I'm in central sk.Last year I seeded alfetta's at just shy of 3lbs. My stand I thought could have been heavier.They yields about 4o bu. THey weren't standing very good but on the head lands where I double seeded they stood great and probably yielded better.My question should I raise my seed rate to 3.5 or 4 bu. I'm on 12" centers run 20 phos. and inoculate seed. I seed early and spray early. Thanks for your help.
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Regarding the seeding rate on the Alfetta field peas and thin plant stand. You may have been a little low on the seeding rate but I suspect there may be other things at play.
Using the 5 year average 1000 kwt for Alfetta and aiming for 7 plants/ft2, and a viability of 90% I calculated that your seeding rate should have been closer to 3.5 bushels or 207 lbs/per acre. Because of the different seed sizes, even within the same variety, it is worth your while to figure out the 1000kwt - you may have had really large seed especially if your from an area which receives allot of mositure.
However, having said that there is research by Adrian Johnston, formerly of Agriculture Canada, that suggest that one can go down to 5 plants/ft2 without detrimental affects on yield if, and only if, the field is nearly weed free(yes I know there is no such thing) .
As for the other things at play - my experince both in research and farming is that you need to check your germination as close to seeding the time as possible. Though it is not common, I've seen on occasion as much 15% difference from what the seed certificate stated the germination to be and what I actually had.
Last, I'm not sure whether we pay enough attention to mechanical damage once we have the seed. A AFMRC study suggested 2-3% damage to field peas from simply from being put through the airseeder. That combined with augering the peas on and off the truck, especially, if they are on the dry side for mositure ie. 14%, 15% may give clues of where to look for problems.
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For calculating seeding rate for specialty crops I use the Alberta Ag web site Ropin the Web http://www.agric.gov.ab.ca/ Go to Calulations then pulse crops. Enter seed weight, seeds / sq. ft., % germ, etc. even $ / Ibs and it will give you lbs. / acre to be seeded and cost.
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