Advanced agronomic practices in wheat, barley and peas to maximize yield and harvestability
Project lead:
Dr. Sheri Strydhorst
Start Date: April 1, 2014
End Date: March 31, 2017
Alberta Barley’s contribution: $30,000
Partners:
- Western Grains Research Foundation
- Alberta Crop Industry Development Fund
- Alberta Innovates – Bio-Solutions
- Alberta Wheat Commission
- Alberta Pulse Growers
- Alberta Barley Commission
- Alberta Agriculture
- Syngenta
- Engage Agro
- Smoky Applied Research & Demonstration Association
- BASF
- Dow AgroSciences
- DuPont
- SeCan
- Bayer CropScience
- Anderson Seed Growers Ltd.
- Beamish Seed Farms Ltd.
- Galloway Seeds Ltd.
- Canterra Seeds
- Field Crop Development Centre
- KL Nelson and KWS – UK
- Kittle Farms Ltd.
- Lefsrud Seed & Processors Ltd.
- McNelly Seed Farms Ltd.
- N. Jonk Seed Farms
- Don Schmermund
- Stony Plain Seed Cleaning Plant
- Trueblood Farms Ltd.
- University of Alberta
- Westlock Seed Cleaning Co-op Ltd.
Summary:
The project will explore crop management systems—analyzing factors such as
in-crop nitrogen fertilizer, foliar fungicides and plant growth regulators—to
maximize the profitability of Alberta growers. The project team will test 64
different feed barley management systems, looking at how different barley
varieties respond to advanced agronomic practices. In addition, the project
will test two different fungicide application strategies on feed and malt
barley in an effort to determine the best conditions for application. To represent
Alberta’s diverse growing conditions, trials will be conducted in five
locations across the province.
Benefits for farmers:
An intensive management system can increase barley yields by 25 per cent. The
average Alberta barley yield over a 10-year period was 60.4 bushels an acre. A
25 per cent increase could change that to 75.5 bushels an acre. If 50 per cent
of barley-planted acres are managed with the project’s recommendations, Alberta
could see a 557,500-tonne increase in barley production from 2012 levels.