InVigor canola combats emergence issues with treatment

BASF plans to use a different seed treatment on its InVigor canola seed in response to poor emergence by some of the company’s hybrids.

Last spring, BASF received complaints about poor emergence of its canola hybrids in some regions so it investigated.

“We put the team together to try and pinpoint what the contributing factors we believe were involved. I used the plural version of factors because I think certainly environmental conditions, and then any other biological dynamic when you put a seed in the ground and a seed treatment on it. So, all of those things were being considered,” said Brent Collins, head of seeds and traits for BASF Canada.

The team reproduced the problem in greenhouse and field conditions that was observed by some growers in Western Canada.

Collins said data is being gathered and the issue is still being investigated, but the company plans to change the core seed treatment package for InVigor, as a cautionary move.

“We’re going to move to Helix Vibrance as the core seed treatment package and we’re going to take that to the market in 2023. In parallel with that, we’re going to continue to do our investigative work to make sure that we make the correct diagnosis in terms of what we believe are the factors and what were the triggers for those factors,” Collins said.

Helix Vibrance is a Syngenta seed treatment that has four fungicides, an insecticide that provides broad-spectrum pest protection. It is also designed to produce vigorous emergence and healthier root systems.