Canola School: How did the drill do?

(Kara Oosterhuis/RealAgriculture)

Many may think the time to check the drill for seeding rate and depth is as the drill is going over the field.

While they wouldn’t be wrong, it’s also important to get out and dig through that field as the canola field germinates and emerges.

Rob Macdonald of BASF joins this episode of the Canola School to discuss a trial BASF has conducted near Strathmore, Alta., with different seeding sizes, rates, and depths.

There’s considerations when it comes to too shallow, and too deep — and unfortunately, says Macdonald, it’s not a matter of one number being the magic number for everyone. For this particular field, they saw fantastic results with inch and a quarter for seeding depth, but it comes down to a number of factors: soil type, residue, moisture, field history, your drill type, and more.

The age old question of whether or not to chase the moisture is one thing, but Macdonald says he’s seen growers have a lot of success with seeding underneath the moisture.

“We don’t target where the moisture is at. We target below the moisture, where we want to get below, one should protect that developing plant,” he explains. As well, it’s important to get below that residue level, so the seed can properly germinate.

Check out the full Canola School episode below, to dig in the soil and get to the roots of it all with Rob Macdonald:

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