Page 131 - Plant Canada 2024 Proceeding

PLANT CANADA 2024

[O58] AN INTEGRATED STRATEGY TO IMPROVE PROFITABILITY OF BARLEY PRODUCTION IN
WESTERN CANADA: AN INTRODUCTION OF GROW BARLEY PROGRAM. Hiroshi Kubota.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Correspondence to: hiroshi.kubota@agr.gc.ca

Barley cultivation in Canada has seen a decline in seeded acres from 11.5 million to 7.1 million between
2000 and 2024, causing it to rank third due to the increase in canola acreage. Climate changes may lead
to the expansion of corn and soybean production in western Canada, potentially transitioning from barley
to more corn or soybean acres, especially if the net revenue of barley production remains less
competitive with other crops. Unfortunately, the commodity price fluctuates and is somehow
uncontrollable to barley producers. Therefore, producers need to increase barley grain yield while
maintaining or reducing production costs to increase net revenue. To respond to this, several challenges
need to be addressed.

Barley is more prone to lodging compared to other cereals, thus developing a decision-making tool for
PGR applications will benefit producers by reducing the chance of unnecessary PGR applications.
Secondly, there is an urgent need to improve the efficiency in adopting newly registered varieties to take
advantage of their high yield potential. Providing ready-to-use agronomy packages for newly registered
varieties can help speed up their adoption, although factors such as target market, grain buyer, and end-
user requirements need to be considered. With the increasing nitrogen fertilizer price and the necessity of
reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fertilizer, biological nitrification inhibition (BNI) traits in
Canadian barley germplasms could also help increase nitrogen use efficiency in barley. Agronomy
research related to BNI will be needed. Information regarding the effects of barley and other crops in
rotations on nitrogen cycling and pest management can also help producers reduce input costs, resulting
in profitable and sustainable barley production. The GROW Barley program is a 7-year research program
that will address the most relevant needs in the barley industry, aiming to close the gaps in barley
agronomy and maintain its competitiveness and profitability in western Canada.

[O59] IMPLEMENTING DIVERSIFIED CROP ROTATIONS ENHANCES ECOSYSTEM SERVICES. Liu
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K , Wen G , Chau H , Kubota H , Mohr R , Peng G , Semach G , Lokuruge P , Entz M , Lemke M ,
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Khakbazan M , Kim YM , Sharpe S , Town J , Hernandez G , Iheshiulo E , Ferrari Machado P , Glenn
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A , Zhang H , Qian B , Jing Q , Kroebel R , and Bourgault M . Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada: Swift
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Current, SK; Ottawa, ON; Lethbridge, AB; Lacombe, AB; Brandon, MB; Saskatoon, SK; Beaverlodge,
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AB; and Scott, SK; University: U of Manitoba, U of Alberta, U of Saskatchewan
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Correspondence: kui.liu@agr.gc.ca

Agriculture faces significant challenges in the face of climate change, necessitating innovative strategies
to enhance the resilience of cropping systems to biotic and abiotic stresses. Crop diversification plays a
vital role in improving the ecosystem services that underpin the production function of cropping systems,
thereby fostering climate-smart agriculture. Despite being recognized as a cornerstone of adaptive
agricultural practice, crop diversification encounters challenges in the current canola-wheat dominant
cropping systems on the Canadian Prairies. This presentation will explore novel avenues for diversifying
the existing cropping systems. These findings, based on multiple ecosystem service indicators such as
production, resource use efficiency, soil health, economic returns, and carbon footprint assessments,
indicate that diversifying cropping systems, particularly through the integration of pulse crops, is an
effective strategy to improve the sustainability of cropping systems.

[O60] EFFECT OF ECOTEA TM SEED TREATMENT ON SPRING CROPS AT THUNDER BAY. Tarlok
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Singh Sahota . LUARS, 5790 Little Norway Road, Thunder Bay, ON, P7J 1G1
Correspondence to: tssahota@lakeheadu.ca

EcoTea™ is a biological product combining a wide array of plant-supporting microorganisms and is
fortified with added biostimulants to enhance soil quality and nutrient function. A field experiment with
combinations of two EcoTea seed treatments (no seed treatment and seed treatment with EcoTea @
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4 gram kg seed) and four spring crops (wheat, barley, canola and soybean) replicated four times in
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RCBD was conducted during 2021-’23 at Thunder Bay, NWO to evaluate the effect of EcoTea on the
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yield of spring crops. Averaged over 2021-2023, EcoTea considerably increased grain (by 1.22 Mg ha -
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