Stimulating Germination Wild Oat and Volunteer Cereals (Wheat, Barley, and Oats) from the Soil Seed Bank

Term: 1 year, beginning in 2021

Status: Complete (Performance Story)

Funding Amount: $40, 088

Lead Researcher(s): Dr. Shaun Sharpe (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon)

Funding Partners: Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association, Saskatchewan Oats Development Commission

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Project Description

This project will examine how the wild oat seed germination responds to the stimulants in isolation and within soil by stimulating the post-harvest environment under controlled conditions (indoor studies). The objective of this one-year study is to characterize the dose response, interaction, and optimal mix of potassium nitrate and pyroligneous acid (liquid smoke) to determine the suitability of either pre-seeding or post-harvest germination stimulation of wild oat, volunteer barley, oats, and wheat. Potassium nitrates and pyroligneous acid are selected as initial stimulants due to cost considerations for field scale production compared to gibberellins, which is expensive. The study will provide data and directions to develop control measures for wild oat and volunteer cereals to use in the fall, post-harvest, to rely on frost to kill seedlings, or pre-seed as part of a stale seedbed strategy with an herbicide. If wild oat and volunteer cereals can be stimulated to emerge from the seedbank, it could reduce the overall infestation within a field. Removing the weed in this manner would reduce input costs to producers.