Growing winter canola on wide row spacing

Farm and Ranch July 29, 2009 A challenge to winter canola production in the low and intermediate rainfall zones of the Pacific Northwest is getting a stand established. Optimum planting time typically finds conditions hot and dry. To address the issue Don Wysocki, Oregon State University Extension soil scientist, began looking into wider row spacing.

Wysocki: “If we can go to wider rows we can probably establish this in conditions in summer fallow and still get down to where the seed zone water is and get the crop established. So, move more dry soil out of the way. The question is can we get yield potential by going to those wide rows.”

Wysocki says two years of experimentation have shown mixed results.

Wysocki: “In one year when we went to wider rows the yield drop. In year two we saw row spacings as wide as 24 still yielding the same as six and 12 inch rows. So I think there is potential for this.”

Wysocki says this shows that if your only option is to go to wide rows to get a canola crop established, it looks pretty viable.

Wysocki: “If you go out to 24 inch row spacing or a little wider and still get the crop established. And still have good yield potential.”

The research shows that with wider spacing the canola plant branches more and has significantly more pods. There wasn’t much increase in seed size or seeds per pod compared to narrower row spacing.

I’m Bob Hoff and that’s the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.