effect of production practices and seed quality on the ......standard germination test (sgt),...

Effect of production practices and seed quality on the performance of open-pollinated Argentine canola in

conventional, minimum and zero tillage

Final Report No. 6Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission

December 2007

Bob Elliott, Larry Mann, Eric Johnson, Cecil Vera, Randy Kutcher and Guy Lafond

Saskatoon Research CentreAgriculture and Agri-Food Canada

107 Science PlaceSaskatoon, SK S7N 0X2E-mail: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

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ABSTRACT

Laboratory and field tests were conducted on 15 seed lots of open-pollinatedArgentine canola (LG 3455) to determine the effect of production practices and seedquality on the performance of the seed lots in conventional tillage (CT), minimum tillage(MT) and zero tillage (ZT). Seed lots were produced from a swathing experiment atScott in 2003. The mother crop was planted on three dates (early May, mid May, earlyJune) and swathed at four times or straight-combined. Seed lots were evaluated in thestandard germination test (SGT), pre-chill test (PCT), controlled deterioration test(CDT), accelerated aging test (AAT) and electrical conductivity test (ECT). Green seedand 1000-seed weights were also determined. Vigour indices were calculated from the1000-seed weight and final % germination/100. Seed lots were evaluated in CT(Saskatoon, Scott, Loon Lake), MT (Saskatoon, Melfort) and ZT (Indian Head) in 2004. Tests at Saskatoon were planted in early May and in late May. Assessments focussedon seedling establishment, shoot growth, biomass accumulation and seed yield.Laboratory data were correlated with field data to identify seed attributes that providedthe best indication of establishment, growth and yield. Linear regression was used toquantify relationships between seed quality and the performance of the seed lots underdifferent growing conditions and tillage practices.

Seed lots of LG 3455 differed with respect to 1000-seed weight (1.67-3.07 g),green seed content (0.3-11.8%), electrical conductivity (63-137 µS cm-1 g-1) and finalgermination in the SGT (89-99%), PCT (88-99%), CDT (88-99%) and AAT (89-99%). Vigour indices of the seed lots ranged from 1.5-3.0 in the latter tests. Seed lots from theearly June planting had lower seed weights, higher green seed content and higherelectrical conductivity than seed lots from early or mid May plantings. Swathing timehad a pronounced effect on seed quality. Seed lots that were swathed earliest (60-75%moisture content) had the lowest seed weight, highest green seed content, highestconductivity, lowest vigour index and least tolerance to temperature stress in the PCT,CDT and AAT. Conversely, seed lots that were swathed last (10-20% moisture content)or straight-combined had the highest seed weight, fewest green seeds, lowestconductivity, highest vigour index and greatest tolerance to low and high temperatures.

The overall performance of the seed lots varied from test to test. At Saskatoon,stand establishment after 21 days was 20-30% higher in CT than in MT. Establishmentin early- and late-seeded plots averaged 74% and 77%, respectively, with CT and 53%and 50%, respectively, with MT. Early seeding reduced shoot growth and biomass after14, 21 and 28 days. With CT and MT, shoot biomass was 1.6-4.0 times higher in late-seeded plots than in early-seeded plots. Seed yields in early- and late-seeded plotsaveraged 46±1 bu/acre with CT and 47±1 bu/acre with MT. At other locations, seedlingestablishment after 21 days averaged 62% with CT at Scott, 47% with CT at LoonLake, 63% with MT at Melfort and 26% with ZT at Indian Head. Shoot growth andbiomass after 14, 21 and 28 days were lower at Melfort and Indian Head than at LoonLake and Scott. Seed yields averaged 35 bu/acre with CT at Scott, 37 bu/acre with CTat Loon Lake and 32 bu/acre with MT at Melfort and ZT at Indian Head. With theexception of late-seeded MT plantings at Saskatoon and Melfort, seed yields werestrongly correlated with seedlings/row, shoot fresh weight and shoot biomass after 14,

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21 and 28 days. In most tests, shoot fresh weight and shoot biomass after 14-21 dayshad the highest correlation with seed yield.

Seedling establishment differed among seed lots after 14, 21 and 28 days ineach field test. At Saskatoon, establishment of the seed lots after 21 days ranged from62-84% in the early CT planting, from 52-85% in the late CT planting, from 31-63% inthe early MT planting and from 25-60% in the late MT planting. Establishment of theseed lots after 21 days ranged from 54-91% at Scott, from 34-74% at Loon Lake, from32-82% at Melfort and from 19-56% at Indian Head. In each test, the seed lot that wasswathed earliest in the early June planting had the poorest establishment. Conversely,seed lots that were swathed last or straight-combined in the early and mid Mayplantings had the best establishment.

Thousand-seed weights and germination in the SGT, PCT, CDT and AAT werepositively correlated with seedlings/row after 14, 21 and 28 days in most tests. Seedlots with seed weights below 2.1 g and germination below 90% in the SGT, PCT, CDTand AAT had the poorest establishment in all tests. Depending on the test, seedlingestablishment after 21 days improved by 10-21% with a 1.0 g increase in 1000-seedweight and by 0.9-2.5% with each 1.0% increase in germination in the SGT, PCT, CDTor AAT. Seedling establishment was negatively correlated with electrical conductivityafter 24 hours. Seed lots with conductivity below 75 µS cm-1 g-1 had the bestestablishment in most tests. Establishment declined by 1-3% with each 10 µS cm-1 g-1

increase in conductivity. Unlike previous studies, 1000-seed weight and conductivity inthe ECT provided the best indication of seedling establishment in most tests.

Shoot fresh weights differed among the seed lots after 14, 21 and 28 days ineach test. Shoot weights after 21 days at Saskatoon ranged from 53-120 mg in theearly CT planting, from 107-239 mg in the late CT planting, from 44-120 mg in the earlyMT planting and from 167-250 mg in the late MT planting. Shoot weights at otherlocations ranged from 405-833 mg at Scott, from 368-888 mg at Loon Lake, from 70-191 mg at Melfort and from 428-906 mg at Indian Head. In each test, seed lots thatwere swathed at 10-20% moisture content or straight-combined had the highest shootweight.

Thousand-seed weights and seed weights in the ECT were strongly correlatedwith shoot growth after 21 days in all tests except the late MT planting at Saskatoonand ZT planting at Indian Head. Seed lots with seed weights below 2.1 g had the lowestshoot weight. Shoot weights increased as seed weights increased. With a 1.0 gincrease in 1000-seed weight, shoot weights increased by 29-39 mg in early plantingsat Saskatoon and by 30-70 mg in late plantings. In other tests, a 1.0 g increase in 1000-seed weight improved shoot weight after 21 days by 250 mg at Scott, by 345 mg atLoon Lake, by 45 mg at Melfort and by 175 mg at Indian Head.

Shoot biomass differed among seed lots after 14, 21 and 28 days in all tests. Biomass of the seed lots after 21 days at Saskatoon ranged from 1.1-3.1 g/m-row in theearly CT planting, from 1.8-6.3 g/m-row in the late CT planting, from 0.5-2.3 g/m-row inthe early MT planting and from 1.4-4.7 g/m-row in the late MT planting. Shoot biomassof the seed lots after 21 days ranged from 7.1-24.6 g/m-row at Scott, from 4.3-21.2 g/m-row at Loon Lake, from 0.8-4.8 g/m-row at Melfort and from 3.4-16.7 g/m-row at Indian

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Head. Seed lots that were swathed at 10-20% moisture content or straight-combinedhad the highest shoot biomass.

Vigour indices of seed lots in the SGT, PCT, CDT and AAT were stronglycorrelated with shoot biomass after 21 days in most tests. Seed lots with a vigour indexbelow 2.0 had the lowest biomass. Biomass improved as the vigour index increased. With a 1.0 unit increase in the vigour index, shoot biomass after 21 days at Saskatoonincreased by 0.9-1.0 g/m-row in the early CT planting and early MT planting, by 1.4-1.6g/m-row in the late MT planting and by 2.6-2.7 g/m-row in the late CT planting. At othersites, a 1.0 unit increase in the vigour index increased shoot biomass by 8.0-9.2 g/m-row at Scott, by 9.9-11.2 g/m-row at Loon Lake, by 1.7-1.9 g/m-row at Melfort and by4.0-4.5 g/m-row at Indian Head. Vigour indices in the SGT or CDT provided the bestindication of biomass accumulation in the late CT planting at Saskatoon and late CTplanting at Scott. Vigour indices in the PCT provided the best indication of biomassaccumulation in the early CT planting at Saskatoon, early MT planting at Saskatoon,early CT planting at Loon Lake and late MT planting at Melfort.

Seed yields differed among seed lots in all tests. Yields of the seed lots atSaskatoon ranged from 40.8-50.0 bu/acre in the early CT planting, from 34.9-49.1bu/acre in the late CT planting, from 44.0-48.1 bu/acre in the early MT planting andfrom 47.0-50.4 bu/acre in the late MT planting. Yields of the seed lots ranged from 30.1-39.2 bu/acre at Scott, from 29.5-41.5 bu/acre at Loon Lake, from 28.7-34.2 bu/acre atMelfort and from 19.9-39.2 bu/acre at Indian Head. Seed lots that were swathed at 10-20% moisture content or straight-combined had the highest yields in each test.

Thousand-seed weight and vigour indices in the SGT, PCT, CDT and AAT werestrongly correlated with yields in all tests except the late MT plantings at Saskatoon andMelfort. Seed lots with a 1000-seed weight below 2.1 and vigour index below 2.0 hadthe lowest yield. Yields improved as the 1000-seed weight and vigour index increased. With a 1.0 g increase in seed weight or 1.0 unit increase in the vigour index, seed yieldsat Saskatoon improved by 4.9-6.0 bu/acre in the early CT planting, by 4.8-5.9 bu/acre inthe late CT planting and by 1.7-2.1 bu/acre in the early MT planting. At other locations,a 1.0 g increase in seed weight or 1.0 unit increase in the vigour index improved yieldsby 4.2-4.9 bu/acre at Scott, by 5.7-6.3 bu/acre at Loon Lake and by 9.6-11.0 bu/acre atIndian Head. Vigour indices in the SGT provided the best indication of yield potential ofthe seed lots in early and late CT plantings at Saskatoon and CT plantings at Scott andLoon Lake. Vigour indices in the PCT or AAT provided the best indication of yield in theearly and late MT plantings at Saskatoon and ZT planting at Indian Head.

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INTRODUCTION

Production practices are known to have a pronounced effect on seed quality,seed vigour and agronomic performance of open-pollinated Argentine canola (Vera etal. 2007, Elliott et al. 2007a). Delayed seeding and early swathing of the mother cropreduced yield, seed weight, seed vigour and establishment of harvested seed inconventional and reduced tillage. In contrast, early planting in combination with delayedswathing improved yield, seed weight, germination, tolerance to temperature stress,membrane integrity and establishment of harvested seed in conventional, minimum andzero tillage.

Seed quality has been shown to have a significant effect on the performance ofopen-pollinated Argentine canola. Germination in the standard germination test (SGT)provided the best indication of establishment in warm moist soil (Elias and Copeland1997, Elliott et al. 2005, 2007a). Germination in the pre-chill test (PCT) provided thebest indication of establishment in cool moist soil whereas germination in the controlleddeterioration test (CDT) provided the best indication of establishment in dry soil (Larsenet al. 1998, Elliott et al. 2007a). The latter authors also found that conductivity in theelectrical conductivity test (ECT) was negatively correlated with stand establishment inlight- and heavy-textured soils with reduced tillage.

Seed size and seed weight have a significant effect on shoot growth of Polishand Argentine canola (Elliott et al. 2007b, 2007c). Large heavy seeds had largercotyledons, larger true leaves, higher shoot weights and higher seed yield than smalllight seeds. Studies indicated that seedlings from large heavy seeds are more vigorousand tolerant to flea beetle damage than seedlings from small light seeds. Vigourindices, calculated from the 1000-seed weight and final germination in the SGT andPCT, provided the best indication of biomass accumulation in warm and cool soils,respectively (Elliott et al, 2005). More recent studies on seed lots of hybrid Argentinecanola found that germination in the SGT and PCT can be used to identify seed lotswith superior emergence and stand establishment, particularly in cool soil (Elliott et al.2007d). Hybrid seed lots with vigour indices of 5.0 or above had the highest shootbiomass and often the highest seed yield.

Limited research has been published on the effect of production practices on thequality and vigour of open-pollinated Argentine canola grown under dry conditions andhigh temperature. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of seedingdate and swathing time on the quality and vigour of an early-maturing, open-pollinatedArgentine canola. Harvested seed was grown in conventional, minimum and zero tillageto assess the effects of seed quality on establishment, growth and seed yield.

EXPERIMENTAL METHODS

Seed samplesFifteen seed lots of a spring-type, open-pollinated Argentine canola, Brassica

napus L. (cv. LG 3455) were produced from a swathing experiment at Scott in 2003. The mother crop was planted on three dates (May 6, May 20, June 3) and swathed at

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four times (10-75% moisture content) or straight-combined (Table 1). Seed lots werestored at -17°C and 5-7% moisture content until testing.

Laboratory testsGreen seed content was assessed by crushing five 100-seed subsamples and

determining the percentage of distinctly green seeds. Thousand-seed weights weredetermined from five 200-seed subsamples.

Seed lots were evaluated in the standard germination test (SGT), pre-chill test(PCT), controlled deterioration test (CDT), accelerated aging test (AAT) and electricalconductivity test (ECT). Each test had four 50- or 200-seed replicates of 15 seed lotsarranged in a randomized complete block design.

The SGT was conducted using standard procedures (AOSA 2000, CFIA 2001). Fifty untreated seeds were placed on a moist blotter (13 ml water) in a plasticgermination box (11.0 x 11.0 x 3.5 cm), covered and transferred to a controlledenvironment chamber (Conviron® model PGV 36) for 7 days. Chambers weremaintained at alternating 25/15°C, 16h light/8h dark (16L/8D) photoperiod and 270 µmol s-1 m2 light intensity. Numbers of normal seedlings, abnormal seedlings andungerminated seeds were assessed after 4-7 days using recommended guidelines(AOSA 2000, CFIA 2001). In the SGT and stress tests, the vigour index of each seedlot was calculated by multiplying the 1000-seed weight by the final % germination/100.

In the PCT, 50 seeds were placed in a germination box containing one measuredcup (240 cc) of Bell’s premium potting mix (4 parts) and sand (1 part). Seeds werecovered with 5 mm of potting mix, moistened with 30 ml water and placed in the dark at5±1°C for 7 days (Elliott et al. 2005). Samples were transferred to chambers maintainedat alternating 25/15°C and 8L/16D photoperiod for 5 days. Number of normal seedlingswere assessed after 10-12 days.

In the CDT, seeds were placed on moistened filter paper for 90 minutes to adjustthe moisture content to 20% (Powell 1995, Hampton and TeKrony 1995, Powell andMatthews 2005). Seeds were placed in foil pouches (James Dawson Enterprises Ltd.,Lachine, Quebec), equilibrated at 10°C for 24 hours and deteriorated at 45°C for 24hours. After deterioration, four 50-seed replicates were incubated at 20°C and 16L/8Dphotoperiod for 7 days. Numbers of normal seedlings were determined after 4-7 daysusing methods outlined previously.

In the AAT, seeds were placed on moistened filter paper for 20 minutes to adjustthe moisture content to 10%. Four replicates of 50 seeds were placed on a meshscreen in an accelerated aging box (Hoffman Manufacturing Inc.) containing 40 mldistilled water and incubated at 40°C for 24h (modified after TeKrony 1995, 2005,AOSA 2002). After aging, seeds were maintained at 20°C and 16L/8D photoperiod for 7days. Numbers of normal seedlings were assessed after 4-7 d.

In the ECT, seeds with 10% moisture content were equilibrated in foil pouches at7-8°C for 24 hours (modified after Hampton 1995, Hampton and TeKrony 1995, AOSA2002). Seeds were weighed, placed in 60 ml de-ionized water and soaked for 24 hours. Conductivity after 4 and 24 hours (µS cm-1) was calculated from the conductivity of theseed sample minus conductivity of the blank. Electrical conductivity (EC), measured in

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µS cm-1 g-1, was determined by dividing the conductivity by the weight of the seedsample.

Field trialsSeed lots were treated with a commercial seed dressing (Helix®, 200 g

thiamethoxam/100 kg seed) and evaluated at six sites in Saskatchewan in 2004 (Table2). Samples were evaluated in conventional tillage (CT) at Saskatoon, Scott and LoonLake; minimum tillage (MT) at Saskatoon and Melfort and zero till (ZT) at Indian Head. Sites also differed in soil type, soil texture and rainfall (Table 2). Each field test used arandomized complete block design with four replicates. Seed lots were planted fromMay 11 to May 27 in 4-, 6- or 10-row plots at 200 seeds per 6.1 m row and 1.5-2.0 cmplanting depth. Tests in CT and MT at Melfort were planted with a double-disc pressdrill equipped with on-row packers. Tests in MT at Saskatoon and ZT at Indian Headwere planted with a hoe drill with on-row packers. Fertilizer (N/P/K/S) was applied onthe basis of soil test recommendations. Herbicides were applied according to standardagricultural practice.

Agronomic assessmentsAt Saskatoon, flea beetle damage to 20 cotyledons in each plot (n=10 seedlings)

was assessed 21 days after seeding (DAS) using a 10-point scale that corresponded tothe percentage of leaf surface eaten by flea beetles (Palaniswamy et al. 1992). In allfield trials, seedlings along a centre row of each plot were counted 14, 21 and 28 DAS.Shoot growth was evaluated by harvesting 10 plants from the outer rows of each plotafter 14, 21, 28 and 35 days. Samples were placed in plastic bags, labelled andtransported to the laboratory in coolers. Shoots were cleaned and weighed to determineshoot fresh weight (mg/plant). Samples were dried at 60°C for 4-7 days to assess shootdry weight. Shoot biomass was calculated from the number of seedlings/m-row andshoot fresh weight. The four centre rows of each plot were swathed and harvested atmaturity with a small-plot combine to determine seed yield.

Statistical analysesData were analyzed using the General Linear model procedure (SAS Institute

1999). Fisher’s protected LSD test was used to compare means among seed lots. Laboratory data were correlated with field data. Pearson’s correlation coefficient wasused to identify attributes in laboratory tests that provided the best indication of standestablishment, shoot fresh weight, shoot biomass and seed yield. Linear regressionwas used to quantify the relationship between attributes of seed lots in the lab and theirperformance in the field.

RESULTS

Production practices and seed qualitySeeding date of the mother crop had a pronounced effect on the 1000-seed

weight and green seed content of harvested seed (Table 1). With early, mid and late

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seeding, 1000-seed weights ranged from 2.06-3.07 g, 2.04-2.98 g and 1.67-2.45 g,respectively. Green seed content ranged from 0.3-3.7%, 0.8-4.2% and 7.2-11.8%,respectively. Data indicated that late seeding reduced seed weight and increased theincidence of green seed. Swathing time also affected seed weight and green seedcontent. Seed lots that were swathed earliest (L1, L6, L11, L12) had the lowest seedweights (1.67-2.27 g) and most green seeds (3.7-11.8%). Conversely, seed lots in earlyand mid-plantings that were swathed last (L4, L9) or straight-combined (L5, L10) hadthe highest seed weight (2.95-3.0 g) and fewest green seeds (0.3-1.8%). Clearly,delayed swathing of the mother crop improved 1000-seed weight and reduced greenseed.

Harvested seed lots of LG 3455 differed in other quality traits (Table 3). Finalgermination of the seed lots ranged from 89-99% in the SGT, from 88-99% in the PCT,from 88-99% in the CDT and from 89-99% in the AAT. Based on current guidelines(CFIA 2001, 2006), all seed lots met the minimum germination tolerance (84% germ,n=200 seeds) for Certified No. 1 canola (CFIA 2006). Seed lot L11 that was swathedearliest in the late planting had the lowest standard germination and poorest toleranceto temperature stress in the PCT, CDT and AAT. Seed lots L2, L3, L4 and L5 from theearly planting and seed lots L9 and L10 from the mid planting had the highest standardgermination and best tolerance to temperature stress in the PCT, CDT and AAT. Seedlot L11 had the lowest vigour index (1.5) in the SGT, PCT, CDT and AAT. Seed lots L4and L5 from the early planting had the highest vigour index (3.0) in each of the fourtests. Electrical conductivity ranged from 63 µS cm-1 g-1 in seed lot L4 to 137 µS cm-1 g-1

in seed lot L11. Results indicated that late seeding and/or early swathing increasedconductivity and reduced the tolerance of seeds to low or high temperatures.

Field tests at SaskatoonSeeding date had little effect on flea beetle damage (Table 4). Damage in early-

and late-seeded plots after 21 days averaged 5% and 4%, respectively, in CT and 2%and 1%, respectively, in MT. Seedlings/row after 14, 21 and 28 days were substantiallyhigher in CT than in MT. Stand establishment in early-and late-seeded plots with CTaveraged 67% and 77%, respectively, after 14 days; 74% and 77% after 21 days; and79% and 77% after 28 days. Stand establishment in early-and late-seeded plots withMT averaged 41% and 53%, respectively, after 14 days; 53% and 50% after 21 days;and 57% and 55% after 21 days. Establishment on each of the three sampling dateswas 20-30% higher in CT than in MT.

Seeding date had a pronounced effect on the overall performance of the seedlots in CT and MT (Table 5). In CT, shoot fresh weights and shoot biomass after 14, 21,28 and 35 days were 1.6-2.8 times higher in late-seeded plots than in early-seededplots. In MT, shoot weights and biomass were 1.6-4.0 times higher in late-seeded plotsthan in early-seeded plots. Seed yields were similar in early-and late-seeded plots,averaging 46.4 and 45.8 bu/acre, respectively, in CT and 47.2 and 47.1 bu/acre,respectively, in MT.

Seed yields in most tests at Saskatoon were positively correlated withseedling/row, shoot fresh weight and shoot biomass (Table 6). Yields in the early CTplanting were most strongly correlated with shoot fresh weights after 14 days (r=0.89)

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and shoot biomass after 14 days (r=0.90). Yields in the late CT planting were the moststrongly correlated with seedlings/row after 28 days (r=0.90) and shoot biomass after 14days (r=0.86). Yields in the early MT planting were the most strongly correlated withshoot fresh weight after 21 days (r=0.63) and shoot biomass after 21 days (r=0.61).Yields in the late MT planting were poorly correlated (r#0.48) with all seedling attributes.

Seedlings/row after 14, 21 and 28 days differed among seed lots in each test(Table 7). In early-seeded plots with CT, seedling establishment after 21 days rangedfrom 124 seedlings/row in seed lots L11 (62% est.) to 167 seedlings/row in seed lots L2and L8 (84% est.). Establishment after 28 days ranged from 135 seedlings/row in seedlots L11 (68% est.) to 170 seedlings/row in seed lots L2, L4 and L8 (85% est). In late-seeded plots with CT, establishment after 21 days ranged frm 104 seedlings/row inseed lot L11 (52% est.) to 170 seedlings/row in seed lots L2, L9 and L10 (85% est). Establishment after 28 days ranged from 99 seedlings/row in seed lot L11 (50% est.) to173 seedlings/row in seed lots L2 and L9 (87% est.). In early-seeded plots with MT,seedling establishment after 21 days ranged from 62 seedlings/row in seed lot L11(31% est.) to over 125 seedlings/row in seed lots L3, L8 and L10 (63% est.). Establishment after 28 days ranged from 60 seedlings/row in seed lot L11 (30% est.) toover 130 seedlings/row in seed lots L4, L5 and L8 (65-72% est). In late-seeded plotswith MT, seedling establishment after 21 days ranged from 50 seedlings/row in seed lotL11 (25% est.) to 120 seedlings/row in seed lots L2, L9 and L10 (60% est.). Establishment after 28 days ranged from 64 seedlings/row in seed lot L11 (32% est.) toover 130 seedlings/row in seed lots L2, L3 and L9 (65-67% est.). In each test, seed lotL11 that was swathed earliest in the late planting had the poorest establishment. Conversely, seed lots that were swathed at 10-20% moisture content or straight-combined in the early planting (L2, L3, L4) and late planting (L8, L9, L10) had the bestestablishment.

Thousand-seed weights (r=0.59-0.91), seed weights in the ECT (r=0.56-0.89),and vigour indices in the SGT, PCT, CDT and AAT (r=0.56-0.93) were stronglycorrelated with seedlings/row after 14, 21 and 28 days in all tests at Saskatoon (Table8). Final germination in the PCT, CDT and AAT was positively correlated (r=0.56-0.70)with seedlings/row after 28 days in most tests. Conductivity after 24 hours wasnegatively correlated (-r=0.58-0.88) with seedlings/row after 21 and 28 days in all tests.

Seed lots with seed weights below 2.1 g had the poorest establishment after 21days in most tests (Figure 1). Establishment improved as seed weights increased. Witheach 1.0 g increase in 1000-seed weight, establishment improved by 10% in the earlyCT planting, by 21% in the late CT planting, by 18% in the early MT planting and by20% in the late MT planting. Differences in 1000-seed weights among seed lotsaccounted for more of the variation in establishment in the late CT planting (R2=0.84),early MT planting (R2=0.71) and late MT planting (R2=0.65) than in the early CT planting(R2=0.38).

Seed lots with germination below 90% in the SGT had the poorest establishmentafter 21 days in most tests (Fig. 2). Establishment improved as germination in the SGTincreased. With each 1.0% increase in germination, establishment improved by 0.9% inthe early CT planting, by 2.0% in the late CT planting, by 1.3% in the early MTplanting and by 2.5% in the late MT planting. Differences in germination among seed

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lots in the SGT accounted for more of the variation in establishment in the late MTplanting (R2=0.63) and late CT planting (R2=0.45) than in the early MT planting(R2=0.23) and early CT planting (R2=0.16).

Seed lots with germination below 90% in the PCT had the poorest establishmentin most tests (Fig. 3). With each 1.0% increase in germination in the PCT,establishment after 21 days increased by 1.0% in the early CT planting, by 1.9% in thelate CT planting, by 1.7% in the early MT planting and by 1.3% in the late MT planting. Differences in germination among seed lots in the PCT accounted for more of thevariation in establishment in the late CT planting (R2=0.49) and early MT planting(R2=0.46) than in the early CT planting (R2=0.26) and late MT planting (R2=0.23).

Seed lots with low germination in the CDT had the poorest establishment (Fig.4). With each 1.0% increase in germination in the CDT, establishment after 21 daysimproved by 0.9% in the early CT planting, by 1.7% in the late CT planting, by 1.4% inthe early MT planting and by 1.9% in the late MT planting. Differences in germinationamong seed lots in the CDT accounted for more of the variation in establishment in thelate CT planting (R2=0.48) and late MT planting (R2=0.59) than in the early CT planting(R2=0.25) or early MT planting (R2=0.39).

Seed lots with germination below 90% in the AAT had the poorest establishment(Fig. 5). With each 1.0% increase in germination in the AAT, establishment after 21days improved by 0.9% in the early CT planting, by 1.5% in the late CT planting, by1.3% in the early MT planting and by 2.0% in the late MT planting. Differences ingermination among seed lots in the AAT accounted for more of the variation inestablishment in the late MT planting (R2=0.61) than in the other plantings (R2=0.24-0.36).

Seed lots with low conductivity after 4 or 24 hours had the best establishment inmost tests (Fig. 6). With each 10 µS cm-1 g-1 increase in conductivity after 24 hours,establishment after 21 days declined by 1% in the early CT planting, by 2% in the earlyMT planting and by 3% in the late CT and late MT plantings. Differences in conductivityamong seed lots after 24 hours accounted for more of variation in establishment in thelate CT planting (R2=0.61), late MT planting (R2=0.62) and early MT planting (R2=0.49)than in the early CT planting (R2=0.27).

Shoot fresh weights differed among seed lots after 14, 21 and 28 days in eachtest (Table 9). In most instances, seed lot L11 had the lowest shoot weight after 14, 21and 28 days. Seed lots L3, L4, L5, L9 and L10 had the highest shoot weights. Depending on the test, shoot weights after 28 days were 1.5-2.6 times higher in thelatter seed lots than in seed lot L11.

Thousand-seed weights (r=0.54-0.88) and seed weights in the ECT (r=0.59-0.84)were strongly correlated with shoot fresh weights after 14, 21 and 28 days in all tests(Table 10). Electrical conductivities after 4 and 24 hours were negatively correlated (-r=0.56-0.78) with shoot weights in all tests.

Thousand-seed weight had a significant effect of the shoot weight of the seedlots after 21 days in all tests (Fig. 7). Shoot weights improved as seed weightsincreased. Seed lots with shoot weights below 2.1 g had the lowest shoot weights. Witha 1.0 g increase in 1000-seed weight, shoot weight increased by 29 mg/plant in theearly CT planting, by 70 mg/plant in the late CT planting, by 39 mg/plant in the early MT

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planting and by 30 mg/plant in the late MT planting. Differences in 1000-seed weightamong seed lots accounted for more of the variation in shoot weights in the early CTplanting (R2=0.55), late CT planting (R2=0.59) and early MT planting (R2=0.70) than inthe late MT planting (R2=0.30).

Seed weights in the ECT also provided a reliable indication of shoot freshweights after 21 days in each test (Fig. 8). Shoot weights improved as seed weightsincreased. Differences in seed weight among seed lots accounted for more of thevariation in shoot growth in the early CT planting (R2=0.56), late CT planting (R2=0.60)and early MT planting (R2=0.58 than in the late MT planting (R2=0.35).

Shoot biomass differed among seed lots after 14, 21 and 28 days in each test(Table 11). Seed lot L11 had the lowest biomass in all tests. Seed lots L3, L4, L5, L8and L9 had the highest biomass. Biomass accumulation after 28 days was 2.2-5.2times higher in the latter seed lots than in seed lot L11.

Thousand-seed weights (r=0.74-0.94) and vigour indices in the SGT (r=0.76-0.90), PCT (r=0.73-0.91), CDT (r=0.74-0.90) and AAT (r=0.75-0.91) were stronglycorrelated with shoot biomass after 14, 21 and 28 days in all tests (Table 12).

Thousand-seed weights had a significant effect on biomass accumulation after21 days in all tests (Fig. 9). Shoot biomass improved as seed weights increased. With a1.0 g increase in 1000-seed weight, shoot biomass increased by 1.0 g/m-row in theearly CT planting, by 2.9 g/m-row in the late CT planting, by 1.1 g/m-row in the early MTplanting and by 1.6 g/m-row in the late MT planting. Differences in seed weight amongseed lots accounted for more of the variation in shoot biomass in the late CT planting(R2=0.79) and early MT planting (R2=0.88) than in the early CT planting (R2=0.55) andlate MT planting (R2=0.56).

Vigour indices in the SGT provided a reliable indication of shoot biomass after 21days in all tests (Fig. 10). Seed lots with a vigour index below 2.0 had the lowestbiomass. With a 1.0 unit increase in the vigour index, shoot biomass after 21 daysincreased by 0.9-1.0 g/m-row in early-seeded plots and by 1.5-2.7 g/m-row in late-seeded plots. Differences in vigour indices among seed lots in the SGT accounted formore of the variation in biomass in the late CT planting (R2=0.81) and early MT planting(R2=0.82) than in the early CT planting (R2=0.57) and late MT planting (R2=0.58).

Vigour indices in the PCT had a pronounced effect on shoot growth in each test(Fig. 11). With a 1.0 unit increase in the vigour index, shoot biomass after 21 daysincreased by 0.9 g/m-row in early-seeded plots and by 1.4-2.6/m-row in late-seededplots. Differences in vigour indices of seed lots in the PCT accounted for more of thevariation in biomass in the late CT planting (R2=0.77) and early MT planting (R2=0.82)than in the early CT planting (R2=0.58) and late MT planting (R2=0.53).

Vigour indices in the CDT and AAT provided a reliable indication of shootbiomass in each test (Figs. 12 and 13). With a 1.0 unit increase in the vigour index,shoot biomass increased by 0.9 g/m-row in early-seeded plots and by 1.5-2.6 g/m-rowin late-seeded plots. Differences in vigour indices of seed lots in the CDT and AATaccounted for more of the variation in shoot biomass in the late CT planting (R$0.82)and early MT planting (R2=0.82) than in the early CT planting (R#0.56) and late MTplanting (R2#0.64).

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Seed yields differed among seed lots in each test (Table 13). Yields in the earlyCT planting ranged from 229 g/m2 (40.8 bu/acre) in seed lot L11 to over 270 g/m2 (48.1-50.0 bu/acre) in seed lots L2, L9, L13 and L14. Yields in the late CT planting rangedfrom 196 g/m2 (34.9 bu/acre) in seed lot L11 to 276 g/m2 (49.1 bu/acre) in seed lot L9. Yields in the early MT planting ranged from 247 g/m2 (44.0 bu/acre) in seed lot L11 toover 270 g/m2 (48.1 bu/acre) in seed lots L3, L4, L7, L9 and L14. Yields in the late MTplanting ranged from 264 g/m2 (47.0 bu/acre) in seed lots L11 and L14 to over 270 g/m2 (48.1-50.4 bu/acre) in seed lots L2, L3, L4, L5 and L15.

Thousand-seed weights were strongly correlated with yields in the early CTplanting (r=0.81), late CT planting (r=0.70) and early MT planting (r=0.53) (Table 14). Vigour indices in the SGT were positively correlated with yields in the early CT planting(r=0.77) and late CT planting (r=0.69). Vigour indices in the PCT were positivelycorrelated with yields in the early CT planting (r=0.77), late CT planting (r=0.68) andearly MT planting (r=0.52). Germination after 12 days in the PCT had the highestcorrelation (r=0.56) with yields in the late MT planting.

Seed weight had a significant effect on yield in 3/4 tests (Fig. 14). Yieldsimproved as seed weights increased. With a 1.0 g increase in 1000-seed weight, yieldsimproved by 33.6 g/m2 (6.0 bu/acre) in the early CT planting, by 32.9 g/m2 (5.9 bu/acre)in the late CT planting and by 11.6 g/m2 (2.1 bu/acre) in the early MT planting. Differences in 1000-seed weight among seed lots accounted for more of the variation inyield in the early CT planting (R2=0.65) and late CT planting (R2=0.49) than in the earlyMT planting (R2=0.28) and late MT planting (R2=0.13).

Vigour indices in the SGT provided a reliable indication of seed yield in 2/4 tests(Fig. 15). Seed lots with a vigour index below 2.0 had the lowest yields. With a 1.0 unitincrease in the vigour index, yields improved by 30.2 g/m2 (5.4 bu/acre) in the early CTplanting, by 30.7 g/m2 (5.5 bu/acre) in the late CT planting and by 9.9 g/m2 (1.8 bu/acre)in the early MT planting. Differences in vigour indices among seed lots in the SGTaccounted for more of the variation in yield in the early CT planting (R2=0.60) and lateCT planting (R2=0.48) than in the early and late MT plantings (R2=0.15-0.23).

Vigour indices in the PCT had a positive effect on seed yield in 3/4 tests (Fig.16). Yields improved as the vigour index increased. With a 1.0 unit increase in thevigour index yields improved by 29.0 g/m2 (5.2 bu/acre) in the early and late CTplantings and by 10.3 g/m2 (1.8 bu/acre) in the early MT planting. Differences in vigourindices among seed lots in the PCT accounted for more of the variation in yield in theearly CT planting (R2=0.59) and late CT planting (R2=0.46) than in the early MT planting(R2=0.27) and late MT planting (R2=0.18).

Vigour indices in the CDT and AAT had a positive effect on yield in 3/4 tests(Figs. 17 and 18). With a 1.0 unit increase in the vigour index, yields improved by 27g/m2 (4.9 bu/acre) in the early CT planting, by 27-28 g/m2 (4.8-5.0 bu/acre) in the lateCT planting and by 10 g/m2 (1.7-1.8 bu/acre) in the early MT planting. Differences invigour indices among seed lots in the CDT and AAT accounted for more of the variationin yield in early CT planting (R2$0.53) and late CT planting (R2$0.41) than in the earlyMT planting (R2#0.26) and late MT planting (R#0.14).

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Tests at Scott, Loon Lake, Melfort and Indian HeadThe overall performance of the seed lots differed greatly at Scott, Loon Lake,

Melfort and Indian Head (Table 15). Seedling establishment after 28 days ranged from48 seedlings/row (24% est.) in the ZT test at Indian Head to 121 seedlings/row (61%est.) in the CT test at Scott. Shoot fresh weights and shoot biomass after 14, 21 and 28days were lower at Melfort and Indian Head than at Loon Lake and Scott. Shootbiomass after 28 days ranged from 6.8 g/m-row at Melfort to 82.6 g/m-row at Scott. Seed yields ranged from 180 g/m2 (32.0 bu/acre) at Melfort to 209 b/m2 (37.2 bu/acre)at Loon Lake.

Seedling attributes were strongly correlated with seed yields at Scott, Loon Lakeand Indian Head (Table 16). Seedlings/row after 14, 21 and 28 days were highlycorrelated (r=0.71-0.76) with yields at Loon Lake. Shoot fresh weights after 14 and 21days had the highest correlation with yields at Scott (r=0.74) and Indian Head (r=0.70-0.84). Shoot biomass after 14, 21 and 28 days had the highest correlation with yields atScott (r=0.71-0.73), Loon Lake (r=0.69-0.76) and Indian Head (r=0.63-0.74). Seedlings/row after 14 days had the highest correlation (r=0.47) with yields at Melfort.

Seedlings/row after 14, 21 and 28 days differed among seed lots in each test(Table 17). Seedling establishment after 21 days at Scott ranged from 107seedlings/row (54% est.) in seed lot L11 to 181 seedlings/row (91% est.) in seed lotL10. Establishment after 28 days ranged from 108 seedlings/row (54% est.) in seed lotL11 to over 160 seedlings/row in seed lots L2, L4, L8 and L10. Seedling establishmentafter 21 days at Loon Lake ranged from 67 seedlings/row (34% est.) in seed lot L11 to148 seedlings/row (74% est.) in seed lot L10. Establishment after 28 days ranged from67 seedlings/row (34% est.) in seed lot L11 to over 135 seedlings/row (68-74% est.) inseed lots L2, L4, L8 and L10. Seedling establishment after 21 days at Melfort rangedfrom 64 seedlings/row (32% est.) in seed lot L11 to 163 seedlings/row (82% est.) inseed lot L8. Establishment after 28 days ranged from 65 seedlings/row (33% est.) inseed lot L11 to over 150 seedlings/row (75% est.) in seed lots L5 and L8. Seedlingsestablishment was poorest at Indian Head. Establishment after 21 days ranged from 37seedlings/row (19% est.) in seed lot L11 to 112 seedlings/row (56% est.). in seed lotL10. Establishment after 28 days ranged from 24 seedlings/row (12% est.) in seed lotL11 to 122 seedlings/row (61% est.) in seed lot L10. In each test, seed lot L11 that wasswathed earliest in the late planting had the poorest establishment. Seed lots that wereswathed later or straight-cut (L2, L4, L8, L10) had the best establishment in most tests.

Thousand-seed weights (r=0.76-0.91), seed weights in the ECT (r=0.71-0.88)and vigour indices in the SGT, PCT, CDT and AAT (r=0.71-0.92) were stronglycorrelated with seedlings/row after 14, 21 and 28 days at Scott, Loon Lake and Melfort(Table 18). Vigour indices in the SGT, CDT and AAT were positively correlated (r=0.52-0.56) with seedlings/row after 28 days at Indian Head. Conductivity after 4 and 24 hourswas negatively correlated (-r=0.63-0.92) with seedlings/row after 14, 21 and 28 days atScott, Loon Lake and Melfort and negatively correlated (-r=0.53) with seedlings/rowafter 28 days at Indian Head.

Seed lots with 1000-seed weights below 2.1 g had the poorest establishmentafter 21 days in most tests (Fig. 19). Establishment improved as seed weightsincreased. With a 1.0 g increase in seed weight, establishment after 21 days increased

14

by 16% at Scott, by 25% at Loon Lake, by 29% at Melfort and by 14% at Indian Head. Differences in 1000-seed weight among seed lots accounted for more of the variation in establishment at Loon lake (R2=0.81), Melfort (R2=0.80) and Scott (R2=0.58) than atIndian Head (R2=0.22).

Seed lots with germination below 90% in the SGT had the poorest establishmentin all tests (Fig. 20). Establishment after 21 days improved as germination increased. With each 1.0% increase in germination, establishment improved by 1.4% at Scott, by2.3% at Loon Lake, by 2.7% at Melfort and by 1.6% at Indian Head. Differences ingermination among seed lots in the SGT accounted for more of the variation inestablishment at Loon Lake (R2=0.39) and Melfort (R2=0.40) than at Scott (R2=0.26)and Indian Head (R2=0.18).

Seed lots with germination below 90% in the PCT had the poorest establishmentafter 21 days in all tests (Fig. 21). With each 1.0% increase in germination,establishment improved by 1.0% at Scott and Indian Head, by 2.1% at Loon Lake andby 2.9% at Melfort. Differences in germination among seed lots in the PCT accountedfor more of the variation in establishment at Loon Lake (R2=0.44) and Melfort (R2=0.60)than at Scott (R2=0.17) and Indian Head (R2=0.09).

Seed lots with the lowest germination in the CDT had the poorest establishmentafter 21 days in all tests (Fig. 22). With each 1.0% increase in germination,establishment improved by 1.2-1.4% at Scott and Indian Head, by 2.3% at Loon Lakeand by 2.6% at Melfort. Differences in germination among seed lots in the CDTaccounted for more of the variation in establishment at Loon Lake (R2=0.64) andMelfort (R2=0.59) than at Scott (R2=0.28) and Indian Head (R2=0.21).

Seed lots with the lowest germination in the AAT had the poorest establishmentafter 21 days (Fig. 23). With each 1.0% increase in germination, establishmentimproved by 2.4% at Scott, by 4.1% at Loon Lake, by 4.8% at Melfort and by 3.0% atIndian Head. Differences in germination among seed lots in the AAT accounted formore of the variation in establishment at Loon Lake (R2=0.48) and Melfort (R2=0.48)than at Scott (R2=0.29) and Indian Head (R2=0.23).

Seed lots with low conductivity after 24 hours had the best establishment in alltests (Fig. 24). With each 10 µS cm-1 g-1 increase in conductivity after 24 hours,establishment after 21 days declined by 2% at Scott and Indian Head and by 4% atLoon Lake and Melfort. Differences in conductivity among seed lots after 24 hoursaccounted for more of the variation in establishment at Loon Lake (R2=0.84) andMelfort (R2=0.69) than at Scott (R2=0.40) and Indian Head (R2=0.24).

Shoot fresh weights differed among seed lots after 14, 21 and 28 days in eachtest (Table 19). Seed lot L11 had the lowest shoot weight in each test. Seed lots L2, L3,L4, L5, L9 and L10 had the highest weights. Depending on the test, shoot weights were1.3-2.7 times higher in the latter seed lots than in seed lot L11.

Thousand-seed weight (r=0.31-0.87) and seed weights in the ECT (r=0.31-0.87)had the highest correlation with shoot fresh weights after 14, 21 and 28 days in mosttests (Table 20). Conductivity after 4 and 24 h was negatively correlated (-r=0.62-0.80)with shoot fresh weights after 14 days in all tests.

Thousand-seed weights had a significant effect on the shoot fresh weight of theseed lots after 21 days in each test (Fig. 25). Shoot weights improved as seed weights

15

increased. Seed lots with seed weights below 2.1 g had the lowest shoot weights. Witha 1.0 g increase in 1000-seed weight, shoot weight increased by 252 mg/plant at Scott,by 345 mg/plant at Loon Lake, by 45 mg/plant at Melfort and by 175 mg/plant at IndianHead. Differences in 1000-seed weight among seed lots accounted for more of thevariation in shoot growth in tests with CT at Scott and Loon Lake (R2=0.70) than in testswith MT at Melfort (R2=0.43) or ZT at Indian Head (R2=0.25).

Seed weights in the ECT also provided a reliable indication of shoot weights after21 days in all tests (Fig. 26). Shoot weights increased as seed weights increased. Differences in seed weight among seed lots in the ECT provided a better indication ofshoot growth at Scott (R2=0.75) and Loon Lake (R2=0.68) than at Melfort (R2=0.41) andIndian Head (R2=0.19).

Shoot biomass differed among seed lots after 14, 21 and 28 days in all tests(Table 21). Seed lot L11 had the lowest biomass whereas seed lots L2, L4, L8, L9 andL10 had th highest biomass. Biomass in the latter seed lots was 2-9 times higher thanthat in seed lot L11.

With the exception of one sampling date at Indian Head, 1000-seed weights(r=0.57-0.91), seed weights in the ECT (r=0.59-0.91) and vigour indices in the SGT(r=0.58-0.92), PCT (r=0.53-0.92), CDT (r=0.58-0.90) and AAT (r=0.61-0.90) werestrongly correlated with shoot biomass after 14, 21 and 28 days in the four tests (Table22).

Thousand-seed weight had a significant effect on biomass after 21 days in mosttests (Fig. 27). Shoot biomass increased as seed weights increased. With a 1.0 gincrease in 1000-seed weight, shoot biomass increased by 9.2 g/m-row at Scott, by11.2 g/m-row at Loon Lake, by 1.9 g/m-row at Melfort and by 4.5 g/m-row at IndianHead. Differences in 1000-seed weight among seed lots accounted for more of thevariation in shoot biomass at Scott (R2=0.72), Loon Lake (R2=0.82) and Melfort(R2=0.70) than at Indian Head (R2=0.21).

Vigour indices in the SGT provided a reliable indication of shoot biomass after 21days in most tests (Fig. 28). Seed lots with a vigour index below 2.0 had the lowestbiomass. With a 1.0 unit increase in the vigour index, shoot biomass after 21 daysincreased by 8.7 g/m-row at Scott, by 10.4 g/m-row at Loon Lake, by 1.8 g/m-row atMelfort and by 4.2 g/m-row at Indian Head. Differences in vigour indices of seed lots inthe SGT accounted for more of the variation in shoot biomass at Scott (R2=0.73), LoonLake (R2=0.81) and Melfort (R2=0.72) than at Indian Head (R2=0.20).

Vigour indices in the PCT provided a reliable indication of shoot biomass in mosttests (Fig. 29). With a 1.0 unit increase in the vigour index, shoot biomass after 21 daysincreased by 8.0 g/m-row at Scott, by 10.3 g/m-row at Loon Lake, by 1.8 g/m-row atMelfort and by 3.8 g/m-row at Indian Head. Differences in vigour indices of seed lots inthe PCT accounted for more of the variation in shoot biomass at Loon Lake (R2=0.84),Melfort (R2=0.75) and Scott (R2=0.65) than at Indian Head (R2=0.19).

Vigour indices in the CDT and AAT also provided a reliable indication of biomassaccumulation in most tests (Figs. 30 and 31). Seed lots with a vigour index below 2.0had the lowest biomass. With a 1.0 unit increase in the vigour index, shoot biomassincreased by 8.0-8.4 g/m-row at Scott, by 9.9-10.1 g/m-row at Loon Lake, by 1.7 g/m-row at Melfort and by 4.0-4.4 g/m-row at Indian Head. Differences in vigour indices

16

among seed lots in the CDT and AAT accounted for more of the variation in biomass atScott (R2$0.69), Loon Lake (R2=0.82) and Melfort (R2$0.69) than at Indian Head(R2#0.24).

Seed yields differed among seed lots in each test (Table 23). Yields at Scottranged from 169 g/m2 (30.1 bu/acre) in seed lot L11 to over 21.0 g/m2 (37.8-39.2bu/acre) in seed lots L3 and L13. Yields at Loon Lake ranged from 166 g/m2 (29.5bu/acre) in seed lot L11 to over 225 g/m2 (40.7-41.5 bu/acre) in seed lots L3, L4 andL13. Yields at Melfort ranged from 161 g/m2 (28.7 bu/acre) in seed lot L11 to over 185g/m2 (33.0-34.2 bu/acre) in seed lots L10, L12 and L14. ields at Indian Head rangedfrom 112 g/m2 (19.9 bu/acre) in seed lot L11 to over 200 g/m2 (36.3-39.2 bu/acre) inseed lots L3, L9 and L10.

Thousand-seed weights (r=0.71-0.87), seed weights in the ECT (r=0.75-0.85)and vigour indices in the SGT (r=0.74-0.86), PCT (r=0.72-0.86), CDT (r=0.72-0.85) andAAT (r=0.74-0.87) were strongly correlated with seed yields at Scott, Loon Lake andIndian Head (Table 24). All seed attributes were poorly correlated (r#0.31) with yields atMelfort.

Thousand-seed weight had a significant effect on yield in 3/4 tests (Fig. 32). Yields improved as 1000-seed weights increased. With a 1.0 g increase in seed weight,yields increased by 27.6 g/m2 (4.9 bu/acre) at Scott, by 35.6 g/m2 (6.3 bu/acre) at LoonLake, by 6.8 g/m2 (1.2 bu/acre) at Melfort and by 61.7 g/m2 (11.0 bu/acre) at IndianHead. Differences in 1000-seed weight among seed lots accounted for more of thevariation in yield at Scott (R2=0.62), Loon Lake (R2=0.50) and Indian Head (R2=0.75)than at Melfort (R2=0.10).

Vigour indices in the SGT had a significant effect on yield in 3/4 trials (Fig. 33). Seed lots with a vigour index below 2.0 had the lowest yield. With a 1.0 unit increase inthe vigour index, yields improved by 26.2 g/m2 (4.7 bu/acre) at Scott, by 35.2 g/m2 (6.3bu/acre) at Loon Lake, by 5.5 g/m2 (1.0 bu/acre) at Melfort and by 57.5 g/m2 (10.2bu/acre) at Indian Head. Differences in vigour indices accounted for more of thevariation in yield at Scott (R2=0.63), Loon Lake (R2=0.55) and Indian Head (R2=0.74)than at Melfort (R2=0.07).

Vigour indices in the PCT provided a reliable indication of seed yield in 3/4 tests(Fig. 34). With a 1.0 unit increase in the vigour index, yields improved by 24.7 g/m2 (4.4bu/acre) at Scott, by 32.8 g/m2 (5.8 bu/acre) at Loon Lake, by 6.4 g/m2 (1.1 bu/acre) atMelfort and by 55.7 (9.9 bu/acre) at Indian Head. Differences in vigour indices amongseed lots in the PCT accounted for more of the variation in yields at Scott (R2=0.60),Loon Lake (R2=0.51) and Indian Head (R2=0.74) than at Melfort (R2=0.11).

Vigour indices in the CDT and AAT also provided a reliable indication of yieldpotential in 3/4 tests (Figs and 35). With a 1.0 unit increase in the vigour index, yieldsimproved by 23.8-24.6 g/m2 (4.2-4.4 bu/acre) at Scott, by 32.3-33.8 g/m2 (5.7-6.0bu/acre) at Loon Lake, by 5.1-5.6 g/m2 (0.9-1.0 bu/acre) at Melfort and by 53.9-56.3g/m2 (9.6-10.0 bu/acre) at Indian Head. Differences in vigour indices among seed lots inthe CDT and AAT accounted for more of the variation in yield at Scott (R2$0.59), LoonLake (R2$0.52) and Indian Head (R2$0.73) than at Melfort (R#0.08).

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DISCUSSIONSeed production practices are know to affect the quality and vigour of open-

pollinated Argentine canola (Thomas 2003, Vera et al. 2007, Elliott et al. 2007a). Seedlots of ‘Ebony’ that were seeded late and swathed early (60-70% moisture content) hadthe lowest seed weight, lowest standard germination, highest green seed content,highest electrical conductivity and least tolerance to temperature stress. Early seedingand delayed swathing (25-30% moisture content) of the mother crop not only reducedconductivity and the incidence of green seed in harvested seed but also improved its1000-seed weight, standard germination and tolerance to low or high temperatures. Inthe current study, seed lots of an early maturing, open-pollinated Argentine canola (LG3455) were produced at Scott in 2003. The year was characterized by above-normaltemperatures in August and below-normal precipitation in May and June (Johnson et al.2005). Seeding date of the mother crop had a significant effect on seed quality.Seeding in early to mid May rather than early June improved 1000-seed weights andreduced the incidence of green seed. Swathing time of the mother crop had apronounced effect on the quality and vigour of harvested seed. Seed lots that wereswathed earliest (60-75% moisture content) were inferior to those that were swathedlater (10-20% moisture content) or straight-combined. Delayed swathing or straight-cutting of the mother crop reduced green seed by 2-3% and conductivity by 50-60 µScm-1g-1. Delayed swathing of the mother crop also improved 1000-seed weights by 0.8-1.0 g, standard germination by 2-4%, tolerance to low and high temperatures by 2-8%and the vigour index by 1.0-1.5. Despite these differences, all seed lots met thegermination tolerance for Certified No.1 canola (CFIA 2006).

Previous studies have shown that flea beetle damage is higher with CT than withMT (Milbrath et al. 1995, Dosdall et al. 1999). Milbrath et al. (1995) also reported thatflea beetle numbers and damage declined when seeding was delayed from May untilJune. In the present study, flea beetle damage at Saskatoon was consistently higher inCT (4-5% damage) than in MT (1-2% damage). However, seeding date had no effecton flea beetle damage in CT or MT.

Tillage practices, soil texture and moisture conditions are known to affect standestablishment in open-pollinated Argentine canola (Elliott et al. 2007a). Establishmentwas higher with CT (75-79% est.) than with MT (42-56% est.) and ZT (17% est.). Establishment was also higher in moist light-textured loam (79% est.) than in drierheavy-textured clay (17% est.). In the current study, establishment of open-pollinatedArgentine canola varied greatly from test to test. Establishment was lowest with ZT atIndian Head (24% est.), intermediate with MT at Melfort and Saskatoon (55-59% est.)and highest with CT at Loon Lake, Scott and Saskatoon (46-79% est.). In the lattertests, establishment was lowest in grey-wooded soil at Loon Lake and highest in clay atSaskatoon. Unlike previous studies on hybrid Argentine canola (Elliott et al. 2007d),seeding date had relatively little effect on establishment of open-pollinated Argentinecanola in CT and MT at Saskatoon.

Previous investigations have shown that seed quality has a pronounced effect onestablishment of open-pollinated and hybrid Argentine canola (Elias and Copeland1997, Elliott et al. 2005, 2007a, 2007d). Germination in the SGT and PCT was strongly

18

correlated with establishment in warm and cool soils, respectively. Germination in theCDT had the highest correlation with establishment in dry soil (Larson et al. 1998, Elliottet al. 2007a, 2007d). Conductivity in the ECT had the highest correlation withestablishment with reduced tillage or early seeding (Elliott et al. 2007a, 2007b). In thepresent study, stand establishment differed among seed lots at all sites. Establishmentranged from 25-85% at Saskatoon, from 54-91% at Scott, from 34-74% at Loon Lake,from 32-82% at Melfort and from 19-56% at Indian Head. In each test, the seed lotsthat was swathed earliest in the early June planting had the poorest establishmentwhereas seed lots that were swathed last or straight-cut in the May plantings had thebest establishment. Thousand-seed weights and conductivity in the ECT provided thebest indication of stand establishment in most tests. Seed lots with seed weights below2.1 g and conductivity above 100 µS cm-1 g-1 had the poorest establishment. Dependingon the field test, establishment improved by 10-21% with a 1.0 g increase in 1000-seedweight and by 1-3% with each 10 µS cm-1 g-1 decrease in conductivity.

Seed size and seed weight have been shown to affect shoot growth of Polishand Argentine canola (Elliott et al. 2005, 2007b, 2007c, 2007d). Shoot weights in eachspecies increased in direct proportion with an increase in 1000-seed weight. With a 1.0g increase in 1000-seed weight, shoot dry weights after 21 days increased by 8.5 mg incultivars of Polish canola and by 3.0 mg in cultivars of Argentine canola (Elliott et al.2007b, 2007c). Depending on growing conditions and tillage practices, shoot freshweights of open-pollinated Argentine canola increased by 6-149 mg with a 1.0 gincrease in 1000-seed weight (Elliott et al. 2005). Shoot fresh weights of hybridArgentine canola increased by 17-116 mg with a 1.0 g increase in 1000-seed weight(Elliott et al. 2007d). In the current study, shoot fresh weights differed among seed lotsin each test. The seed lot that was swathed earliest in the June planting had the lowestshoot weight. Early seeding and delayed swathing or straight-cutting of the mother cropimproved the shoot weight of harvested seed by 1.3-2.7 times. Thousand-seed weightsprovided the best indication of shoot growth in most tests. Seed lots with seed weightsbelow 2.1 g had the lowest shoot weight. Shoot weights improved as seed weightsincreased. Depending on the test, shoot fresh weights after 21 days increased by 29-345 mg with each 1.0 g increase in 1000-seed weight. Vigour indices have been shown to provide a reliable indication of shoot biomassin Argentine canola. In studies on seed lots of open-pollinated Argentine canola, vigourindices in the PCT provided the best indication of biomass accumulation in warm andcool moist soils (Elliott et al. 2005). Seed lots with a vigour index below 2.5 had thelowest biomass. With a 1.0 unit increase in the vigour index, biomass increased by 0.4-1.6 g/m-row depending on moisture conditions. In recent studies on seed lots of hybridcanola, vigour indices in the SGT and PCT provided the best indication of biomassaccumulation in cool and warm soil with CT and MT. Seed lots with a vigour indexbelow 4.0 had the lowest biomass. Shoot biomass increased by 0.6-4.2 g/m-row with a1.0 unit increase in the vigour index. In the current study, shoot biomass differed amongseed lots in each test. The seed lot that was swathed earliest in the June planting hadthe lowest biomass. Early seeding and delayed swathing of the mother crop improvedthe biomass of harvested seed by 2.2-5.2 times. Vigour indices in the SGT and PCT

19

provided the best indication of biomass accumulation in the early and late CT plantingsat Saskatoon, early MT planting at Saskatoon, CT plantings at Scott and Loon Lakeand MT planting at Melfort. Vigour indices in the AAT provided the best indication ofbiomass accumulation in the late MT planting at Saskatoon and ZT planting at IndianHead. Seed lots with a vigour index below 2.0 had the lowest biomass. Depending onthe test, biomass increased by 0.9-2.7 g/m-row with a 1.0 unit increase in the vigourindex. In seed lots of hybrid Argentine canola, vigour indices in the SGT and PCTprovided the best indication of seed yield in CT and MT (Elliott et al. 2007d). Seed lotswith a vigour index below 4.0 had the lowest yield. Yields increased by 2.2-3.3 bu/acrewith a 1.0 unit increase in the vigour index. In the current study, yields differed amongseed lots in each test. The seed lot that was swathed earliest in the June planting hadthe lowest yield. Early seeding and delayed swathing of the mother crop improved theyield of harvested seed by 3.4-19.3 bu/acre. Vigour indices in the SGT and PCTprovided the best indication of yield potential in CT and MT plantings at Saskatoon andCT plantings at Scott and Loon Lake. Vigour indices in the AAT provided the bestindication of yield potential in the ZT planting at Indian Head. Seed lots with a vigourindex below 2.0 had the lowest yield. With a 1.0 unit increase in the vigour index, yieldsimproved by 5.2-5.4 bu/acre in early and late CT plantings at Saskatoon, by 1.8 bu/acrein the early MT planting at Saskatoon, by 4.4-5.8 bu/acre in CT plantings at Scott andLoon Lake, by 1.1 bu/acre in the MT planting at Melfort and by 9.9-10.2 bu/acre in theZT planting at Indian Head.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank Sharon Leung for conducting the quality and vigour tests and AlissaDearborn, Jessica Williams and Jordan Bue for their assistance in the field. Fundingfrom the Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission and Canola Council ofCanada is gratefully acknowledged.

REFERENCES

AOSA 2000. Rules for Testing Seeds. Assoc. Offic. Seed Anal., Las Cruces, NM, USA.

AOSA 2002. Seed Vigor Testing Handbook. Contribution No. 32. Assoc. Offic. SeedAnal., Lincoln, NE.

CFIA 2001. Canadian Methods and Procedures for Testing Seed. Canadian FoodInspection Agency. Ottawa, Canada.

CFIA 2006. Seeds Act and Regulations. Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Ottawa,Canada.

20

Dosdall, L.M., Dolinski, M.G., Cowle, N.T. and Conway, P.M. 1999. The effect of tillageregime, row spacing and seeding rate on feeding damage by flea beetles, Phyllotretaspp. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), in canola in central Alberta, Canada. Crop Protection18: 217-224.

Dosdall, L.M. and Stevenson, F.C. 2005. Managing flea beetle (Phyllotreta spp.)(Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in canola with seeding date, plant density and seedtreatment. Agron. J. 97:1570-1578.

Elias, S.G. and Copland, L.O. 1997. Evaluation of seed vigor tests for canola. SeedTechnol. 19: 78-87.

Elliott, R.H., Mann, L.W. and Olfert, O. 2005. Vigor tests for evaluating the performanceof Argentine canola (Brassica napus L.) under different growing conditions. SeedTechnol. 27: 273-285.

Elliott, R.H., Mann, L.W., Johnson, E.N., Brandt, S., Vera,C. Kutcher, H.R., Lafond, G.and May, W.E. 2007a. Vigor tests for evaluating establishment of canola under differentgrowing conditions and village practices. Seed Technol. 29: 21-36.

Elliott, R.H., Mann, L.W. and Olfert, O.O. 2007b. Effects of seed size and seed weighton seedling establishment, seedling vigour and tolerance of summer turnip rape(Brassica rapa) to flea beetles, Phyllotreta spp. Can. J. Plant Science 87: 385-393.

Elliott, R.H., Franke, C. and Rakow, G.F.W. 2007c. Effects of seed size and seedweight on seedling establishment, vigour and tolerance of Argentine canola (Brassicanapus) to flea beetles, Phyllotreta spp. Can J. Plant Sci. In Press.

Elliott, B., Mann, L. and Olfert, O. 2007d. Effect of seed quality on the performance ofhybrid Argentine canola in early- and late-seeded plots with conventional and minimumtillage. Final report to the Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission. 59 pp.

Hampton, J.G. 1995. Conductivity test. In: Seed Vigour Testing Seminar (ed. H.A. vande Venter) pp. 10-28. International Seed Testing Assoc., Zurich, Switzerland.

Hampton, J.G. and Tekrony, D.M. (ed.) 1995. Handbook of Vigor Test Methods. Thirdedition. International Seed Testing Assoc., Zurich, Switzerland.

Johnson, E., Elliott, B., Brandt, S., Vera, C., Kutcher, R., Lafond, G. and May, B. 2005.Evaluating the agronomic performance and economic value of high quality canola seed.Final report to the Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission. 33pp.

Larsen, S.U., Povlsen, F.V., Eriksen, E.N. and Pedersen, H.C. 1998. The influence ofseed vigour on field performance and the evaluation of the applicability of the controlled

21

deterioration vigour test in oil seed rape (Brassica napus) and pea (Pisum sativum).Seed Sci. Technol. 26: 627-641.

Milbrath, L.R., Weiss, M.J. and Schatz, B.G. 1995. Influence of tillage system, plantingdate, and oilseed crucifers on flea beetle populations (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae).Can. Entomol. 127: 289-293.

Palaniswamy, P., Lamb, R.J. and McVetty, P.B.E. 1992. Screening for antixenosisresistance to flea beetles, Phyllotreta cruciferae (Goeze) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae),in rapeseed and related crucifers. Can Entomol. 124: 895-906.

Powell, A.A. 1995. The controlled deterioration test. In: Seed Vigour Testing Seminar(ed. H.A. van de Venter) pp. 73-87. International Seed Testing Assoc., Zurich,Switzerland.

Powell, A.A. and Matthews, S. 2005. Towards the validation of the controlleddeterioration vigour test for small seeded vegetables. Seed Testing International 129:21-24.

SAS 1999. SAS/STAT® User’s Guide. Version 8, Vol. 2. SAS Institute, Inc., Cary NC.

TeKrony, D.M. 1995. Accelerated ageing. In: Seed Vigour Testing Seminar (ed. H.A.van de Venter) pp. 53-72. International Seed Testing Assoc. Zurich, Switzerland.

TeKrony, D.M. 2005. Accelerated aging test: principles and procedures. Seed Technol.27: 135-146.

Thomas, P. 2003. Canola Growers Manual. Canola Council of Canada. Winnipeg,Manitoba.

Vera, C.L., Downey, R.K., Woods, S.M., Raney, J.P., McGregor, D.I., Elliott, R.H. andJohnson, E.N. 2007. Yield and quality of canola seed as affected by stage of maturity atswathing. Can. J. Plant Sci. 87: 13-26.

Table 1. Seeding dates, swathing times and attributes of open-pollinated (op) Argentine seed lots produced at Scott in 2003. 1

Seeding

date

Swathing

time Swathing date

Moisture

content (%)

Seed

lot

1000-seed

weight (g)

% green

seed

May 6 1 July 28 60 1 2.06 3.7

2 Aug 5 20 2 2.74 1.2

3 Aug 11 10 3 2.81 1.0

4 Aug 15 10 4 3.07 0.3

SC 10 5 3.00 1.2

May 20 1 Aug 1 75 6 2.04 4.2

2 Aug 5 55 7 2.38 2.5

3 Aug 11 20 8 2.69 0.8

4 Aug 15 20 9 2.95 1.7

SC 10 10 2.98 1.8

June 3 1 Aug 1 60 11 1.67 7.2

2 Aug 19 20 12 2.27 11.8

3 Aug 21 15 13 2.52 9.0

4 Aug 25 10 14 2.56 7.3

SC 10 15 2.45 7.3

1 SC - straight combined.

Table 2. Summ ary of field trials on op Argentine canola in conventional tillage (CT), minimum tillage (MT) and zero tillage (ZT) in 2004. 1

Site Soil type Soil texture Tillage practice Seeding dates

Precipitation (mm)

Jan-April May-June

Saskatoon dark brown clay CT-tilled fallow May 11, 26 74.1 106.7

Scott dark brown loam CT-tilled fallow June 2 44.1 88.5

Loon Lake grey luvisol loam CT-tilled fallow May 13 74.6 106.4

Saskatoon dark brown clay loam MT-tilled stubble May 12, 27 74.1 106.7

Melfort black silt clay MT-tilled stubble May 27 88.4 100.1

Indian Head black heavy clay ZT-standing stubble May 14 83.5 189.8

1

Soil type based on Canadian Soil Classification System (1978). Precipitation data from Environment Canada.

Table 3. Quality and vigour of op Argentine seed lots in different laboratory tests.1

Seed

lot

SGT (% germ)Vigour

index

PCT (% germ) Vigour

index

CDT (% germ)Vigour

index

AAT (% germ)Vigour

index

ECT (:S cm -1g-1)Seed

wt. (g)4 days 7 days 10 days 12 days 4 days 7 days 4 days 7 days 4 hours 24 hours

1 94 97 2.0 95 97 2.0 91 93 1.9 94 95 2.0 58.7 122.7 0.44

2 89 99 2.7 95 96 2.6 98 99 2.7 99 99 2.7 24.6 64.8 0.59

3 92 98 2.7 98 99 2.8 97 99 2.8 96 98 2.8 24.0 67.2 0.63

4 94 96 2.9 96 98 3.0 96 99 3.0 97 98 3.0 22.3 62.6 0.65

5 95 99 3.0 95 99 3.0 99 99 3.0 98 99 3.0 22.9 65.3 0.65

6 94 95 1.9 87 88 1.9 90 94 1.9 95 96 2.0 46.9 115.4 0.45

7 94 96 2.3 89 90 2.1 93 97 2.3 96 97 2.3 36.5 92.9 0.53

8 93 95 2.6 95 97 2.6 97 99 2.6 97 99 2.7 27.9 74.1 0.58

9 91 98 2.9 92 95 2.8 96 98 2.9 96 98 2.9 26.2 73.6 0.62

10 96 98 2.9 94 96 2.8 96 98 2.9 96 99 3.0 21.8 63.5 0.64

11 87 89 1.5 88 89 1.5 83 88 1.5 86 89 1.5 58.5 136.8 0.35

12 94 95 2.1 92 94 2.1 89 94 2.1 94 95 2.2 51.6 127.4 0.46

13 95 95 2.4 90 92 2.3 86 90 2.3 95 95 2.4 48.7 118.3 0.52

14 87 89 2.3 92 93 2.4 88 91 2.3 89 89 2.3 45.2 109.7 0.51

15 91 93 2.3 89 92 2.3 87 89 2.2 87 89 2.2 48.2 122.1 0.49

LSD 5 3 - 5 5 - 5 4 - 5 3 - 6.1 9.7 0.04

1

SGT = standard germination test. PCT = pre-chill test. CDT = controlled deterioration test. AAT=accelerated aging test. ECT = electrical conductivity test.

Table 4. Flea beetle damage and seedlings/row of canola seed lots in early- and late-seeded plots w ith

conventional (CT) and minimum tillage (MT) at Saskatoon in 2004. 1

Tillage Seeding date

Damage (% eaten) Seedlings/row

14 DAS 21 DAS 14 DAS 21 DAS 28 DAS

CT May 11 1 5 134.7 148.2 158.5

May 26 2 4 153.2 153.7 153.9

MT May 12 1 2 82.4 105.7 114.3

May 27 2 1 105.0 100.3 109.6

1

Damage assessments based on 80 cotyledons (n = 40 seedlings). Seed lots planted at 200 seeds per 6.1 m row.

Table 5. Overall performance of canola seed lots in early- and late-seeded plots with conventional tillage (CT) and minimum tillage (MT)

at Saskatoon in 2004.

Tillage Seeding date

Shoot fresh weight (mg/plant) Shoot biomass (g/m-row) Seed yield

14 DAS 21 DAS 28 DAS 35 DAS 14 DAS 21 DAS 28 DAS 35 DAS g/m 2 bu/acre

CT May 11 21.7 90.0 352.9 1096.2 0.5 2.2 9.3 28.9 260.5 46.4

May 26 56.1 186.0 566.1 2673.8 1.4 4.8 14.6 68.7 257.5 45.8

MT May 12 18.7 88.5 456.0 1642.8 0.3 1.6 8.8 31.4 265.3 47.2

May 27 67.4 202.8 785.7 4134.0 1.2 3.4 14.3 75.2 265.1 47.1

Table 6. Statistical correlations between seed yield and seedling attributes of canola seed lots in early- and late-

seeded plots with conventional tillage (CT) and minimum tillage (MT) at Saskatoon in 2004.

Seedling attribute DAS

Seed yield

early CT late CT early MT late MT

seedlings/row 14 0.63* 0.88*** 0.57* 0.22

“ 21 0.67** 0.85*** 0.48 0.11

“ 28 0.86*** 0.90*** 0.44 0.07

shoot fresh wt. 14 0.89*** 0.83*** 0.47 0.29

“ 21 0.62* 0.61* 0.63* 0.11

“ 28 0.66** 0.66** 0.48 0.48

shoot biomass 14 0.90*** 0.86*** 0.52* 0.37

“ 21 0.65** 0.71** 0.61* 0.07

“ 28 0.74** 0.75** 0.43 0.18

*, **, *** Pearson correlation coefficient (n=15 seed lots) significant at P=0.05, P=0.01 and P=0.001, respectively.

Table 7. Number of seedlings/row of canola seed lots after 14, 21 and 28 days in early- and late-seeded plots with conventional tillage (CT)

and minimum tillage (MT) at Saskatoon in 2004. 1

Seed

lot

Seedlings/row-early CT Seedlings/row-late CT Seedlings/row-early MT Seedlings/row-late MT

14 DAS 21 DAS 28 DAS 14 DAS 21 DAS 28 DAS 14 DAS 21 DAS 28 DAS 14 DAS 21 DAS 28 DAS

1 121.0 132.0 146.5 144.3 141.5 146.3 74.5 90.0 95.3 96.0 79.8 84.3

2 154.5 167.3 170.3 171.3 169.5 172.8 80.3 93.8 112.0 129.3 119.0 133.0

3 141.0 152.5 162.3 169.0 168.5 166.5 96.8 128.0 127.3 125.5 116.3 131.8

4 137.0 152.3 170.0 162.5 161.3 159.5 91.0 114.8 130.3 119.5 116.5 115.8

5 135.0 148.8 166.5 162.0 165.0 160.0 82.0 121.5 143.5 110.5 104.8 108.0

6 120.3 129.3 136.8 117.8 124.5 124.8 50.0 87.0 96.5 91.3 104.8 109.0

7 125.5 139.5 156.5 153.8 151.5 159.0 76.8 103.5 104.3 101.5 93.3 101.8

8 156.3 167.8 169.5 167.8 165.3 164.8 104.0 126.3 130.8 114.3 112.3 115.8

9 123.0 138.5 168.8 172.0 174.5 173.8 90.5 108.8 122.5 121.0 120.0 133.8

10 145.3 162.0 158.5 170.3 171.0 166.8 90.0 125.5 128.8 122.0 119.3 124.5

11 107.5 124.3 135.0 96.5 104.0 99.3 49.0 62.5 60.3 51.8 50.3 63.8

12 146.5 160.8 165.8 146.0 146.0 147.5 85.3 103.0 113.3 100.0 90.3 103.8

13 139.3 155.5 160.3 152.8 153.8 153.3 89.8 106.8 124.0 102.5 104.0 125.8

14 130.8 141.5 153.0 153.5 149.5 156.5 92.3 111.0 114.3 82.8 75.5 83.0

15 137.8 150.8 158.5 158.5 159.3 157.5 83.3 103.0 111.5 107.8 98.8 109.8

LSD 19.9 22.6 16.5 15.5 18.6 14.4 29.3 36.7 24.0 34.2 34.4 36.1

1 Seed lots planted at 200 seeds per 6.1 m row. LSD = least significant difference (P = 0.05).

Table 8. Statistical correlations between seed attributes and numbers of seedlings/row of canola seed lots after 14, 21 and 28 days in early- and late-


Seed attribute

Seedlings/row-early CT Seedlings/row-late CT Seedlings/row-early MT Seedlings/row-late MT


% green seed -0.16 -0.14 -0.34 -0.48 -0.51 -0.47 -0.23 -0.42 -0.40 -0.59* -0.59* -0.43

1000-seed wt. 0.59* 0.62* 0.83*** 0.89*** 0.91*** 0.86*** 0.76*** 0.84*** 0.91*** 0.83*** 0.81*** 0.73**

SGT-germ 4d 0.27 0.29 0.23 0.30 0.31 0.28 0.21 0.45 0.50 0.44 0.48 0.38

-germ 7d 0.40 0.40 0.55* 0.63* 0.67** 0.63* 0.31 0.48 0.58* 0.83*** 0.80*** 0.74**

-index 7d 0.58* 0.61* 0.83*** 0.89*** 0.93*** 0.87*** 0.73** 0.82*** 0.90*** 0.86*** 0.83*** 0.76**

PCT-germ 10d 0.53* 0.51 0.61* 0.65** 0.63* 0.60* 0.64** 0.61* 0.59* 0.63* 0.46 0.38

-germ 12d 0.51 0.51 0.68** 0.71** 0.70** 0.65** 0.68** 0.68** 0.70** 0.65** 0.48 0.39

-index 12d 0.59* 0.62 0.83*** 0.88*** 0.91*** 0.84*** 0.77*** 0.85*** 0.91*** 0.83*** 0.78*** 0.70**

CDT-germ 4d 0.50 0.48 0.66** 0.72** 0.74** 0.71** 0.47 0.63* 0.67** 0.81*** 0.76*** 0.63*

-germ 7d 0.51 0.50 0.67** 0.67** 0.69** 0.66** 0.46 0.63* 0.65** 0.79*** 0.77*** 0.65**

-index 7d 0.56* 0.59* 0.82*** 0.87*** 0.90*** 0.84*** 0.71** 0.82*** 0.88*** 0.85*** 0.82*** 0.74**

AAT-germ 4d 0.51 0.50 0.61* 0.60* 0.61* 0.61* 0.39 0.53* 0.64* 0.74** 0.75** 0.67**

-germ 7d 0.49 0.49 0.56* 0.58* 0.60* 0.57* 0.37 0.55* 0.61* 0.75** 0.78*** 0.70**

-index 7d 0.60* 0.63* 0.82*** 0.87*** 0.90*** 0.84*** 0.73** 0.84*** 0.91*** 0.87*** 0.85*** 0.77***

ECT -4 hours -0.53* -0.54* -0.71** -0.75** -0.79*** -0.72** -0.56* -0.72** -0.74** -0.80*** -0.81*** -0.72**

-24 hours -0.50 -0.51* -0.69** -0.75** -0.78*** -0.73** -0.55* -0.70** -0.72** -0.80*** -0.79*** -0.68**

seed wt. 0.56* 0.58* 0.78*** 0.86*** 0.89*** 0.83*** 0.69** 0.83*** 0.88*** 0.86*** 0.84*** 0.75**

*, **, *** Pearson correlation coefficient (n = 15 seed lots) significant at P = 0.05, P = 0.01 and P = 0.001, respectively.

Table 9. Shoot fresh weight of canola seed lots after 14, 21 and 28 days in early- and late-seeded plots with conventional tillage (CT) and

minimum tillage (MT) at Saskatoon in 2004. 1

Seed

lot

Shoot wt.-early CT (mg) Shoot wt.-late CT (mg) Shoot wt.-early MT (mg) Shoot wt.-late MT (mg)


1 17.0 79.8 241.8 55.7 152.0 417.5 15.7 60.0 311.8 58.8 187.3 726.8

2 23.0 107.3 345.8 53.9 203.0 580.2 22.3 95.8 426.8 66.8 175.5 832.5

3 22.9 120.2 437.8 54.4 163.3 623.3 17.8 87.6 526.5 87.3 204.3 755.0

4 24.0 90.6 329.0 66.1 238.5 719.3 22.8 120.1 584.3 70.0 220.3 969.8

5 26.5 103.8 463.0 69.4 226.0 686.3 18.0 93.6 515.5 81.3 227.3 856.0

6 14.6 77.2 287.3 44.5 168.8 468.8 14.7 76.2 366.8 66.2 212.0 732.5

7 24.3 76.3 352.8 59.0 214.9 565.5 16.4 88.9 409.0 71.7 212.8 674.5

8 21.7 93.7 385.8 60.2 208.8 580.5 21.0 84.7 575.5 71.5 250.0 780.0

9 25.2 99.1 349.8 59.0 208.8 745.0 23.8 115.4 575.8 59.6 208.8 854.5

10 23.6 88.8 437.0 60.0 224.5 546.8 19.5 90.8 434.5 65.8 215.5 874.5

11 15.2 53.2 219.3 32.6 107.3 345.0 14.1 44.4 227.3 42.1 167.0 722.0

12 20.1 85.3 339.8 55.2 184.0 563.0 18.5 85.9 443.3 61.1 184.3 579.5

13 22.3 99.8 364.5 54.2 128.8 454.5 19.7 103.0 493.5 73.1 175.3 813.8

14 23.9 78.4 370.0 54.4 183.5 560.8 18.0 92.4 437.0 78.4 204.0 850.5

15 21.1 96.7 370.5 63.0 177.5 635.5 17.5 89.1 512.8 57.4 197.3 763.3

LSD 3.9 38.1 121.9 12.3 56.5 193.4 3.7 22.1 160.6 19.5 53.2 324.3

1 Assessments based on 40 plants.

Table 10. Statistical correlations between seed attributes and shoot fresh weight of canola seed lots after 14, 21 and 28 days in early- and late-


Seed attribute

Shoot fresh weight-early CT Shoot fresh weight-late CT Shoot fresh weight-early MT Shoot fresh weight- late MT


% green seed -0.40 -0.39 -0.32 -0.39 -0.60* -0.47 -0.38 -0.29 -0.36 -0.36 -0.61* -0.55*

1000-seed wt. 0.88*** 0.74** 0.79*** 0.79*** 0.77*** 0.84*** 0.79*** 0.84*** 0.84*** 0.61* 0.54* 0.71**

SGT-germ 4d 0.15 0.26 0.34 0.53* 0.36 0.13 0.07 0.25 0.27 0.29 0.38 0.01

-germ 7d 0.43 0.66** 0.44 0.55* 0.56* 0.48 0.46 0.44 0.42 0.36 0.32 0.22

-wt. 7d 0.76*** 0.78*** 0.67** 0.67** 0.67** 0.74** 0.66** 0.60* 0.65** 0.53* 0.45 0.50

-index 7d 0.87*** 0.76*** 0.79*** 0.80*** 0.77*** 0.82*** 0.78*** 0.80*** 0.81*** 0.59* 0.54* 0.68**

PCT-germ 10d 0.46 0.60* 0.44 0.49 0.42 0.43 0.50 0.29 0.43 0.70** 0.39 0.36

-germ 12d 0.57* 0.66** 0.54* 0.66** 0.48 0.55* 0.53 0.37 0.56 0.70** 0.43 0.39

-index 12d 0.86*** 0.75** 0.78*** 0.79*** 0.75** 0.82*** 0.77*** 0.78*** 0.82*** 0.85*** 0.73** 0.77***

CDT-germ 4d 0.60* 0.63* 0.57* 0.61* 0.78*** 0.66** 0.56* 0.47 0.54* 0.52* 0.61* 0.41

-germ 7d 0.57* 0.57* 0.54* 0.54* 0.78*** 0.63* 0.58* 0.50 0.54* 0.50 0.59* 0.34

-wt. 7d 0.80*** 0.72** 0.69** 0.76*** 0.79*** 0.80*** 0.78*** 0.72** 0.76*** 0.58* 0.56* 0.64*

-index 7d 0.86*** 0.74** 0.78*** 0.76*** 0.78*** 0.83*** 0.77*** 0.80*** 0.80*** 0.61* 0.56* 0.68**

AAT-germ 4d 0.47 0.56* 0.43 0.51 0.63* 0.43 0.54* 0.51 0.45 0.54* 0.43 0.27

-germ 7d 0.42 0.54* 0.45 0.45 0.60* 0.40 0.50 0.43 0.43 0.46 0.48 0.24

-wt. 7d 0.63* 0.63* 0.62* 0.72** 0.78*** 0.72** 0.67** 0.59* 0.74** 0.54* 0.76** 0.56*

-index 7d 0.83*** 0.74** 0.78*** 0.77*** 0.78*** 0.80*** 0.77*** 0.79*** 0.80*** 0.61* 0.58* 0.66**

ECT -4 hours -0.75** -0.65** -0.71** -0.59* -0.78*** -0.75** -0.68** -0.66** -0.68** -0.56* -0.61* -0.62*

-24 hours -0.72** -0.63* -0.66** -0.59* -0.77*** -0.70** -0.67** -0.61* -0.63* -0.56* -0.59* -0.64*

seed wt. 0.84*** 0.75** 0.79*** 0.75** 0.78*** 0.80*** 0.72** 0.76*** 0.78*** 0.65** 0.59* 0.66**


Table 11. Shoot biomass of canola seed lots after 14, 21 and 28 days in early- and late-seeded plots with conventional tillage (CT) and

minimum tillage (MT) at Saskatoon in 2004. 1

Seed

lot

Shoot biomass-early CT

(g/m-row)

Shoot biomass-late CT

(g/m-row)

Shoot biomass-early MT

(g/m-row)

Shoot biomass-late MT

(g/m-row)


1 0.3 1.8 5.8 1.3 3.5 10.1 0.2 0.9 4.8 0.9 2.4 9.9

2 0.6 2.9 9.8 1.5 5.6 16.4 0.3 1.5 8.3 1.4 3.4 17.7

3 0.5 3.1 11.7 1.5 4.5 16.9 0.3 1.8 11.0 1.8 3.9 16.3

4 0.5 2.3 9.2 1.8 6.2 19.0 0.3 2.3 12.2 1.4 4.3 17.9

5 0.6 2.6 12.7 1.9 6.1 18.0 0.3 1.9 12.0 1.5 3.8 14.7

6 0.3 1.6 6.5 0.9 3.4 9.7 0.1 1.1 6.1 1.0 4.1 14.6

7 0.5 1.8 9.0 1.5 5.3 14.8 0.2 1.6 7.0 1.2 3.2 11.1

8 0.6 2.6 10.8 1.7 5.7 15.6 0.4 1.8 12.5 1.3 4.7 14.7

9 0.5 2.2 9.7 1.7 6.0 21.2 0.4 2.0 11.5 1.2 4.1 18.9

10 0.6 2.4 11.3 1.7 6.3 14.9 0.3 1.9 9.0 1.3 4.2 18.0

11 0.3 1.1 4.8 0.5 1.8 5.7 0.1 0.5 2.4 0.4 1.4 7.5

12 0.5 2.2 9.1 1.3 4.4 13.7 0.3 1.4 8.1 1.0 2.6 10.0

13 0.5 2.6 9.7 1.4 3.3 11.4 0.3 1.8 10.1 1.2 3.0 18.0

14 0.5 1.8 9.2 1.4 4.5 14.5 0.3 1.7 8.6 1.1 2.6 12.3

15 0.5 2.5 9.7 1.7 4.7 16.4 0.2 1.5 9.4 1.0 3.2 13.8

LSD 0.1 1.1 3.4 0.4 1.4 5.1 0.1 0.7 3.8 0.5 1.7 7.9


Table 12. Statistical correlations between seed attributes and shoot biomass of canola seed lots after 14, 21 and 28 days in early- and late-seeded

plots with conventional tillage (CT) and minimum tillage (MT) at Saskatoon in 2004.

Seed attribute

Shoot biomass-early CT Shoot biomass-late CT Shoot biomass-early MT Shoot biomass-late MT


% green seed -0.38 -0.35 -0.37 -0.48 -0.64* -0.51 -0.35 -0.41 -0.41 -0.64* -0.69** -0.50

1000-seed wt. 0.89*** 0.74** 0.86*** 0.89*** 0.89*** 0.89*** 0.84*** 0.94*** 0.89*** 0.84*** 0.75** 0.81***

SGT-germ 4d 0.22 0.27 0.33 0.42 0.34 0.14 0.15 0.37 0.31 0.37 0.47 0.29

-germ 7d 0.49 0.62* 0.52* 0.60* 0.64** 0.55* 0.40 0.49 0.46 0.71** 0.64** 0.60*

-wt. 7d 0.76*** 0.74** 0.75** 0.80*** 0.82*** 0.82*** 0.69** 0.71** 0.71** 0.86*** 0.67** 0.68**

-index 7d 0.88*** 0.76*** 0.86*** 0.90*** 0.90*** 0.88*** 0.81*** 0.90*** 0.87*** 0.85*** 0.76*** 0.81***

PCT-germ 10d 0.58* 0.64** 0.52* 0.59* 0.53* 0.51 0.61* 0.48 0.52 0.70** 0.39 0.36

-germ 12d 0.64** 0.68** 0.63* 0.73** 0.61* 0.61* 0.66** 0.56* 0.65** 0.70** 0.43 0.39

-index 12d 0.88*** 0.76*** 0.85*** 0.89*** 0.87*** 0.68** 0.83*** 0.91*** 0.88*** 0.85*** 0.73** 0.77***

CDT-germ 4d 0.66** 0.63* 0.65** 0.70** 0.83*** 0.72** 0.56* 0.59* 0.62* 0.82*** 0.76*** 0.56*

-germ 7d 0.64** 0.58* 0.62* 0.64* 0.81*** 0.68** 0.57* 0.62* 0.60* 0.80*** 0.77*** 0.56*

-wt. 7d 0.85*** 0.74** 0.79*** 0.86*** 0.90*** 0.86*** 0.81*** 0.84*** 0.83*** 0.86*** 0.74** 0.71**

-index 7d 0.87*** 0.74** 0.85*** 0.86*** 0.90*** 0.88*** 0.80*** 0.90*** 0.86*** 0.87*** 0.77*** 0.79***

AAT-germ 4d 0.57* 0.57* 0.52* 0.56* 0.65** 0.50 0.50 0.56* 0.53* 0.74** 0.68** 0.58*

-germ 7d 0.53* 0.56* 0.53* 0.52* 0.65** 0.47 0.48 0.53* 0.51 0.72** 0.74** 0.59*

-wt. 7d 0.70** 0.63* 0.71** 0.79*** 0.85*** 0.76*** 0.74** 0.76*** 0.81*** 0.80*** 0.85*** 0.65**

-index 7d 0.86*** 0.75** 0.85*** 0.87*** 0.90*** 0.86*** 0.81*** 0.91*** 0.87*** 0.87*** 0.80*** 0.81***

ECT -4 hours -0.78*** -0.66** -0.77*** -0.72** -0.87*** -0.79*** -0.68** -0.77*** -0.75** -0.84*** -0.81*** -0.74**

-24 hours -0.75** -0.65** -0.72** -0.72** -0.86*** -0.76*** -0.66** -0.74** -0.70** -0.85*** -0.79*** -0.72**

seed wt. 0.85*** 0.74** 0.85*** 0.85*** 0.89*** 0.86*** 0.77*** 0.89*** 0.85*** 0.90*** 0.80*** 0.79***


Table 13. Seed yield of canola seed lots in early- and late-seeded plots with conventional tillage (CT) and

minimum tillage (MT) at Saskatoon in 2004.

Seed lot

Yield (g/m2)


1 238.3 262.9 267.3 267.8

2 273.0 261.5 266.8 273.4

3 261.1 258.0 278.5 270.8

4 269.3 260.8 280.2 277.0

5 264.6 263.2 257.1 283.3

6 222.8 232.6 256.2 251.8

7 259.2 263.2 271.5 259.4

8 267.3 259.0 257.6 266.4

9 280.9 276.1 270.9 264.8

10 268.0 267.2 262.7 247.4

11 228.6 196.4 246.9 264.4

12 262.6 265.5 265.4 249.9

13 271.6 262.0 264.0 264.3

14 275.0 267.2 273.0 264.9

15 265.5 266.5 260.7 271.1

LSD 29.1 29.1 20.2 25.5

Table 14. Statistical correlations between seed attributes and yield of canola seed lots in early- and late-


Seed attribute

Seed yield


% green seed -0.15 -0.18 -0.28 -0.40

1000-seed wt. 0.81*** 0.70** 0.53* 0.36

SGT-germ 4d 0.02 0.40 0.09 -0.22

-germ 7d 0.28 0.51 0.31 0.14

-wt. 7d 0.61* 0.60* 0.48 0.43

-index 7d 0.77*** 0.69** 0.48 0.38

PCT-germ 10d 0.41 0.44 0.51 0.42

-germ 12d 0.50 0.53* 0.41 0.56*

-index 12d 0.77*** 0.68** 0.52* 0.42

CDT-germ 4d 0.41 0.48 0.37 0.33

-germ 7d 0.40 0.43 0.40 0.19

-wt. 7d 0.70** 0.63* 0.53* 0.43

-index 7d 0.74** 0.64** 0.51 0.38

AAT-germ 4d 0.33 0.47 0.36 0.13

-germ 7d 0.27 0.40 0.28 0.02

-wt. 7d 0.51 0.55* 0.37 0.33

-index 7d 0.73** 0.66** 0.49 0.32

ECT -4 hours -0.59* -0.44 -0.40 -0.31

-24 hours -0.55* -0.44 -0.42 -0.35

seed wt. 0.70** 0.63* 0.51 0.36


Table 15. Overall performance of canola seed lots at different locations in 2004. 1

Location Tillage

Seeding

date

Seedlings/row Shoot fresh weight (mg/plant) Shoot biomass (g/m-row) Seed yield

14 DAS 21 DAS 28 DAS 14 DAS 21 DAS 28 DAS 14 DAS 21 DAS 28 DAS g/m 2 bu/acre

Scott CT June 2 124.9 124.6 121.1 110.0 665.1 3366.1 2.8 16.9 82.6 195.5 34.8

Loon Lake CT May 13 77.3 93.7 91.7 118.8 674.5 3533.2 1.9 13.4 66.6 209.0 37.2

Melfort MT May 27 129.4 126.1 118.9 58.4 128.3 345.2 1.3 2.7 6.8 179.6 32.0

Indian Head ZT May 14 55.5 52.0 48.0 55.2 616.4 1276.2 0.5 5.8 10.9 182.1 32.4

1 Seed lots planted at 200 seeds per 6.1 m row.

Table 16. Statistical correlations between seed yield and seedling attributes of canola seed lots at different

locations with conventional tillage (CT), minimum tillage (MT) and zero tillage (ZT) in 2004.

Seedling attribute DAS

Seed yield

Scott CT Loon Lake CT Melfort MT Indian Head ZT

seedlings/row 14 0.63* 0.72** 0.47 0.64**

“ 21 0.60* 0.71** 0.34 0.61*

“ 28 0.70** 0.76** 0.21 0.64*

shoot fresh wt. 14 0.74** 0.58* 0.34 0.84***

“ 21 0.74** 0.78*** 0.26 0.70**

“ 28 0.62** 0.55* 0.03 0.56*

shoot biomass 14 0.73** 0.69** 0.42 0.72**

“ 21 0.72** 0.76*** 0.25 0.63*

“ 28 0.71** 0.73** 0.11 0.74**


Table 17. Number of seedlings/row of canola seed lots after 14, 21 and 28 days at different locations with conventional tillage (CT), minimum

tillage (MT) or zero tillage (ZT) in 2004. 1

Seed

lot

Seedlings/row-Scott CT Seedlings/row-Loon Lake CT Seedlings/row-Melfort MT Seedlings/row-Indian Head ZT


1 144.9 144.9 136.6 87.2 101.6 99.4 120.0 115.3 109.3 51.8 44.2 42.7

2 174.5 163.8 163.2 116.8 135.4 131.2 153.5 147.0 135.0 41.2 41.2 39.6

3 142.4 136.3 136.9 96.1 119.9 116.2 131.5 126.3 119.3 79.3 76.2 64.0

4 167.8 163.8 163.8 115.3 145.5 141.8 159.5 144.8 134.5 44.2 38.1 36.6

5 161.3 157.7 153.7 103.7 122.9 122.9 152.5 155.5 150.3 39.6 33.5 33.5

6 143.7 142.4 129.3 77.8 90.3 87.5 90.3 87.0 85.3 32.0 33.5 30.5

7 159.5 154.6 154.0 97.6 115.6 115.9 108.0 117.8 128.5 57.9 47.2 47.2

8 166.2 166.8 160.4 123.2 136.3 134.2 165.0 163.0 157.0 57.9 59.4 53.3

9 165.3 155.6 153.7 108.6 128.1 128.1 145.5 142.3 122.3 71.7 94.5 82.3

10 176.3 180.6 174.8 127.5 147.9 136.3 146.3 155.0 138.3 140.2 112.8 122.0

11 102.5 106.8 108.3 49.1 66.8 67.1 68.8 64.3 64.5 27.4 36.6 24.4

12 127.8 136.9 129.0 61.9 86.9 87.2 129.3 115.0 102.8 53.3 47.3 41.2

13 153.1 159.2 158.9 87.5 100.7 103.1 119.3 121.3 113.0 48.8 44.2 39.6

14 155.2 156.2 145.8 91.5 111.6 105.2 138.3 125.0 125.0 58.0 42.7 39.7

15 144.9 154.0 148.2 70.8 104.3 102.5 113.3 111.8 98.0 29.0 28.9 22.9

LSD 19.4 19.3 17.7 28.6 20.9 18.6 37.7 34.9 30.8 63.1 59.2 54.0

1 Seed lots planted at 200 seeds per 6.1 m row. LSD = least significant difference (P = 0.05).

Table 18. Statistical correlations between seed attributes and numbers of seedlings/row of canola seed lots after 14, 21 and 28 days at different

locations with conventional tillage (CT), minimum tillage (M T) and zero tillage (ZT).

Seed attribute

Seedlings/row-Scott CT Seedlings/row-Loon Lake CT Seedlings/row-Melfort MT Seedlings/row-Indian Head ZT


% green seed -0.64* -0.44 -0.50 -0.79*** -0.76** -0.76*** -0.51 -0.58* -0.62* -0.29 -0.35 -0.38

1000-seed wt. 0.81*** 0.76*** 0.82*** 0.82*** 0.90*** 0.91*** 0.87*** 0.90*** 0.83*** 0.48 0.47 0.51

SGT-germ 4d 0.38 0.47 0.43 0.34 0.31 0.33 0.25 0.37 0.36 0.37 0.23 0.34

-germ 7d 0.63* 0.51 0.55* 0.65** 0.63* 0.66** 0.54* 0.63* 0.57* 0.39 0.43 0.48

-index 7d 0.83*** 0.76*** 0.83*** 0.84*** 0.90*** 0.92*** 0.87*** 0.91*** 0.84*** 0.47 0.48 0.52*

PCT-germ 10d 0.43 0.34 0.39 0.61* 0.65** 0.64** 0.76*** 0.70** 0.65** 0.41 0.37 0.38

-germ 12d 0.48 0.41 0.46 0.61* 0.66** 0.67** 0.81*** 0.78*** 0.72** 0.32 0.30 0.31

-index 12d 0.78*** 0.72** 0.78*** 0.82*** 0.89*** 0.90*** 0.89*** 0.91*** 0.84*** 0.46 0.45 0.48

CDT-germ 4d 0.73** 0.56* 0.60* 0.83*** 0.83*** 0.84*** 0.76** 0.81*** 0.80*** 0.38 0.40 0.45

-germ 7d 0.69** 0.53* 0.58* 0.81*** 0.80*** 0.82*** 0.73** 0.77*** 0.77*** 0.43 0.46 0.49

-index 7d 0.80*** 0.71** 0.79*** 0.84*** 0.90*** 0.92*** 0.86*** 0.89*** 0.83*** 0.48 0.48 0.52*

AAT-germ 4d 0.71** 0.58* 0.61* 0.75** 0.68** 0.71** 0.66** 0.71** 0.73** 0.31 0.30 0.37

-germ 7d 0.66** 0.54* 0.58* 0.76*** 0.69** 0.71** 0.61* 0.69** 0.68** 0.46 0.47 0.53*

-index 7d 0.82*** 0.75** 0.81*** 0.86*** 0.91*** 0.92*** 0.87*** 0.91*** 0.84*** 0.52* 0.52* 0.56*

ECT -4 hours -0.76*** -0.63* -0.71** -0.85*** -0.89*** -0.90*** -0.76** -0.81*** -0.79*** -0.47 -0.50 -0.53*

-24 hours -0.78*** -0.63* -0.72** -0.89*** -0.91*** -0.92*** -0.78*** -0.83*** -0.81*** -0.47 -0.49 -0.53*

seed wt. 0.81*** 0.71** 0.78*** 0.80*** 0.83*** 0.85*** 0.84*** 0.88*** 0.84*** 0.50 0.49 0.53*


Table 19. Shoot fresh weight of canola seed lots after 14, 21 and 28 days at different locations with conventional tillage (CT), minimum tillage

(MT) and zero tillage (ZT) in 2004. 1

Seed

lot

Shoot fresh weight

Scott CT (mg)

Shoot fresh weight

Loon Lake CT (mg)

Shoot fresh weight

Melfort MT (mg)

Shoot fresh weight

Indian Head ZT (mg)


1 94.6 548.8 3546.8 86.8 646.0 3718.0 47.3 111.8 240.0 40.8 402.8 691.5

2 118.5 764.1 3747.0 136.3 781.5 4307.8 69.8 147.3 439.3 53.8 631.8 1699.3

3 124.4 787.6 3153.3 137.8 821.8 4183.3 65.3 140.3 385.8 60.0 748.5 1158.0

4 137.4 742.0 3499.3 119.5 887.5 3947.8 56.8 152.5 387.5 55.0 608.5 1140.8

5 141.1 647.2 4251.5 147.2 844.0 2965.3 61.5 191.0 323.5 61.8 437.3 1297.3

6 82.4 588.2 2595.0 101.8 549.5 3755.3 47.0 95.5 260.5 40.5 473.3 1142.8

7 115.6 697.0 3034.8 102.3 459.5 2484.0 57.8 135.5 355.0 56.5 610.3 1419.3

8 123.0 763.6 3530.5 130.4 751.8 4401.0 64.5 112.5 289.8 61.5 667.3 1744.5

9 120.3 780.3 3505.3 109.5 728.3 2752.3 63.0 126.0 418.0 78.5 610.5 1467.5

10 117.6 832.6 3607.5 143.1 803.0 3793.0 67.8 106.0 339.5 62.3 905.8 1235.0

11 66.9 404.8 2782.5 75.2 368.3 2581.8 40.0 69.5 289.8 38.3 428.3 766.8

12 68.1 474.6 2933.5 81.9 353.0 2921.5 55.3 145.3 284.8 58.8 700.3 1008.0

13 112.3 683.6 3437.5 134.9 712.8 4028.0 62.8 132.5 433.8 51.3 656.3 1711.0

14 108.5 609.8 3354.0 144.1 726.8 3451.5 63.8 139.3 355.5 59.3 794.8 1562.3

15 119.4 652.7 3513.3 131.3 683.5 3707.0 54.3 119.8 376.0 49.5 570.0 1099.8

LSD 19.9 152.1 612.0 42.4 238.7 1268.3 17.5 52.1 122.3 15.4 288.0 654.2


Table 20. Statistical correlations between seed attributes and shoot fresh weight of canola seed lots after 14, 21 and 28 days at different locations

with conventional tillage (CT), minimum tillage (MT) and zero tillage (ZT) in 2004.

Seed attribute

Shoot fresh weight

Scott CT

Shoot fresh weight

Loon Lake CT

Shoot fresh weight

Melfort MT

Shoot fresh weight

Indian Head ZT


% green seed -0.69** -0.70** -0.43 -0.37 -0.65** -0.28 -0.38 -0.20 -0.17 -0.33 0.01 -0.21

1000-seed wt. 0.87*** 0.84*** 0.70** 0.75** 0.84*** 0.31 0.83*** 0.66** 0.59* 0.78*** 0.50 0.52*

SGT-germ 4d 0.25 0.30 0.22 0.10 0.19 0.16 0.14 0.25 -0.17 0.10 0.07 -0.04

-germ 7d 0.52* 0.64** 0.47 0.26 0.48 0.24 0.49 0.45 0.23 0.43 0.06 0.18

-wt. 7d 0.80*** 0.81*** 0.68** 0.56* 0.74** 0.24 0.73** 0.59* 0.48 0.71** 0.28 0.36

-index 7d 0.88*** 0.85*** 0.74** 0.73** 0.83*** 0.30 0.82*** 0.66** 0.57* 0.77*** 0.43 0.51*

PCT-germ 10d 0.52* 0.49 0.58* 0.39 0.66** 0.45 0.53* 0.48 0.14 0.41 0.29 0.07

-germ 12d 0.65** 0.49 0.75** 0.47 0.73** 0.37 0.54* 0.60* 0.16 0.49 0.17 0.10

-index 12d 0.87*** 0.81*** 0.74** 0.73** 0.86*** 0.33 0.80*** 0.68** 0.53* 0.76** 0.45 0.46

CDT-germ 4d 0.69** 0.73** 0.56* 0.45 0.64* 0.28 0.63* 0.53* 0.21 0.58* 0.19 0.33

-germ 7d 0.60* 0.71** 0.41 0.36 0.53* 0.24 0.62* 0.49 0.21 0.60* 0.27 0.34

-wt. 7d 0.83*** 0.79*** 0.70** 0.63* 0.81*** 0.35 0.77*** 0.66** 0.45 0.72** 0.39 0.43

-index 7d 0.86*** 0.84*** 0.68** 0.70** 0.82*** 0.29 0.80*** 0.66** 0.56* 0.77*** 0.45 0.49

AAT-germ 4d 0.51 0.62* 0.41 0.31 0.47 0.31 0.58* 0.54* 0.20 0.44 0.16 0.43

-germ 7d 0.48 0.67** 0.35 0.28 0.45 0.30 0.55* 0.38 0.15 0.46 0.21 0.35

-wt. 7d 0.76*** 0.76** 0.63* 0.53* 0.76** 0.36 0.64* 0.50 0.19 0.67** 0.27 0.37

-index 7d 0.84*** 0.85*** 0.68** 0.70** 0.81*** 0.33 0.81*** 0.63* 0.51 0.77*** 0.47 0.49

ECT -4 hours -0.80*** -0.85*** -0.53* -0.64** -0.73** -0.28 -0.75** -0.50 -0.48 -0.69** -0.42 -0.49

-24 hours -0.80*** -0.85*** -0.58* -0.62* -0.76*** -0.32 -0.73** -0.50 -0.44 -0.65** -0.37 -0.45

seed wt. 0.87*** 0.87*** 0.66** 0.72** 0.82*** 0.31 0.80*** 0.64* 0.52* 0.74** 0.44 0.49


Table 21. Shoot biomass of canola seed lots after 14, 21 and 28 days at different locations with conventional tillage (CT), minimum tillage

(MT) and zero tillage (ZT) in 2004. 1

Seed

lot

Shoot biomass

Scott CT (g/m-row)

Shoot biomass

Loon Lake CT (g/m-row)

Shoot biomass

Melfort MT (g/m-row)

Shoot biomass

Indian Head ZT (g/m-row)


1 2.2 13.0 80.1 1.2 11.0 60.6 1.0 2.2 4.3 0.4 2.6 5.4

2 3.4 20.4 101.2 2.7 17.5 93.6 1.7 3.5 9.6 0.4 4.1 11.3

3 2.9 17.6 70.9 2.4 16.9 80.8 1.4 2.9 7.6 0.9 10.5 14.7

4 3.8 19.9 94.1 2.3 21.2 92.7 1.5 3.6 8.5 0.4 3.2 5.8

5 3.7 16.8 106.2 2.5 17.1 59.7 1.5 4.8 8.1 0.5 2.4 6.3

6 1.9 13.7 55.2 1.4 8.6 56.6 0.7 1.3 3.6 0.2 2.2 4.6

7 3.0 17.6 76.6 1.7 9.1 47.9 1.0 2.6 7.7 0.6 6.1 13.2

8 3.4 21.1 93.2 2.7 17.2 97.4 1.7 3.0 7.4 0.5 6.6 17.7

9 3.3 20.3 89.8 2.0 15.4 58.6 1.5 2.8 8.3 0.9 10.5 20.7

10 3.4 24.6 103.1 3.0 19.3 85.6 1.6 2.7 7.6 1.4 16.7 27.5

11 1.1 7.1 49.5 0.7 4.3 30.1 0.5 0.8 3.0 0.2 3.4 2.3

12 1.4 10.7 62.1 0.9 5.4 45.0 1.2 2.7 4.6 0.6 5.9 7.6

13 2.8 18.2 89.8 2.0 12.0 68.4 1.3 2.6 8.2 0.4 4.7 13.2

14 2.8 15.7 81.8 2.2 13.6 59.0 1.5 2.8 7.2 0.5 5.4 9.4

15 2.8 16.5 85.1 1.6 11.7 63.1 1.0 2.3 6.0 0.2 2.5 3.7

LSD 0.6 4.6 15.3 1.2 6.4 30.1 0.5 1.2 3.1 0.6 7.4 17.0


Table 22. Statistical correlations between seed attributes and shoot biomass of canola seed lots after 14, 21 and 28 days at different locations with

conventional tillage (CT), minimum tillage (MT) and zero tillage (ZT) in 2004.

Seed attribute

Shoot biomass

Scott CT

Shoot biomass

Loon Lake CT

Shoot biomass

Melfort MT

Shoot biomass

Indian Head ZT


% green seed -0.72** -0.63* -0.51 -0.66** -0.75** -0.61* -0.47 -0.45 -0.52* -0.33 -0.26 -0.38

1000-seed wt. 0.91*** 0.85*** 0.82*** 0.86*** 0.91*** 0.70** 0.89*** 0.84*** 0.87*** 0.57* 0.46 0.57*

SGT-germ 4d 0.29 0.37 0.32 0.23 0.24 0.26 0.18 0.32 0.12 0.33 0.20 0.29

-germ 7d 0.58* 0.61* 0.55* 0.53* 0.56* 0.50 0.52* 0.58* 0.52* 0.46 0.33 0.46

-wt. 7d 0.81*** 0.74** 0.72** 0.77*** 0.82*** 0.62* 0.78*** 0.77*** 0.78*** 0.58* 0.46 0.57*

-index 7d 0.92*** 0.86*** 0.85*** 0.86*** 0.90*** 0.70** 0.88*** 0.85*** 0.87*** 0.58* 0.45 0.59*

PCT-germ 10d 0.52* 0.44 0.53* 0.60* 0.72** 0.66** 0.71** 0.66** 0.48 0.43 0.33 0.33

-germ 12d 0.62* 0.47 0.66** 0.62* 0.75** 0.61* 0.73** 0.78*** 0.53* 0.38 0.24 0.29

-index 12d 0.89*** 0.81*** 0.82*** 0.85*** 0.92*** 0.71** 0.89*** 0.86*** 0.84*** 0.56* 0.43 0.53*

CDT-germ 4d 0.75** 0.69** 0.64* 0.74** 0.77*** 0.66** 0.73** 0.73** 0.65** 0.47 0.34 0.47

-germ 7d 0.69** 0.67** 0.54* 0.70** 0.71** 0.64* 0.70** 0.68** 0.63* 0.52* 0.42 0.53*

-wt. 7d 0.87*** 0.78*** 0.79*** 0.84*** 0.91*** 0.75** 0.89*** 0.87*** 0.82*** 0.52* 0.39 0.51

-index 7d 0.90*** 0.83*** 0.80*** 0.86*** 0.90*** 0.69** 0.87*** 0.84*** 0.86*** 0.59* 0.46 0.58*

AAT-germ 4d 0.62* 0.62* 0.55* 0.62* 0.59* 0.60* 0.64** 0.66** 0.61* 0.36 0.24 0.45

-germ 7d 0.58* 0.65** 0.51 0.63* 0.60* 0.60* 0.60* 0.56* 0.54* 0.51 0.41 0.58*

-wt. 7d 0.81*** 0.76** 0.71** 0.79*** 0.86*** 0.73** 0.80*** 0.75** 0.64** 0.51 0.38 0.53*

-index 7d 0.89*** 0.85*** 0.81*** 0.87*** 0.90*** 0.72** 0.88*** 0.83*** 0.84*** 0.61* 0.49 0.61*

ECT -4 hours -0.85*** -0.81*** -0.68** -0.86*** -0.86*** -0.70** -0.79*** -0.72** -0.80*** -0.57* -0.49 -0.59*

-24 hours -0.86*** -0.81*** -0.71** -0.87*** -0.89*** -0.73** -0.80*** -0.73** -0.79*** -0.56* -0.47 -0.58*

seed wt. 0.90*** 0.84*** 0.79*** 0.88*** 0.91*** 0.71** 0.85*** 0.83*** 0.84*** 0.60* 0.48 0.59*


Table 23. Seed yield of canola seed lots at different locations with conventional tillage (CT), minimum

tillage (MT) and zero tillage (ZT) in 2004.

Seed lot

Yield (g/m2)


1 180.1 210.4 187.2 158.1

2 206.8 218.1 184.5 194.4

3 212.5 228.6 184.3 205.7

4 195.9 235.7 181.9 189.8

5 207.8 224.5 172.3 192.7

6 174.8 197.4 176.5 137.3

7 189.9 211.3 169.6 183.0

8 201.4 222.3 175.3 216.5

9 204.2 211.6 183.2 204.9

10 200.9 212.6 185.4 220.0

11 168.6 166.2 161.0 111.9

12 184.6 177.0 192.2 186.2

13 220.1 233.2 168.1 170.4

14 193.9 182.6 189.1 187.8

15 190.7 203.7 183.7 172.9

LSD 28.1 36.3 22.5 35.7

Table 24. Statistical correlations between seed attributes and yield of canola seed lots at different

locations with conventional tillage (CT), minimum tillage (MT) and zero tillage (ZT) in 2004.

Seed attribute

Seed yield


% green seed -0.32 -0.64* 0.03 -0.46

1000-seed wt. 0.79*** 0.71** 0.31 0.87***

SGT-germ 4d 0.24 0.54* 0.06 0.31

-germ 7d 0.51 0.71** 0.21 0.57*

-wt. 7d 0.71** 0.71** 0.26 0.80***

-index 7d 0.80*** 0.74** 0.27 0.86***

PCT-germ 10d 0.50 0.53* 0.46 0.66**

-germ 12d 0.57* 0.60* 0.39 0.68**

-index 12d 0.78*** 0.72** 0.33 0.86***

CDT-germ 4d 0.50 0.64** 0.25 0.74**

-germ 7d 0.48 0.61* 0.22 0.74**

-wt. 7d 0.70** 0.71** 0.34 0.85***

-index 7d 0.77*** 0.72** 0.27 0.85***

AAT-germ 4d 0.54* 0.70** 0.13 0.61*

-germ 7d 0.51 0.68** 0.10 0.63*

-wt. 7d 0.58* 0.71** 0.26 0.81***

-index 7d 0.77*** 0.74** 0.29 0.87***

ECT -4 hours -0.65** -0.66** -0.13 -0.79***

-24 hours -0.63* -0.69** -0.15 -0.77***

seed wt. 0.77*** 0.75** 0.24 0.85***


effect of production practices and seed quality on the ......standard germination test (sgt),...

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