Big yields spark CLEARFIELD® revival

 

Canola trials conducted by Oilseeds WA in 2007 have shown CLEARFIELD® canola offers growers a profitable alternative to triazine tolerant (TT) canola varieties in Western Australia.

 

The Oilseeds WA trial on the property of Geoff Higham at Williams, found the five Clearfield canola entries averaged just under 2.5 t/ha and 47.8% oil content compared to the average of 1.69 t/ha and 46.2% oil content of the eight TT canola entries. The highest yield was posted by the Clearfield hybrid, Pioneer 46Y78.

 

According to Wade Longmuir of ConsultAg the site agronomist, “the Clearfield canola had greater levels of soil nitrogen compared to the TT varieties. However the return per hectare is still impressive particularly at current canola prices”.

 

Another important consideration was the relative consistency in yields between the two herbicide tolerant canola types. Clearfield canola was grouped closely together with yields ranging from 2.44 to 2.69 t/ha and TT canola showed greater variation in yields between 1.41 to 1.93 t/ha. High oil contents reflected excellent growing conditions but showed a similar trend with only a 1.1% difference for Clearfield canola between 47.2 to 48.3%.

 

“The benefits of the newer, more advanced Clearfield canola varieties and hybrids are increasingly apparent from trial results such as this and as growers take the test drive on farm,” says Kevin Morthorpe, canola product manager for Pioneer Hi-Bred Australia.

 

He said on-going research and development since the launch of Clearfield canola in 2000 is now providing Australian growers with the ability to produce higher yielding canola without compromising weed control.

 

“Australia was likely to follow the lead of Canada growing more canola hybrids and adopt herbicide tolerance options including Clearfield with a lower environmental impact.”

 

“Pioneer Hi-Bred Australia and other canola breeding companies were now looking to develop hybrids in preference to open-pollinated varieties and release of the next generation of Clearfield canola will complement the start of another golden era for canola, “Mr Morthorpe said.

 

He said in 2009, Pioneer will add a new early maturity Clearfield variety, 44C79, to replace the popular 44C73 in medium rainfall zones and is testing in WA a significantly quicker Clearfield variety that fits the low rainfall zones. A new Clearfield hybrid, 46Y81, ideally suited to high rainfall zones (550-700 mm) will also be released to complement the current popular hybrids, 45Y77 and 46Y78.

 

“The advantages of Clearfield canola compared to TT canola can be increased early vigour, higher grain yields and more uniform crops, particularly with the hybrids,” said Matt Smith, Nufarm Territory Manager for the Mid-West Wheatbelt WA.

 

Mr Smith recommended Clearfield canola for alternate planting with TT canola, especially in tight canola/cereal rotations for herbicide rotation and to deliver superior returns from the canola phase in high yield potential areas.

 

He said we need to look after both triazine and ‘imi‘ chemistries in the whole farm cropping plan. Clearfield canola fits well by spreading the risks of herbicide resistance and can be built into a strategy for managing group B herbicide resistance.

 

“The yield results from the Williams trial work show Clearfield canola fits well on high yielding paddocks with a low weed burden. Put TT varieties into weedy paddocks with lower yield potential to benefit from pre-emergent weed control options. A nice simple way for growers to evaluate Clearfield canola would be to try the crop in a couple of good, clean, paddocks, to milk the genetic advantage of these varieties” Mr Smith said.

 

He said research and development trials by Nufarm have shown the recently released herbicide option Intervix® provided robust, broad spectrum weed control, similar to OnDuty®, but with stronger activity on grasses and volunteer cereals. The product was especially strong on wild radish and other similar weeds, with the advantage of an improved plantback profile to provide added flexibility to growers.

 

 

® CLEARFIELD, Intervix and OnDuty are registered trademarks of BASF used under licence by Nufarm Australia Limited.