Wednesday, November 15, 2006
285-5

Effect of Nitrogen Fertilization and Seeding Rate on Canary Seed Production.

Julie Lajeunesse, Agriculture & Agri Food Canada, 1468 St-Cyrille, Normandin, QC G8M 4K3, Canada and Denis Pageau, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Agriculture & Agri Food Canada, 1468 St-Cyrille, Normandin, QC G8M 4K3, CANADA.

Canary seed (Phalaris canariensis L.) is a cool annual crop mainly grown in Western Canada. In Northern Quebec, cereal and forage are the most common crops. However, new crops could be of some interest because they can diversify and extend crop rotation. A 3-year trial (from 2003 to 2005) was conducted at the research farm of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Normandin (Quebec, Canada) to determine the effect of 4 nitrogen fertilization rates (0, 20, 40, 60 kg ha-1) and 4 seeding rates (10, 20, 30, 40 kg ha-1) on the productivity of canary seed cv. CDC Maria. In 2003, nitrogen fertilization had a significant effect on grain yield. Highest grain yield (683 kg ha-1) was obtained when no fertilization was applied. The second year (2004), nitrogen fertilization had no effect on canary seed yield and average grain yield was 2490 kg ha-1. Moreover, grain yields increased linearly with seeding rate in 2003 and 2004. In 2005, treatments had no effect on canary seed production and yields were very low (162 kg ha-1). There was no significant interaction between nitrogen fertilization and seeding rates.