Canadian canola growers will have access to TruFlex, which expands the application rate and window for glyphosate on canola. InVigor growers will notice a new acres-per-bag approach to seed packaging. Seed companies continue to layer more high-demand traits into the same hybrids.

New Seed Tech for 2020

By Jay Whetter

Published on 3 September, 2019

New InVigor RATE changes the standard 50-pound bag to an acres-per-bag approach based on four different thousand seed weight (TSW) ranges. BASF made the move so growers can more easily meet the InVigor recommended target plant population of five to seven plants per square foot. This aligns with the Canola Council of Canada‘s target stand recommendation.

“We found that the standard 5 lb./ac. seeding rate was not allowing growers to maximize the performance of InVigor,” says Courtney Stephenson, BASF business development project manager. “Each year there are many different TSWs on the market for each hybrid. For example, there were 20 different TSWs for InVigor L233P in 2018. To decrease complexity, BASF has created four different TSW ranges between 4.0 and 5.9 grams.”

Each bag will seed 10 acres based on its TSW range and the recommended target stand and seeding rate. The seeding rate recommendation is based on 60 per cent survivability, which is the average that BASF and other field surveys have found across Western Canada.

“Targeting a plant population will help growers use resources more efficiently, optimize yield performance, improve lodging resistance, reduce sclerotinia severity, even maturity through a uniform plant structure, and improve weed control,” Stephenson says. “Furthermore, each bag of InVigor will now have a consistent number of seeds and this will make planning when growers go to book seed much easier.” Visit InVigor Rate here for more information.

This table shows the BASF recommended seeding rates based on thousand seed weight (TSW). The company has a new packaging system for InVigor canola seed, going with a seeds per bag and acres per bag approach.

**InVigor RATE will have four bag ranges based on TSW**
Bag Range		A	B	C	D
Recommended Seeding Rate (lb./ac.)		4.2 (10 Seeds/FT²)	4.7 (10 Seeds/FT²)	5.2 (10 Seeds/FT²)	5.7 (10 Seeds/FT²)
TSW Range		4.0-4.4	4.5-4.9	5.0-5.4	5.5-5.9
Bag Weight	LBS	42.2	47.0	51.8	56.6
Bag Weight	KG	19.1	21.3	23.5	35.6
# Of Seeds/Bag	Minimum 4.25 Million Seeds

TruFlex

TruFlex glyphosate-tolerant canola trait expands the weed label and provides more flexibility in spray rates and timing. The label has 24 more weeds than the Roundup Ready canola label, including foxtail barley, wild buckwheat and dandelion.

With regard to rates and timing, TruFlex canola allows for two applications of 0.67 litres per acre (L/ac.) of glyphosate from cotyledon to first flower or one application of 1.33 L/ac. of glyphosate from emergence to six-leaf stage. “First flower” is when no more than 50 per cent of the canola plants have one flower open. This varies from Roundup Ready canola, which allowed for two applications of 0.33 L/ac. or one application of 0.5 L/ac. of Roundup from cotyledon to six-leaf. In a year like 2019, when many canola fields had varying stages of maturity, TruFlex would give them the option to spray later and at higher rates.

Who should grow a clubroot-resistant variety? The Canadian recommendation is for farmers to grow clubroot-resistant (CR) varieties as part of a holistic clubroot farm management plan. Read more in the Saskatchewan Bulletin.

Stacked LL and RR

The Liberty Link trait is now available for use in other seed programs. For example, Pioneer offers P501L, a clubroot-resistant hybrid with the glufosinate tolerance of Liberty Link. With this approval, seed companies can also now offer stacked Liberty Link and Roundup Ready herbicide-tolerant (HT) traits in the same hybrid.

What is the benefit of this? The stack means that growers can apply at least two “effective” modes of action on the same field. One recommendation to prevent herbicide-resistant weeds is to spray weeds with at least two ‘effective’ herbicide groups. A herbicide is not “effective” if some weeds in the field are already resistant to it. Glyphosate and glufosinate, the actives in Roundup and Liberty, are both effective on most weeds in Western Canada (the only current exception is glyphosate-resistant kochia). Note that tank mixes of glyphosate and glufosinate are not recommended due to the weed antagonism that occurs, so they have to be applied in separate passes.

Ian Epp, the Canola Council of Canada agronomy specialist with the weed management portfolio, says stacked HT can be particularly effective on wild oats. Many wild oat populations are resistant to multiple groups, so the stack provides a rare opportunity to hit wild oats in-crop with two effective herbicide groups.

“The LL-RR stack is best used in longer canola rotations,” Epp adds, “because volunteers can be a problem.” As a way to manage stacked canola volunteers, growers will want to use a tank mix for pre-seed burnoff (which is recommended anyway) and target volunteer canola in other crops (which is also recommended).

DeKalb and BASF product line ups for 2020 will include at least one stacked hybrid each.

Power combinations

Results from the 2019 Canola Performance Trials will be posted online once they start rolling in after harvest. The interactive site also has results from 2018 and earlier if you want to take a look now.

Growers who want clubroot resistance, pod-shatter tolerance and enhanced HT in the same hybrids will have more choice for 2020. For example, DeKalb offers DKTFLL 21 SC with the TruFlex/Liberty Link stack plus improved pod-shatter tolerance, and DKTF 98 CR with TruFlex and multi-genetic clubroot resistance. BASF has an ‘InVigor Choice’ hybrid LR344PC with the Liberty Link and TruFlex stack as well as the pod-shatter reduction trait and clubroot resistance. Canterra’s CS2600 CR-T has TruFlex, clubroot-resistance and straight-cut traits.

Notable specialty-oil varieties include Corteva’s Brevant B3010M with a new source of clubroot resistance and the new HarvestMax trait, and Cargill’s Victory V25-1T, which has TruFlex, clubroot resistance and blackleg resistance based on a combination of major and minor genes. Cargill now offers specialty-oil hybrids from four different herbicide-tolerant systems: TruFlex Roundup Ready, Genuity Roundup Ready, Clearfield and Liberty Link.

The Canola Council of Canada Board of Directors has three representatives from life science companies: Garth Hodges with BASF, Brad Orr with Corteva Agriscience and Paul Thiel with Bayer. These three canola industry leaders took time to answer three questions about canola genetics.

1. From a seed perspective, what does Canada’s canola industry need to keep progressing?

Garth Hodges: I believe right now, more than anything, the industry needs to be instilled with the strong desire to collaborate, stand together and acknowledge our inter-dependency as we strive to weather this storm and come out stronger and more resolute to face the challenges and take advantage of opportunities. We all have the success of our industry, as a whole, at heart. We can all make significant contributions in our specific areas of expertise and then collectively strive for success. Clubroot is a classic example of encouraging growers and seed companies to work together to manage the issue. We should both take responsibility to actively contribute to the management of this unfortunate disease. Growers have a key role to play in crop rotation, sanitation and volunteer canola management, while seed companies provide complementary help with clubroot tolerant hybrids.

Brad Orr: As an industry, we need to continue to advocate for global market access. Canada is an exporting nation, so we need the continued freedom to export to key geographies that rely on Canadian canola. But we need a predictable regulatory system to ensure we align with regulations in Canada and our key markets. We need to be transparent about our products and the significant value they provide consumers. We also have an opportunity to advance the industry by expanding our focus beyond just canola oil. I see Protein Industries Canada as a great initiative to help canola protein compete in a growing but very competitive market. Our goal has to be to increase value for the whole crop.

Paul Thiel: Continued genetic improvement, with a focus on yield and disease management, is crucial. We also need to ensure the oil and meal quality meet the needs of the market, including the demand from consumers and processors.

2. If you could offer Canadian growers the perfect canola seed, what features would it have?

Paul Thiel: It has to be easy to grow, to be profitable and to fit into the grower’s rotation. To make this happen, we need to address their needs:

Profitability. Genetics need to focus on yield and a complete package to protect that yield potential.
Ease of growing/harvesting. Genetics need to provide efficient plant establishment, severe weather hardiness to cope with abiotic stress (excess moisture, drought, cold, heat) and ease of harvest (seed shatter, crop stand, etc.).
Sustained use. Farmers need this cash crop for the long-term. Therefore, the perfect seed needs the support of perfect agronomic practices. This includes using the right hybrid on the right field, preventing pest resistance, crop rotation, fertilizer use efficiency and embracing digital capabilities, such as Climate FieldView, to drive data-based decisions.

Garth Hodges: The perfect canola seed will combine the ability of our breeders to unleash the crop’s genetic potential and use innovation to stay ahead of the many challenges nature has in store for us. I believe we have come a very long way in making significant strides towards perfection already. We might have forgotten the revolution when hybrids and herbicide tolerance were our innovation leaps. Pod shatter reduction can also be classified as a revolution. The steady improvement in yields, yield stability and the ability to expand acres can all be seen as positive evolution over the years. So I believe we should give a great deal of credit to all our plant breeders who have tirelessly strived for perfection.

Brad Orr: The perfect canola seed has to satisfy the end-use customer and meet demand in the markets we’re trying to fulfill. Canola obviously must have competitive productivity to keep the crop profitable for Canadian growers. With this in mind, the perfect canola seed needs the traits and technology to address productivity needs and the ever-growing demands for herbicide tolerance, disease resistance and some tolerance to pressures from insects, while increasing yield. It also needs a more predictable yield outcome in the face of adversity from changing weather patterns.

3. The CCC Strategic plan is targeting 52 bu./ac. by 2025. The 18 bu./ac. yield gain is split into 8 bu from genetics and 10 bu from agronomic management. How can the CCC and industry best work together to ensure these target gains from genetics and agronomic management are realized?

Brad Orr: We have more to gain from the heterosis of hybrids. And with mapping of the genome, we will find ways to spark better nutrient use efficiency and raise the bar when it comes to productivity under various environmental pressures. While seed companies want to protect their own intellectual property, I do think we can do more to share tools that could be used to improve the whole industry. We can work together to find the best practices for precision planting or nutrient placement, to give two examples.

Paul Thiel: There is a vast amount of research and investment in canola in Canada through many different parties. It creates a very competitive market, but not necessarily the most efficient. An earlier exchange on research goals, successes and technology transfers between companies and the Canola Council of Canada, as well as technical symposiums between agronomists, could leap this crop ahead.

Garth Hodges: The key is in the question: “work together.” We need to accept that collaboration will be the secret to achieving our goals. Unleashing the yield potential in genetics is dependant on agronomic management and the success of the agronomic management is dependant on the responsiveness of the genetic potential. Together, we will need to face Mother Nature and the evolution of diseases and weeds. Education, investment in agronomy research, extension and the receptiveness of our canola growers will all make a valuable contribution to achieving our joint goals. We are in this together.