By Wendell Owens
Canola was a product bred at the University of Manitoba. It was originally call rapeseed but the name was changed to Canola coming from “CAN” for Canada and “OLA” for oil. While a patent was issued for the gene trait, a patent was not issued for the process of making Canola. Consequently, it can be raised from Australia to the United States without paying Canada any rights to produce. A similar process happened in Australia when the name Kiwi was given to Chinese gooseberries. No protection was sought for use of the term, Kiwi.
Foliar Spray Use
Canola should be seeded after the last frost. Canola comes out of the ground and forms a rosette. When the rosette it formed, the Canola can be sprayed with a foliar spray. An SXT foliar spray would be a smart choice. When it gets close to seeding, foliar spraying Bloomit is another wise choice. You can spray Bloomit on the plant several times, so you keep it blooming and it doesn’t abort the pods. You don’t want to plump the kernels, so you want to avoid products that bulk. Canola is a two-stage plant: growing and seed production, so you don’t want to bulk the kernels. Instead, you want to produce more kernels. Bloomit facilitates pod formation.
Ammonium Sulfate
As with all crops, the fertility program will change according to the soil test, but one thing doesn’t change. You should always put Ammonium Sulfate on Canola. Ammonium Sulfate is not the same as elemental sulfur; avoid elemental sulfur on all Canola fields. Elemental sulfur is used to lower pH and it doesn’t work well for canola. With elemental sulfur, the nutrients do not become available for 90 days and canola is all over within 90 days.
MAP (11-52-0)
But this one tip you need to know in Canola production: ALWAYS put MAP (11-52-0) on after you have raised Canola. Canola is a good scavenger when it comes to phosphorous, because it uses phosphorus heavily. The phosphorus must be replaced.
Dr. Reams Rule
Remember Dr. Reams rule – All nutrients go into a plant in phosphate form except nitrogen.
If you have any questions about your crops, please feel free to contact me.
