By Sara Tetland AAg, Crops Extension Specialist, Moose Jaw
January 2020
The 2021 Saskatchewan Seed GuideWith the 2021 growing season slowly creeping up, you may have started to think about planning your seed and other input needs for the year. The 2021 Saskatchewan Varieties of Grain Crops publication is now available to help.
The publication has tables of the varieties of crops available for producers to grow. Information for each crop type is listed within the publication and varies depending on the important traits for the crop type, but generally includes relative yield, days to maturity, resistance ratings for diseases, seed size, physical characteristics and quality traits specific to that crop.
The publication also includes a list of the distributors and breeding institutes for each variety. There are articles with information that you might find valuable when selecting a variety or crop to grow, featuring topics including seeding rates, seed testing and seed-borne disease considerations.
Data for the tables are collected using regional testing of crop varieties of the different crop types, which is conducted each year throughout different areas of the province. This ensures that the information is relevant to producers in different growing areas. Data is collected for individual varieties for the different crop types, with all of the measurements compared to a common check variety for that crop.
Within the table for each crop type, you can see how many years the specific variety has been tested as well as the per cent yield compared to the check for the different growing areas. When available, data from growing the crop under irrigation is also published. If you would like more information on variety trials specific to irrigation, the Irrigation Crop Diversification Corporation also releases an annual Crop Varieties for Irrigation Guide.
Developing the Saskatchewan Varieties of Grain Crops is a coordinated effort within the agricultural industry, including collaboration between government, seed companies, crop commissions, the Saskatchewan Seed Growers Association, breeders and Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation. Individuals from these groups are responsible for conducting regional testing of varieties, compiling, reviewing and approving the trial data and creating the publication material.
A digital copy is available, or you can pick up a copy of the 2021 Saskatchewan Seed Guide at your local regional office.