Brassinosteroids (BRs) are growth hormones from the steroid family that are found in all plant species. They have a high-growth promoting activity, particularly in pollen and anthers, and take their name from the pollen of canola (Brassica napus), where they were initially discovered. BRs are involved in the control of cell division, elongation and differentiation throughout the growing season and are crucial for plant growth and development. And, acting as growth regulators, they are essential to many responses to stress.

The 2019 growing season started of dry across most of Western Canada and turned wet starting about mid-summer all the way through to winter snow fall, including an October blizzard in parts of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Now, over 4.2 million acres (2.5M in Saskatchewan; 1.6M in Alberta and over 260,000 in Manitoba) are still in the swath or standing in the field to-date in spring 2020.

Calcium is an essential nutrient that allows plants to grow, develop, remain healthy and reproduce optimally to form seeds or fruits. Although it’s considered a secondary nutrient, a plant’s need for calcium can be as high as its needs for primary nutrients such as nitrogen and potassium.

Soil pH is a key factor in farmland as it controls availability of nutrients, microbial activity and crop productivity. Before delving into what causes soils to become acid or alkaline and the steps to take to treat and correct soil pH, we must first establish what is considered an optimal pH for crop production.

Plant growth regulators (PGRs) and plant growth stimulators (PGSs) are naturally-occurring or synthetic compounds that, when applied to plants, modify their physiological processes, and growth and development habits. In plant cells, they stimulate specific enzymes or pathways and help regulate metabolism.

The term “PGR” is widely used in Western Canada to refer to products that are sprayed on wheat to shorten the height of the crop, while PGSs are designed to be incorporated into a well-balanced nutrition program to achieve a better uptake of nutrients, enhanced growth and development, better seed, fruit or tuber set, improved crop standability and more. Producers looking to preserve yield and profitability are encouraged to take a closer look at PGSs.