WA farmers are poised to establish a record canola planting this year and received timely tips from Department of Agriculture and Food (DAFWA) research officers Martin Harries and Mark Seymour at last week's Autumn Update.
The pair conducted seven trials in 2016 - three on seeding depth, one on an open-pollinated (OP) variety versus a hybrid variety and three trials on seed size.
Short answers to the trials revealed, even when sowing in April into drying soil, establishment of canola was better at 10 millimetres compared to 30mm or 70mm.
Other points made were:
* Sowing small OP seed deeper at 30mm or 70mm resulted in the poorest establishment and yield.
* In difficult conditions, hybrid seed was better able to establish than OP seed.
Mr Harries said trying to chase deep soil moisture did not work.
"Even though conditions at seeding in mid-April were hot and drying, the 10mm treatments established and yielded better than deeper sowing depths," he said.
Mr Harries said the "sweet sowing" for sowing canola was April 15 to maximise yield.
