Page 138 - PC2019 Program & Proceedings

PLANT CANADA 2019

S61. Maximizing canola yield by application of N, S, Micronutrients, Fungicide and Growth
Regulator in Northwestern Ontario
Sahota, T.
LUARS Lakehead University Thunder Bay

Canola has fast become one of the main crops in the Northwestern Ontario. Newly released varieties have
potential of producing very high seed yields, which are unlikely to be attained without proper application
of fertilizer nutrients. A replicated field experiment with 12 treatments, including application of N, S, B,
-1
Zn, Mn (added one by one @ 150, 24, 1, 7 and 2 kg ha , respectively), Proline spray, Manipulator 620
spray and a check, was conducted on canola at the Lakehead University Agricultural Research Station,
Thunder Bay, Ontario, during 2016-’18. P and K were applied uniformly to all treatments on soil test
basis. All nutrients were applied at seeding except Mn that was sprayed at 4-6 leaf stage. Manipulator @
-1
-1
8 L ha was sprayed just before bolting and Proline @ 315 ml ha was sprayed at 25 % flowering. The
data were subjected to the pooled analysis of variance. The results revealed that N application @ 150 kg
-1
-1
ha brought the biggest canola seed yield increase of 1.78 Mg ha . Each additional nutrient (S, B, Zn and
-1
Mn) raised the seed yield further and the maximum seed yield of 5.34 Mg ha was obtained with the
-1
combined application of N, S, B, Zn and Mn (as compared to 4.15 Mg ha with N alone). Manipulator/or
Proline spray didn’t bring any yield improvement.
Tarlok Sahota (tssahota@lakeheadu.ca)

S62. The Antarctic alga Chlamydomonas sp. UWO241 as an emerging model photosynthetic
adaptation to extreme conditions: perspectives and challenges
Cvetkovska, M.
University of Ottawa

Permanently cold habitats, including the oceans, polar and alpine regions dominate our planet and are
inhabited by a huge diversity of organisms, many of which are permanently adapted to the cold
(psychrophiles). The environmental conditions in these habitats severely limit the spread of terrestrial
plants, and primary production in perpetually cold environments is largely dependent on microbes. Green
algae, including the most notable member of this group Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, have been used for
decades as models for elucidating fundamental cellular processes such as photosynthesis, light perception
and flagellar motion. Here we discuss the Antarctic green alga Chlamydomonas sp. UWO241, an
emerging model for photosynthetic adaptation to extreme conditions. This polyextremophile originates
from the Antarctic Lake Bonney where it thrives in a highly stable environment characterized by
permanently low temperatures (4-6°C), low light irradiance (<50 μmol photons m s ), prolonged
-1
-2
darkness during the polar night, and high salinities (700 mM). Life at such conditions is particularly
challenging for photosynthetic psychrophiles, due to the thermal imbalances between the rates of
biophysical light absorption (temperature-insensitive) and enzyme-driven carbon fixation (temperature-
sensitive). Here we report the sequencing of the genome, transcriptome and metabolome of UWO241 and
the recent advances that have revealed some of the unique adaptive features of this organism. We discuss
future opportunities and challenges in developing UWO241 as a model alga for photosynthetic adaptation
to extreme conditions.

Marina Cvetkovska (mcvetkov@uottawa.ca)

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