Intercropping looks promising

Many producers have tried intercropping peas and canola over the years, but as seeding technology advances, this may become more practical. There certainly seems to be yield advantages. Scott Chalmers and Scott Day, agrologists with Manitoba Agriculture, did replicated intercropping trials this year at Melita, Manitoba. The results are amazing. The experiments involved varying the seeding rates of the peas and canola and measuring the yield. Canola alone yielded 50 bushels an acre. Peas alone yielded 35. The best intercropping result gave basically the full yield of peas, plus 35 bushels per acre of canola. In every case, the total production from intercropping was substantially higher than the individual crop. Clearfield canola was used so that weeds in the mixed crop could be controlled with Odyssey. Harvest timing and pod shatter could still be a problem with intercropping. Plus you need to separate the seed after harvest. However, if a significant yield advantage can be realized, it might be worth the effort. It should be possible to set up modern seed drills with one row seeding peas and the next seeding canola, each at appropriate depths with appropriate fertilizer. That intercropping advantage wasn’t available in the past. I’m Kevin Hursh.