Canola Farming in Pakistan, Pests, Diseases And Treatment

Canola Farming in Pakistan, Pests, Diseases & Treatment

Origin of The Word Canola: The word canola

consists of two parts CAN and OLA

The first part CAN has been taken from Canada while the second part OLA means Oil, mildly acidic.

Canola was originally a trade name for the Rapeseed Association of Canada, but it is now a Generic Term for the varieties of rapeseed edible oil in North America and Australia.

Introduction to Canola:

Canola belongs to Brassica Napus L. Brassica Napus is

its Scientific Name. Its family is Family is Brassicaceae.

It belongs to Kingdom Plantae and its order is Brassicales.

Canola is an important crop of the Brassica group that is grown in Pakistan to obtain edible oil seeds.

The Nutritional Value of Canola Oil: Canola oil is one of the best oils for health and is also cheaper than other oils. Its meal is an important high-protein food for livestock after extracting oil from its seeds.

Canola oil is a rich source of energy. 100 grams of canola oil provides 884 calories. Since its smoke point is 450 Degree Fahrenheit, it can be used for deep frying.

Canola oil has a very good lipid profile. It contains healthy proportion of Saturated, Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated Fats (SFA: MUFA: PUFA = 8: 61: 31).

Cold-pressed oil is a stable cooking oil that has a very long shelf life.

Extensive research has shown that canola oil is safe for health. When buying it, read the label carefully that it is free of Euricic Acid and Glucosinolates. Euricic Acid is an omega-9 fatty acid found in other plants of the Brassica family. That is why oil extracted from mustard seeds is not used to make vegetable ghee or cooking oil as it contains 40 to 70% euricic acid which is harmful to human health.

Uses of Canola Oil:

v In addition to use for cooking in hotels and restaurants, canola oil is also used to make salad dressings, margarine, deep frying and bakery products.

v When the crop is still young, its leaves are cooked as a vegetable and when the crop is big, it is used as fodder for animals.

v Canola oil is also used to make pickles.

v Its oil is used as a medicine for many digestive disorders.

v In the tanning industry, it is used to soften leather.

Stages of Canola Growth: The following are the six major stages of canola crop growth.

I. The Stage Before Germination After Sowing the Seeds: When the canola seed is sown, it may take 4 to 10 days to germinate.

2. The Stage of Emergence of Tiny Plants: In this stage tiny plants emerge from the soil. The cotyledons of these plants also emerge from the soil in the form of early leaves.

3. Rosette Stage: At this stage new leaves of the plant emerge. Canola plants sown in the spring stay in this stage for several weeks.

4. The stage of bud formation: In this stage, buds appear on the plants.

5. Flowering stage: This stage lasts for 14 to 21 days. Three to five flowers bloom everyday. About 40% to 55% of them produce flower pods.

6. Pods Formation Stage: This stage starts when all the petals of the flower fall off.

7. Seed Formation stage: within 35 to 45 days after the formation of pods, the seeds become complete in pods . These seeds have about 40% moisture. The crop is considered ripe when 30 to 40% of the seeds on the plants change color.

Types of rapeseeds:

The following varieties of rapeseed are grown worldwide for edible oil.

English Name	Botanical Name	Common Name	Key Features
Rapeseed	Brassica Campestris	Sarson	Its Seeds are thick or large in size, round in shape and smooth surface, yellow or brown or dark brown in color
Rapeseed	Brassica Campestris	Toria	Its seeds are round, or dark brown reddish with a slightly wrinkled surface. Its seeds are slightly smaller than mustard seeds.
Rapeseed	Brasica Napus	Canola	Canola seeds are different from other types of rapeseed, Sarson and Toria. They are low in euricic acid and glucosinolates which are harmful to health. Canola type varieties are free from these harmful elements.
Mustard	Brassica Juncea	Rai	Its seeds are small in size, round and the surface is significantly wrinkled. The color of the seed is dark brown or black.

Suitable Climate for Cultivation of Canola: Canola can be grown in temperate climates. It grows well at an altitude of 650-1500 meters above sea level.

Suitable Temperature for Cultivation of Canola:

Different Stages of Canola Growth	Suitable Temperature
During Seed Germination	20 ^oC
During Plant Growth	From 15 ^oC to 20 ^oC
During Pod Formation and Flowering	From 25 ^oC to 27 ^oC

Moisture Rate for Canola Cultivation: Moisture rate for all types of rapeseed should be 30 to 60%.

Among the types of rapeseed, Toria is a hardy plant that grows in relatively hot and dry climates. Mustard is damaged by frost while Rai, Sarson and Tara-Mira tolerate severe weather conditions.

Suitable Soil for Cultivation of Canola Crop: Canola can be grown in all types of light and heavy soils. Canola crop can tolerate pH 5.5 to 8.0. However, the most suitable soil for its cultivation that is not acidic, does not have high levels of aluminum and manganese and is not rocky so that the roots of plants can spread well in it. The soil should be porous so that air can pass through it easily.

Land Preparation for Cultivation of Canola Crop: For cultivation of Canola crop, plow the field deeply from 2 to 3 times. Collect all the herbs and weeds and remove them. Do all this work in the morning or at night.

Seed Rate per acre for Cultivation of Canola Crop: Seed rate per acre for canola cultivation is 1.5 to 2.0 kg. If less seeds are sown, the yield will be less and if more than 2.5 kg seed per acre is sown, the crop will not grow well. Which will adversely affect production.

Seed Sowing Season: Canola, other varieties of rapeseed and mustard are the crops most affected by light. Sowing these crops before or after sowing season causes damage in both cases. Damage caused due to sowing late cannot be compensated by increasing the amount of seed or by using fertilizers.

Time to Sow Seeds in Different Provinces of Pakistan

Punjab	From October 1^st to November 1^st
South Punjab	From mid-October to mid-November
Sindh	From mid-October to mid-November
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa	From mid-September to mid-October
Balochistan	From mid-October to mid-November

How to Sow Seeds of Canola Crop: Since rape seed and mustard seeds are very small, farmers find it easy to sow them by spreading uniformly. But this method is not generally recommended.

The second method is to sow the seeds in rows with the help of Seed Drill. The distance between the rows and the plants and the depth of the seeds are given in the table below.

S.No.	Crops	Distance Between Rows	Distance Between Plants	Seed Depth
1	Sarson	30 to 35 cm	10 to 12 cm	3 to 4 cm
2	Toria	25 to 30 cm	8 to 10 cm	2 to 3 cm
3	Canola	30 to 40 cm	8 to 12 cm	2 to 3 cm
4	Rai	40 to 45 cm	10 to 15 cm	2 to 3 cm

Varieties of Canola in Pakistan: The following varieties of canola are cultivated in Pakistan.

Canola Type:

Dunkeld, Rainbow, Oscar, 19-H.

Non-Canola:

Sultan Raya, KS-75

Imported Hybrids:

Hyola - 420, Hyola - 308, Hyola - 401,

Pioneer - 45J21.

Local Hybrids:

Tarnab-I, Tarnab-II, Tarnab-III

Weed Control in Canola Crop: During the first few weeks after the canola crop grows, a lot of weeds grow which need to destroy. For this purpose

Glyphosate (Roundup) Herbiside, Glyphosate (Roundup)

To be used. This medicine destroys the herbs before they grow, that is, they do not allow the herbs to grow at all. Another way to get rid of herbs is to weed them out with a hoe.

Irrigation of Canola Crop: Irrigation of canola crop depends on the following.

Environment, weather conditions, temperature, rainfall, soil type and variety of canola or hybrid.The canola crop usually needs 3 to 4 times water. If it rains during this time, the amount of water may decrease.

Fertilizer Requirement for Canola Crop: Canola crop requires more phosphorus than wheat or barley for good yield. Canola rapidly absorbs phosphorus from the soil during the early stages of its growth, ie over a period of more than 8 weeks, which reduces the amount of phosphorus in the soil. Therefore 2.5 bags of DAP are put in the field at the time of sowing the seeds.Nitrogenous fertilizers affect the crop depending on soil type, moisture rate and nutrient balance. More fertilizer should be used only when laboratory tests of the soil show that it needs more fertilizer. Nitrogen fertilizers are applied periodically. For the first time after sowing, 23 kg of nitrogen is present in DAP and the remaining nitrogen is in 1.5 bags of urea which is added in November. 2 sacks of urea are applied in December and 1.5 sacks in January. This fertilizer is mixed in irrigation water or water is applied later by applying a sixth of fertilizer.

Canola Crop Diseases: The following are the diseases of canola crop.

1. Sclerotinia Stem and Root Rot:

Symptoms: All parts of the affected plant, ie the body Mildew appears on the roots and leaves in the form of black spots.

Treatment: Deep plow the field where the disease has already attacked before planting a new crop. Remove all herbs from the field and apply 400 mg of Thai Banda Zol on the seed before sowing.

Use 100 kg of thiabendazole seeds.

(Alternaria black spots)

2. Spots on Stems, Leaves and Pods:

Symptoms: The disease first appears in the form of light brown spots on the cotyledons. These light brown spots rapidly turn into black spots due to the appearance of too many spores and become a source of infection in other healthy plants. Leaf spots can be darker than musk. Their color depends on the humidity in the atmosphere. This infection causes the leaves to fall off.

Treatment: Use quality seeds that are resistant to the disease to grow the crop. It is beneficial to apply fungi side before sowing the seeds. The disease can be controlled by spraying the leaves of a fungicide.

3. Powdery Mildew:

The disease is caused by the fungus Erysiphe cruciferarum. The disease occurs during the flowering stage. Dirty white circular streaks appear on both sides of the lower leaves of the stem. Cold and dry weather helps to spread the disease.

Treatment: Powdery Mildew Spray With Topas 100 EC

Or spray with another suitable fungicide.

Insects that Damage the Canola Crop: The following insects damage the canola crop.

1. Aphids:

Aphids suck the sap from the soft, delicate leaves, buds, stems, flower petals and pod pods of plants. Sometimes aphids spoil 40 to 60% of the crop.

Treatment: To prevent aphids, it is recommended to plant the crop early and spray one of the following insecticide on it.

Master 60 SL @ 1000 to 1500 ml per acre,

Lorsben 40 EC @ 700 to 1000 ml per acre,

Confidor SL200 @ 250 ml per acre, and

Advantage 20EC @ 500 ml per acre

2. Painted Bugs: Both its young and nymphs insects cause severe damage to the young plants of the crop, causing the leaves to wither and the plants to die. Thousands of these bugs accumulate on the leaves, stems and pods. They suck the sap. During the day time, they hide under clods and become active at night.

Treatment: Use one of the following medications to control them.

(1) Lorsban 40EC (2) Talstar 10EC (3) Karate 2.5EC

(1) Lorson 40 EC (2) Tall Star 10 EC (3) Karate 2.5 EC (4)

Do not pile rubbish and hay around the field.

3. Red Legged Earth Mites (Halotydeus Destructor) and Blue Oat Mites (Penthaleus Major): These mites can cause severe damage to Canola Crop.

Red-legged Earth Mites are on the upper part of the leaves in the form of planets. They eat the leaves of young plants and suck their sap. Affected leaves have colored, white or silver spots and severely affected leaves wither or shrink. Large plants stop growing and small plants die.

These insects are somewhat flat and about 1 mm long. Their bodies are velvety black and their legs are bright red.

Blue Oat Mites live alone or in groups of 5 to 10 at the base of leaves and eat the leaves.

They are about 1 mm long and the body is like a pear. Their bodies are purple-blue, greenish-blue or black, while their legs are bright pink-red.

Harvesting of Canola Crop: Canola crop ripens in 110 to 190 days. The duration of its preparation depends on its variety and time of sowing. The beans turn yellowish brown. When 60 to 70% of the beans turn yellow, the moisture content in the seed is less than 15%. When the pod is shaken, the sound of seed in the pod comes from the pod. Proper timing of harvesting is very important because if crop is harvested before time, the quality of the seed may be reduced and in case of late harvesting, the seeds may be lost by scattering the pods. Harvesting should be done early in the morning when the plants are wet, otherwise the pods are damaged by scattering.

Threshing Canola Crop: The crop should be threshed when it becomes completely dry and the weather is also fine. Threshers should be used for threshing. Otherwise threshing can be done with oxen or tractors.

Yield Rate of Canola Crop: If canola crop is good, about 100 maunds or 4 tons of seed can be obtained from one acre. This amount of production depends on the variety of canola, the season and the experience of cultivator.

Storage of Canola Seeds: Canola seeds should be dried well and stored in well ventilated store-rooms. Moisture/Dump in the seed should not exceed 9%, otherwise it may become moldy. Suc as impurities in the seed can create problems.

Compiled By : Ikram Saeed

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