• Older equipment - use rapeseed setting. Crushing Seed?
• Control planting depth to 1/4 to 1".
• Better precision will help to get the right amount of seed in the right place.
• Row-spacing is very flexible for canola.  
• Wide row-spacing can decrease yields but up to 30% but add benefits in heavy residue scenarios.  
• Ability to plant small seed, without large furrows.
• Make sure seed is covered but not compacted into the seed wall.
• Minimize potential for crusting.

Canola Seedbed Preparation

• The seedbed should be fairly level, moderately firm and moist. You should sink no deeper than the heel of your work boot.
• If the seedbed is too fine (overworked), it can lose soil moisture and crust.
• A moderate amount of crop residue on the soil surface is desirable.
• To help conserve moisture, each tillage operation should be shallower than the one before.
• Apply preplant fertilizer before final tillage operation
• The last tillage should occur less than one week before planting. It should bring moisture close to the surface.
• Rollers (packers) can be used to firm soil and allow moisture into the planting zone.
• Consider using stale seed bed for planting.
• Integrate management practices that can minimize potential for crusting.

Canola Planting

• Grain drills and air seeders can be used to plant canola, but seedbed conditions are more critical for its establishment than for wheat.
• Factors that hinder stand establishment
  • Lack of soil moisture at planting time.
  • Soil compaction (even by tillage and planting tools)
  • Water-logged soils
  • Crusting after planting
  • Planting equipment causing deep furrows.
• These conditions need to be eliminated before a stand can be established.
• No-till canola production shows promise.
• Stale seed beds will work well.

Canola Seeding Date

• Canola should be planted 6 weeks before the first killing frost date for the area (less than 25 degrees F).
• Seeding date is important to establishing a crop that has sufficient growth for good winter hardiness.
• Planting early tends to decrease winter survival due to excessive growth.
• Late planting does not allow for sufficient root reserves to maximize winter survival.

Optimum Canola Planting Dates

Canola Seeding Rate

• Average seeding rates with good seedbed preparation should range from 4.5 to 6 lbs per acre.
• A final stand of 4 to 10 plants per square foot is ideal.
• High planting rates produce smaller, less vigorous plants hat are more prone to winterkill.
• Seeding rates should be reduced if planted earlier than optimum and increased if planted later than optimum.
• Carefully evaluate a damaged crop in the spring before destroying it. A spring stand of only one or two plants per square foot can compensate for wider spacing between plants by promoting branching.

Canola Seeding Depth and Row Spacing

• Canola seeds are small, and careful placement at a relatively shallow depth is required.
• Best germination and emergence occur at 1/2 to 1 inch under conditions of good soil moisture.
• Canola has difficulty emerging from crusted soil.
• The 6 to 14" row spacing found on most commercial grain drills is acceptable for canola.
• Row spacing from 6 to 14" has little impact on yields.
• Narrower (6 to 8:) spacing provides quicker row closure and can decrease wind shattering prior to harvest.
• If soil crusting caused by heavy rain is a problem after planting but before emergence, consider a rotary hoe or other light tillage operation and use with caution.

Planting Equipment Problems

• Small seed hangs is flex tube grooves, uneven flow.
• Calibration of older equipment.
• Depth of planting furrow.
• Seed box leaks in old equipment.
• Consistent depth of seed placement needed.
• Good seed to soil contact.
• Soil conditions at planting.
• Crushing seed with older equipment.

Planting Equipment Problems

Seed Grinding Problems

How to do a Canola Plant Count (see .pdf below)

How to do a canola plant count.pdf