Ontario Grain Farmer November 2021

ONTARIO GRAIN FARMER 25 NOVEMBER 2021 delivered to seed dealers across the country, then into a farmer’s shed for planting during the upcoming spring. When asked about seed treatments, Harwood commented that things have changed drastically in the past 35 years. Many years ago, the industry used Captan as a fungicidal treatment, now there is a combination of four to five fungicides applied on the seed, and in general an insecticide of some type. Lumivia has greatly replaced neonicotinoids which were used for 15 years, prior to them being phased out. Increasingly, biological seed treatments are now being applied, which can promote seed protection or growth. “Seed treatments have gone from very simple with some protection to an incredible level, which is comprehensive and complex. It is constantly reviewed- are we using the best package available?” says Harwood. l Once a hybrid has received the gold stamp of approval from a breeder or company, it will then be placed into commercial hybrid corn production. Hybrid seed production fields are then planted in strips with inbred A and inbred B planted in four rows of seed parents and one row of the pollinator parent across the field. Farmers will plant the seed on rotated ground that is isolated and the seed companies then take over and manage the fields, inspecting for various agronomic issues. “Inbreds that are used to grow corn seed need a lot of babysitting, so the fields are monitored very regularly,” says Harwood. As the crop begins to flower, detasseling is required of the seed parents, so that the male inbred rows can pollinate the female rows and that is where hybridization happens. After pollination, the male plant is chopped out, so that the nutrients from the field only go into further development of the female plants. Once the ear has developed and the moisture of the corn kernels are around 35 per cent to 25 per cent, the crop is harvested. It is harvested on the ear, to ensure that the seed is handled gently. Ears are inspected as the material comes into the facility, by electronic and visual inspection, any off types are removed. The seed is then slowly dried on the ear using a low temperature. If it is dried too quickly at hotter temperatures, the seed can stress crack, affecting the seed quality and germination. After drying, the ears are put through a sheller, where the seed is then placed in bulk storage. Over the winter, the seed is conditioned (sized, treated, and bagged). Seed is tested for its ability to handle difficult conditions, such as under cold conditions at planting to see how the seed behaves. If there are genetic and physical differences between batches of seed, the batches that are unacceptable are removed. Then, only after all the boxes have been checked, will a bag of hybrid seed corn be HICHAM FRAM, M. Sc., agr. Expert Advisor since 2013 MARC-ANDRÉ CHAPUT Ferme Lemage inc.