surface, and subsequent irrigation water testing indicated >1,900 ppm total dissolved solids, enough to call growth reduction in canola. Plots were abandoned due to poor growth when this became evident. Rocky Ford, CO irrigation results do not include dryland canola because the canola does not survive, but moderate irrigation levels of ~11" per year (vs. 5.5" per year) resulted in 1,367 lbs./A over two years vs. 1.045 lbs./A for limited irrigation.
Publications
- Nansen, C., C. Trostle, S. Angadi, P. Porter, X. Martini. Submitted June 2011. Abiotic factors Affecting Canola Establishment and Insect Pest Dynamics. Int. J. Agronomy. Volume 2012 (2012), Article ID 838903, doi:10.1155/2012/838903.
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