Features Agronomy Soybeans
New soybean and specialty oilseed varieties update

The choices in soybeans continue to expand through earlier varieties and better agronomic packages. Flax breeders are still working hard to rid the flax industry of the Triffid gene, and 2014 will see the launch of the re-constituted varieties from the Crop Development Centre. On the sunflower front, the first Clearfield-tolerant, high oleic oilseed hybrid was released in Canada this year.

The information about the varieties is supplied by seed companies. Growers are advised to check local performance trials to help in variety selection.

Soybeans
HS 006RYS24 is a soybean cyst nematode-resistant, Roundup Ready 2 soybean variety that has excellent performance in all row widths and soil types, and excels in tough growing conditions. It is a black hilum soybean with excellent disease resistance and IDC (Iron Deficiency Chlorosis) scores. It is a medium-tall soybean with good standability. Available from Hyland Seeds.

HS 007RY32 is a new high-yielding, Roundup Ready 2 soybean with excellent white mould tolerance and IDC scores. This variety has excellent spring emergence and responds well to wide rows. It is a shorter variety with excellent standability. Available from Hyland Seeds.

00703 is a new early soybean variety with excellent yield potential and a solid disease package. This is a taller variety with excellent standability that does well in wide rows. This variety is recommended for highly productive soils. Available from Hyland Seeds.

LS002R24N is an early maturity, high-yielding, Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybean variety. It has great drought tolerance and is suited for every soil type. LS002R24N is a tall variety with good lateral branching, great white mould score and good IDC score as well. The variety has great protein scores and is resistant to soybean cyst nematodes. It is a 2375 CHU variety, one of the earliest soybean varieties on the market. Available through Delmar Commodities and their retailer network in Western Canada.

LS005R24 is a 2475 CHU with the Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybean trait. It is a high-yielding, mid-season variety that is tall and bushy. The variety is recommended on light- to medium-textured soils and has great drought tolerance. LS005R24 has great phytophthora root rot field tolerance, has great emergence and shattering scores, and performs in all row widths. Available through Delmar Commodities and their retailer network in Western Canada.

NSC Reston RR2Y is the earliest variety on the market, rated at 2325 CHU, which will help in the expansion of the soybean growing area to western and northern regions of the Prairies. But it is well adapted to all zones, as demonstrated by exceptional yields in seed production fields across Manitoba in 2013. Tall stature with exceptional podding at the nodes, this semi-bush plant is well suited to row spacing up to 15 inches. Reston, which has been rated as excellent for IDC tolerance and very good for white mould, yielded 106 per cent of the check NSC Portage in 2012 Manitoba provincial trials. Available from NorthStar Genetics retailers.

NSC Vito RR2Y is very tall with excellent pod height off the ground, and along with early maturity (2350 CHU) and exceptional seedling vigour, makes this an ideal variety for first-time growers. Vito is well suited for fields with uneven topography or stones, and best suited for narrow row spacing (less than 12 inches) as it has limited branching with heavy podding on the main stem. The variety yielded 103 per cent of check in two years of Manitoba provincial trials. Available from NorthStar Genetics retailers.

NSC Niverville RR2Y is one of Manitoba’s first varieties with soybean cyst nematode resistance and will be of interest to growers who’ve had tight soybean rotations. It has shown exceptional yield potential in a mid-season variety. Rated at 2450 CHU, it was a top yielder in 2012 Manitoba provincial trials, averaging 113 per cent of the long season check. Coupled with a strong IDC rating, this variety has an excellent fit for the Red River Valley of Manitoba. Available from NorthStar Genetics retailers.

NSC Moosomin RR2Y is an ultra early variety (less than 2300 CHU) that is projected to be a game-changer in expanding the soybean market into areas with growing seasons currently considered to be too short. It is a compact and erect variety with short internodes and very dense podding. Data from plot and field-scale trials to date have shown excellent yield potential. Available from NorthStar Genetics retailers in very limited availability for 2014.

NSC Tilston RR2Y is an early season variety rated at 2375 CHU. It is very tall with very good pod clearance and exceptional standability, and yielded 104 per cent of check in 2012 Manitoba provincial trials. In terms of yield and maturity, Tilston performed very well versus other varieties in trials where conditions were particularly cool. Available from NorthStar Genetics retailers with limited availability in 2014.

NSC Mollard LL is Western Canada’s first Liberty Link soybean variety. Rated at 2450 CHUs, it was the earliest LL variety grown in the United States. The variety has excellent IDC tolerance and is well suited for the longer growing season zone of Manitoba. Available from NorthStar Genetics retailers.

Pioneer brand P001T34R is a 2350 CHU, ultra early maturity soybean variety with very good early growth and harvest standability. This new variety has average canopy width and a very strong IDC rating. P001T34R is a Roundup Ready variety. Available from DuPont Pioneer in very limited quantities for 2014.

Pioneer brand P002T04R is also a new ultra early, 2350 CHU soybean variety with excellent early growth scores and harvest standability. The variety has above average canopy width with built-in phytophthora resistance (phytophthora gene 1k) along with a good rating score for IDC. P002T04R is a Roundup Ready variety. Available from DuPont Pioneer in very limited quantities for 2014.

PS 0035 NR2 is an early, high-yielding Genuity Roundup Ready 2 variety rated at 2375 CHU. It has a great combination of strong soybean cyst nematode resistance, above average IDC tolerance, and excellent standability and disease tolerance. This variety has good plant height with excellent canopy. Available from Pride Seeds retailers.

PS 0083 R2 is an impressive, attractive big variety with a 2500 CHU rating. PS 0083 R2 is a Genuity Roundup Ready 2 variety with outstanding yield potential, excellent standability and white mould tolerance. The variety should be managed for average tolerance rating in areas of severe IDC. The variety has exceptional pod clusters with excellent plant height and ease of harvest. Available from Pride Seeds retailers.

PS 0074 R2 is a high-yielding Genuity Roundup Ready 2 variety with excellent IDC tolerance. Excellent branching and good height characteristics help this bean perform well in many environments. It is well suited for the longer season growing areas of the Red River Valley with a 2525 CHU rating. Available from Pride Seeds retailers.

TH 33005R2Y is a great mid-maturing high-yielding variety with great IDC tolerance. It has excellent standability, strong light sensitivity, and was the highest-yielding variety in 2012 Manitoba Crop Variety Evaluation Team (MCVET) trials. Available from Quarry Seed retailers.

TH 34006R2Y has excellent spring vigour out of the ground and is a great yielder for mid- and full-season maturity zones. The variety branches very well to fill in 20-inch or wider rows, with an excellent fit for growers planting on 30 inch rows. It has very good stalk strength and standability. Available from Quarry Seed retailers.

McLeod R2 oilseed soybean combines very early maturity and good yield potential. It is a 2375 HU Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybean with excellent podding height, upright growth habit and a medium-bushy plant type. McLeod R2 has a tolerant rating to IDC. Available from SeCan members.

Gray R2 is an Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield oilseed soybean with a bushier plant type for wider row spacing. It is rated at 2450 HU, with good podding height, and very good lodging resistance. Gray R2 is rated as semi-tolerant to IDC. Available from SeCan members.

S00-N6 is a high-yielding, Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield variety targeted to the earliest soybean growing areas of the Red River Valley of Manitoba. This 2400 CHU soybean offers very good emergence to enable quick stand establishment and easy harvesting. This strong-standing variety responds well to narrow rows. Registration was pending at press time. The variety will be available from Syngenta Canada retailers.

S007-Y4 is a Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield variety with high yield performance that is broadly adapted across Manitoba growing zones. This early-maturing, 2425 CHU soybean offers growers dependable emergence, phytophthora root rot field tolerance, inclusion of the Rps1c gene for resistance to races 1–3 and 6–11, and superb standability for easy harvesting. Available from Syngenta Canada retailers.

23-60RY Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybean has excellent tolerance against white mould. It is characterized by high emergence rates and great seedling vigour. It has very good standability and no till adaptability, and is available from DeKalb.

 24-61RY Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybean has excellent tolerance against brown stem rot. It has high standability ratings and excellent no-till adaptability. The variety has very good emergence and seedling vigour. Available from DeKalb.

Flax
CDC Glas is seen as a replacement for CDC Bethune. It offers improved standability over CDC Bethune and a 105 per cent yield advantage in the Black soil zone (103 per cent average of CDC Bethune over all zones). It is rated as one day later and has slightly smaller seed than CDC Bethune. Available as re-constituted seed from SeCan members.

CDC Sanctuary is viewed as a replacement for CDC Bethune in the Brown soil zones, averaging 105 per cent of CDC Bethune in the drier areas of the Prairies. CDC Sanctuary is three days later, slightly taller and has slightly weaker straw than CDC Bethune. Available as re-constituted seed from SeCan members.

WestLin 71 is a traditional brown flax variety, offering flax growers many agronomic improvements over current flax varieties. Some benefits include improved yield over CDC Bethune, improved standability and reduced plant height, which helps with straw management. It is available through Crop Production Services (CPS) retail in 2014.

WestLin 70 is a traditional brown flax variety, offering growers the same in-field yield performance as CDC Bethune. It has a larger seed size and higher protein, plus favourable oil and iodine values which is attractive to end-use buyers. Available through selected Proven seed growers in 2014.

Sunflower
Cobalt II is the first Clearfield-tolerant, high-oleic oilseed hybrid released in Canada that also has resistance to nearly all races of downy mildew. This early maturing sunflower produces a healthy oil with a longer shelf life. Cobalt II is available from Seeds 2000, which is transitioning its company name to Nuseed, the seed division of Nufarm.

Company news
DuPont Pioneer is completing a facility expansion, including the addition of a new greenhouse at its Carman, Man., research centre. This $2-million investment will support year-round research on high-yielding, high-performing canola hybrids, as well as expand corn and soybean breeding and testing activities.

December 10, 2013  By Bruce Barker