Canada: Try the online tool to compare canola varieties

Compare leading varieties based on days to maturity, lodging, height and yield with the Canola Performance Trials (CPT) online database at canolaperformancetrials.ca. Results from 2019 trials are now loaded into the system.

“Yield is just one factor to consider when making canola variety decisions for 2020,” says Keith Fournier, chair of the CPT Governance Committee. “After 2019, many farmers will be paying attention to days to maturity, for example, and will be looking for clubroot resistance and perhaps harvest management traits like lodging and pod shatter tolerance.”

Results from the 2019 trials are based on 31 small plot and 60 field scale trials across the Prairies. The 2019 program had more completed sites than any of the previous four years, and saw a big jump from 27 small plot and 42 field scale trials in 2018.

Using the online searchable database, located at the bottom of the page at canolaperformancetrials.ca, growers can filter CPT results by province, season zone and herbicide-tolerance system. They can also search all varieties or do head-to-head comparisons of two or three varieties. Simply select a year and other filter parameters, and click ‘Search Trials’ to produce graphs and a data table displaying yield, days to maturity, height and lodging comparisons. A map shows the locations for all trials that fit the selections.

The online tool can also compare variety results over a number of years. The CPT program has been running since 2011, and applicable data collected over the past nine years are available.

To see comparison tables with clubroot-resistant varieties and for straight-cut harvesting, please see the PDF results report also available at canolaperformancetrials.ca. The small plot trials included 12 straight-cut sites. Field scale trials had 37 straight-cut locations and 11 clubroot comparisons.

“The CPTs compare leading varieties with traits that farmers are looking for, creating good relevant information,” says Fournier. “Canola farmers need these variety trials to make better seed decisions for their farms, which is why the provincial canola farmers’ organizations continue to fund the program.”

SaskCanola, Alberta Canola and the Manitoba Canola Growers fund the program, along with contributions from the British Columbia Grain Producers Association. The Canola Council of Canada supported on the delivery of the program. CPTs are guided by Governance and Technical Committees, which include grower representation, and facilitated by Haplotech.