Innovation underpins yield improvements in canola

Weathering global disruptions created by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic alongside the local impacts of drought and bushfires, Australia’s $66 billion agricultural industry has been one of the economy’s standout performers.

A testament to the industry’s ability to adapt and transition to new opportunities, growers have found themselves exploring new innovations for more efficient use of inputs, with many looking to capitalise on innovative seed varieties.

Following a particularly dry season in mid-2020 and resulting weed management issues, Wimmera Southern farmer Les Dunn’s canola crops were suffering, so he turned to Pacific Seeds’ latest dual hybrid stacked technology – Hyola Enforcer CT.

“We had some really dry months in June and July, which are two extremely critical months for us, and our yields suffered from that, particularly our canola,” Mr Dunn said.

“We trialled one bag of the new Enforcer CT beside the older variety of the CT hybrid, and saw a noticeable yield improvement – probably a 10 per cent improvement from the new hybrid.

“We really appreciate the flexibility of the system in combining the new Enforcer CT with the older CT.”

The Hyola Enforcer CT is the first in new generation of Clearfield® + Triazine dual herbicide tolerant canola hybrids and has been specifically designed for integrated weed management and Group B imidazolinone (IMI) residues in drier seasons.

“Last year, we were in a losing battle with one of our paddocks which had severe marshmallow weed management issues and that was what originally motivated us to trial Enforcer CT,” he said.

“The qualities of the new Enforcer CT really allowed us to make big headway with the severe paddock case of marshmallow.”

Pacific Seed’s canola hybrids have the core fundamentals of yield reliability, dual herbicide tolerance and high oil capacity and have been developed to make many growers seasonal cropping programs more flexible and profitable.

However, the Hyola Enforcer CT offers particularly strong yields in target environments and is well adapted to large growing regions.

“There’s a big difference between the two hybrids in maturity – the Enforcer CT matured faster all the way through the yield process and was ready to harvest sooner than the older dual tolerant hybrid.

“We have been impressed by the flexibility of the Enforcer CT so we’re growing two hundred and forty odd hectares of it – it will be a fair percentage of our canola growing this year.”