Comparing Straight Harvest with an Anti-shattering Agent to Swathed Harvest of Canola and the Evaluation of Field Scale Straight Combining Canola Compared to Swathed Canola
Burton Johnson, North Dakota State University - $33,862

In the Northern Great Plains, proper harvest management of canola includes swathing. Current NDSU Extension recommendations and guidelines indicate swathing at the optimum stage will reduce green seed problems and seed shatter losses. Swathing presents some challenges in that a grower must swath prior to the crop shattering; however, not too early where green seed will become an issue. Growers do their best to swath at the optimum stage; however, due to adverse weather conditions, they are not always able to get every field swathed in a timely manner. The canola swath should be allowed to cure and ripen for a minimum of 10 to 14 days, during which a strong wind may blow the swaths out of the windrow making combining very difficult and often resulting in yield losses due to shattering. Canola losses have occurred where hail or a heavy rain have shattered a percentage of the seed prior to harvest.

The risk of losing the crop after swathing and the fact that in Europe, canola is straight combined, have canola growers interested in the concept of straight combining canola in North Dakota. Currently, straight combining canola is not a recommended practice due largely to the lack of research information. One risk with straight combining canola is that often the seeds and pods are
ripe; however the stem is green resulting in a delayed harvest. This increases the risk of seed loss due to shatter. Being able to straight combine at the correct moisture with low green content is also a concern.

Objectives:
1. Compare straight combining canola to combining swaths.
2. Evaluate the effects of delayed harvest on straight harvested canola with and without the use of an anti-shattering agent (Spodnam).
3. Compare the effectiveness of Spodnam at two water volumes.
4. Compare harvest dates for straight and swathed canola.
5. Evaluate treatment effects on yield, green seed, seed moisture, seed and pod shatter, and seed oil content.