INNOVATIONS in canola production were on show at a field day at a DuPont Pioneer trial site on Murraylands farmer James Bormann's property at Millendilla last Tuesday.
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On trial are Pioneer Clearfield hybrids, both existing and new varieties, including the new hybrid variety 44Y87, as part of DuPont Pioneer's national STRIKE trials (Seed Technology Research In Key Environments).
DuPont Pioneer Australia area sales manager - SA Paul Jenke says 44Y87 has traits that will appeal to Murraylands farmers, including reduced height.
"While blackleg is not a big issue in the Murraylands, 44Y87 has a different blackleg resistance genes to other lines," he said.
Key points from the field day include the need to plant as early as possible for maximising the chances of high canola yields.
"Another key message is to aim for lower seeding rates and plant populations than what growers in higher rainfall areas would be using," Paul said. "Doing so will mean the plants will be thicker in the stem and will be able to branch out more, rather than having a higher plant populations but with thin stems."
Looking at nitrogen timing is also important for canola success.
"Timing is very important -rather than putting so much on up-front at sowing time, growers are better off keeping some in reserve and getting it out later in the season where they need to," Paul said.
Paul saw concerning levels of heliothis while judging at the Murrayland Crop Competition recently.
"I saw some pretty severe damage from heliothis," he said.
"While it's too late to spray now, it's something for growers to keep an eye on. They can cause yields losses of 10 to 20 per cent."
New Pioneer brand Y-series hybrids 44Y87(CL) and 45Y88(CL) have been officially launched by Pioneer at various spring field days across the nation for planting in 2014.
Pioneer's business lead for canola Kevin Morthorpe says key strengths of both new Y-series hybrids were outstanding top-end yield, improved stand-ability and shorter plant stature for ease of management compared with other Clearfield hybrids.
He says Pioneer is a world leader in canola hybrid breeding and the first company to introduce alternative herbicide- tolerant traits, such as those in Clearfield in Australia.
"Our aims are to deliver higher profitability from maximum harvestable yield, reduce the risk of the industry relying on triazine-tolerant canola, and offer growers greater flexibility to manage high-yielding crops," Kevin said.
*Full report in Stock Journal, October 24 issue, 2013.
