Optimizing Canola Production: Fertilization, Crop Protection and Genetic Yield Potential
Examine the individual and combined impact of three types of crop inputs: fertilization, crop protection and genetic potential for yield for canola (oil rapeseedl).
IPNI-2002-CAN-MB17
11 Mar 2003
2002 Annual Interpretive Summary
Optimizing Canola Production: Fertilization, Crop Protection and Genetic Yield Potential, 2002
Canola production has become increasingly reliant on purchased inputs. New technologies, whether they are improved genetics, crop protection, or fertilizers, all claim to provide the producer with incremental yield benefits that will help make profits for farmers. This research project tests the performance of low, medium, and high levels of fertilization, crop protection and genetic yield potential on canola yield, quality, and profitability.
Canola yield at Brandon in 2001 responded to genetic potential and fertility more than to crop protection. The factorial analysis also demonstrated that no significant interactions between factors occurred. At Brandon in 2002, grain yield responded to fertility and crop protection. These two factors also interacted and demonstrated that the yield response to fertility was dependent on the level of crop protection. At Dauphin and Carman in 2001, poor growing conditions overshadowed treatment effects by reducing the yield potential at these sties. At Carman in 2002, grain yield did not respond to the factors, possibly due to a late season infestation of flea beetles and high temperatures during flowering. Therefore, at these three sites, the difference between medium and high levels of inputs was not significant. Also, at all sites, yield responses to genetics appeared to be stable and generally did not interact with fertility or crop protection.
The economic analysis suggests an interaction between yield benefit and input cost, with the increased income from using more inputs not always sufficient to cover the added cost. This potential for negative margins diminishes as canola prices increase. Furthermore, although input costs were independent and additive, input responses were interdependent and not additive. The real economic value of crop inputs within the complete cropping system was significantly lower than the sum of the apparent individual responses to inputs measured in the traditional fashion. The comparisons between the high, medium, and low input treatments, as well as the comparisons between the genetic, fertility, and crop protection levels all indicate that the potential savings of reducing one input, while maintaining the maximum level of the other inputs is significantly outweighed by the potential losses in returns. Cutting rates of one input effectively reduces the yield potential of the crop; thus, reducing the potential return on investment for those inputs kept at a high level. MB-17F