Current Research Projects

We hypothesize that canola yields are severely impacted by soil acidity and optimizing soil base cation saturation percentage by liming can alleviate aluminum toxicity and improve yields. Hence, there exists an optimum soil base saturation range for canola production, beyond which the growth and productivity of the crop are not increased. By precisely determining this optimal range, farmers can adjust soil management practices accordingly to achieve improved crop yields and resource-use efficiency. Optimizing canola production by understanding the relationship between soil base saturation and crop productivity will address the better resource management objectives set forth by the Washington Oilseed Cropping Systems and will align with the need to identify practices for producing stable yields. To establish the optimum soil base saturation for canola production, this research will follow a comprehensive approach. First, an extensive review of existing literature will be conducted to synthesize current knowledge on soil base saturation and its impact on oilseed crops. Next, a well-defined experimental setup will be established ensuring soil pH variations. Canola will be cultivated under controlled conditions, and rates of alum and lime will be applied, depending on the initial soil pH. Soil attributes related to base saturation will be determined after incubation time and before canola cultivation, and critical parameters such as biomass and grain yields will be measured and analyzed. In the second year, an agricultural land will be chosen to design and implement a field experiment encompassing various soil base saturation levels to determine their effects on canola growth, development, and yield. The data obtained from the experiments will be subjected to statistical analysis to identify the optimal soil base saturation range for canola production and relate this with soil pH and the rate of lime applied.

The primary objective of the Winter and Spring Canola Variety Testing proposal is to provide growers and the agribusiness industry with information on the adaptation and performance of winter and spring canola varieties across the different climatic regions of eastern Washington. An additional objective is to deliver an Extension education program to communicate production techniques and benefits of canola to growers and the agribusiness industry. One of the key elements to continued increases in production and profitability is identifying appropriate varieties, and then extending that information rapidly to growers and agribusiness personnel. The project is envisioned as an integral part of the Washington Oilseed Cropping Systems research and extension program at Washington State University, and each variety trial will likely be the subject of an extension field day.

There has been a considerable increase in the acreage under canola production in eastern Washington as it offers several benefits such as weed control, breaks disease and pest cycles, and also improves water infiltration in soils. Nutrient management in canola has gained a lot of interest and several studies are being conducted to establish the nutrient management guide for canola production in the Pacific Northwest. However, most studies have focused on macronutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. To our knowledge, there little to no information available for micronutrients levels and management for canola in Pacific Northwest. Therefore, the objective of this study is to conduct a survey across the low and intermediate rainfall regions of eastern Washington to determine if micronutrients are at all a concern in this region for canola production. We plan to work closely with growers to collect soil samples and get those analyzed for all micronutrients and then find out which micronutrients are deficient in our soils and potentially limiting the canola yields in the region. This proposal address the micronutrient management priority of the WOCS research. Data collected from this survey will be beneficial in finding out which micronutrients are deficient in which areas which will be helpful in guiding future canola production and research on micronutrient management in canola.

This proposal requests funding to continue and build upon two ongoing cropping systems trials with canola in the rotation near Ritzville, WA. These two trials have been the part of multi-components research activities while providing continued research-based information to regional growers since 1997. In these trials, canola is grown as part of 3-yr (winter canola – spring wheat – no till fallow) and 4-yr (winter canola – no till fallow – winter wheat – no till fallow) rotations to study the agronomic, economic, soils, and microbial components under canola integration in the cropping system. Research conducted in these studies align very well with multiple WOCS research priorities including but not limited to crop establishment, management, agronomics, economics, microbiome, and overall soil health. In this proposal, we will continue to collect detailed data from these field trials regarding complete crop and fallow soil water dynamics, microbial community, foliar and root diseases, weed ecology, and grain yields. Soil microbial activity has been, and will continue to be, assessed in rotations using both DNA sequencing and PLFA methods on bulk and rhizosphere soil. We will continue to quantify arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). Maintaining and continuing these trials will be crucial in order to collect such data that can only be obtained through long-term cropping systems experiments. Previously, several publications and presentations have been completed and we will continue to fully explore canola integration in wheat-based cropping systems of dryland region.