Broadcast Seeding Canola-Tips

Consistent success for canola crop establishment tends to come when seed is placed 1/2” to 1” deep into warm, moist soil and packed lightly for rapid and uniform emergence. Broadcast seeding is often considered a last resort, only to be used when proper placement with a drill is not possible.

In late springs with wet conditions, broadcast seeding may be the only way to get the job done. In fact, broadcasting may actually provide better seed placement than “mudding in” seed with a drill. Broadcast seeding now could also have higher yield potential than waiting two weeks for the ground to support the drill.

When broadcast seeding, it may help to:

Increase the seeding rate. Seed germination and seedling survival for broadcast canola could be lower compared to seed drilled into a moist, packed seedbed. However, broadcast seeding does not always mean low seed survival. For example, in the Canola Council of Canada’s Ultimate Canola Challenge site in Manitoba in 2013, canola broadcast onto moist warm soil had exceptional seed survival. To be on the safe side, consider an increase of 1 lb./ac. compared to what you would seed with the drill to compensate for lower seed survival expectations.

Adjust fertility practices. The same conditions that delay seeding with the drill (soft fields) can also force an adjustment to fertilizer rates and application methods. Fertilizer considerations for broadcast-seeded fields include:

—Adjust the phosphorus rate. Because broadcasting does not allow for in-row placement of seed and phosphate, doubling the phosphorus rate when broadcasting will improve the average proximity of seed and fertilizer prills on the soil surface. This could help emergence under low soil P levels, especially if soils are cool. However, if baseline soil P levels are medium to high and soils are warm and moist, fields may provide enough P to get the crop through the season. Growers could then apply a replacement rate in the fall or following years.