Is canola seed size important for grain yield?
Rohan Brill
NSW DPI, Wagga Wagga Agricultural Institute, Wagga Wagga Australia
Background
Research has proven that increasing seed size can improve the establishment of
canola, especially when planted in challenging conditions such as when sowing
relatively deep (below 3 cm). This may lead to indirect grain yield benefits through optimising sowing
time or by maintaining an acceptable plant population. However this research did not determine if
larger seed size can directly increase grain yield.
Methods
An experiment was conducted at Wagga Wagga, NSW in 2014 where the seed of a hybrid variety,
Pioneer® 44Y84 CL and an open-pollinated (OP) variety, Pioneer® 43C80 CL were graded into three
separate seed sizes (Table 1) and planted at 20 mm depth into ideal conditions. Each treatment was
also sown at two seeding rates, 25 and 50 seeds/m².
Screen size (mm)
Seed weight (g/1000 seeds)
Large
>2.0 mm
4.82
Pioneer® 43C80 CL - OP
Medium
1.8–2.0 mm
3.68
Small
<1.8 mm
3.06
Large
>2.2 mm
8.74
Pioneer® 44Y84 CL - hybrid
Medium
2-2.2.0 mm
7.51
Small
<2.0 mm
5.40
Table 1 Screen size used (mm) and resultant seed weight (g/1000 seeds) to achieve three contrasting seed sizes
of a hybrid and OP canola variety.
Results
There were no effects of any seed size treatment on canola establishment in this experiment, as
conditions at seeding were excellent. The main effects of variety, seed size and seed rate were all
significant for early dry matter production and grain yield. However, there were no interactions
between any of the treatments for either early dry matter production or grain yield.
For early (8-10 leaf) dry matter production:
• Pioneer® 44Y84 CL produced 64% more early dry matter than Pioneer® 43C80 CL.
• Sowing ‘large’ seed resulted in 29% more early dry matter than ‘small’ seed.
• Sowing 50 seeds/m² resulted in 25% more early dry matter than sowing 25 seeds/m².
For grain yield:
• Pioneer® 44Y84 CL was 42% (0.50 t/ha) higher yielding than Pioneer® 43C80 CL.
• ‘Large’ seed was 10% (0.15 t/ha) higher yielding than ‘small’ seed.
• Sowing 50 seeds/m² was 12% (0.16 t/ha) higher yielding than sowing 25 seeds/m².
Conclusions
The research reported here shows that large seed can increase early
dry matter production as well as grain yield in both hybrids and OP
varieties. This is important for producers who retain seed of OP
varieties. Where possible, producers should consider grading seed to
above a 2.0 mm screen to improve canola establishment, early dry
matter production and grain yield.
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