Demonstration of intercropping perennial ryegrass (PRG) with oat using different seed placements (side band and deeper than PRG, same row as PRG, monocrop PRG, monocrop oat) and seeding rates (0.25 X, 0.5X, 0.75, 1X).

Minor Use pesticide evaluations in annual ryegrass grown for seed production – tolerance, efficacy, and yield evaluations 2021, herbicides and plant growth regulators. The trial site at St. Brieux evaluating herbicides had high levels of variability due to the drought and this impacted emergence.

The Saskatchewan Forage Seed Variety Demonstration trials were started in 2020 at the Irrigation Crop Diversification Corporation (ICDC), Outlook and the Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence (LFCE), Saskatoon. There are 28 varieties and new breeding lines under evaluation representing: hybrid, meadow, and smooth bromegrass; crested, hybrid, western, northern, and intermediate wheatgrass; tall fescue; timothy; creeping red fescue, perennial ryegrass, festolium, galega, cicer milkvetch and sainfoin.

The following projects are in various stages of completion. Check back for updates on projects in our research section.

Although NARF has had an uncertain spring due to Covid-19 we have been able to get more trials in the ground then we would have ever anticipated with all the uncertainty in April/May.

Objective/Rationale: To evaluate crop tolerance and weed control efficacy of potential new herbicides for use in Annual Ryegrass for seed production in support of registration under the Minor Use Program.

Objective/Rationale: To determine the optimal nitrogen fertilizer rate(s), in combination with a Plant Growth Regulator (PGR), for use in Annual ryegrass for seed production.

Objective/Rationale: To determine the optimal N fertilizer rate(s), in combination with PGR (Plant Growth Regulator) usage, in Annual Ryegrass for seed production.

Objectives: This project evaluates and demonstrates the use of direct seeding with the use of pre-seeding herbicide applications or pre-seeding cultivation when establishing forage seed crops.

Project Objectives: SFSDC wanted to determine if there are any residual effects of planting meadow bromegrass in alternate rows with wheat on seed yield of the forage in the second year of seed production.

Project Objectives: SFSDC wanted to demonstrate the importance of controlling Noxious and hard to control weeds such as cleavers and wild oats in established forage legume seed crops. The project used registered herbicides, including those registered under the minor use registration program, for weed control.

Project Objectives: The objective of this project was to demonstrate the importance of the control of leaf diseases and their impact on forage seed yield and quality as well as forage quality. The project uses registered fungicides on established timothy and tall fescue crops.

Project Objectives: SFSDC wanted to demonstrate the effectiveness of using alternate row companion crop planting when establishing forage seed crops. The project demonstrated the agronomic and economic advantages of alternate row planting using presently available equipment technology.

Project Objectives: SFSDC wanted to demonstrate the effectiveness of using alternate row companion crop planting when establishing forage seed crops. The project demonstrated the agronomic and economic advantages of alternate row planting using presently available equipment technology.

In June 2013, we applied foliar EDTA chelated copper to established timothy (3 locations) and hybrid bromegrass (1 location) on replicated mini-plots. This was repeated in June of 2014 and June 2015, but we added 2 other liquid Cu foliar treatments; dropped one unresponsive site and added another potentially responsive hybrid bromegrass site.

Enhanced efficiency fertilizers (EEFs) are intended to reduce nutrient losses to the environment, thereby increasing nutrient availability for plant production. One category of EEFs is nitrogen (N) fertilizer that is stabilized using compounds such as urease and nitrification inhibitors, both of which slow the release of N by controlling key microbially mediated processes.

Project Objective: SFSDC wanted to demonstrate the importance of controlling noxious and hard to control weeds in established forage grass seed crops. The project used registered herbicides, including those registered under the minor use registration program, for weed control.

Weed control is critical in the establishment year for forages grown for seed production. With that in mind we initiated a research trial to identify herbicide options that provide adequate weed control while posing acceptable risk of crop damage for selected forage species where suitable weed control treatments do not currently exist.

No studies have been conducted to determine forage seed yield response to N and P fertilizers as affected by the availability of these elements in northeastern Saskatchewan soils.

Project Objectives: The objective of this project was to compare the benefits of using coated fertilizer products to non-coated products on forage grasses grown for seed and to demonstrate if field scale coated fertilizers will increase yields when applied directly after harvest.