Science

Root ‘electricity’ measurement will help breed more resilient canola

Science Edition - Completed Projects
Roots function as an early warning system for Brassica crops, detecting and responding to environmental stresses. Understanding root biology will help scientists and farmers create sturdier, stress-resistant crops. But root systems are complex, and difficult to study in a non-destructive manner. Bao-Luo Ma’s team investigated the feasibility of measuring electrical properties of roots to investigate...
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The Editor's Desk

People first

I traveled to India with my dad in November. It was like Jack Whitehall’s “Travels with My Father” except with less sarcasm and humiliation. However, while my dad is not curmudgeonly like Jack’s dad, his palate is perhaps somewhat elder-Whitehallian: My dad would have been happy to spend two weeks in India just eating frozen...
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The Editor's Desk

Wilderness tips

In his book 1491, Charles C. Mann wrote about the Americas before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492. The book includes insights too numerous to mention in this small space, but I’ll focus on one insight most relevant to Canadian agriculture and the goal of many farmers: Indigenous people knew how to greatly enhance...
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Nutrient Management

Deep banding and EEFs reduce N loss in light soils

On light-textured soils, farmers can greatly reduce nitrous oxide emissions (and ammonia losses) from soil by deep-banding urea or using enhanced efficiency fertilizer (EEF) products. “Optimal source, placement and application timing for yield and reduction of greenhouse gas footprint for canola production on light texture soils,” Mario Tenuta, University of Manitoba SaskCanola, Manitoba Canola Growers...
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