News > Day Three > Weigh all characteristics when shopping for seed
Yield shouldn't be the first consideration when picking seed varieties. Robert Graf, plant breeder with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Lethbridge, says variety choices are increasing all the time and it's important to consider other crop characteristics.

AAFC plant breeder Robert Graf says farmers need to consider more traits than yield alone when choosing seed varieties. -- Alexis Kienlen photo

"Yield shouldn't be the only driver if you want to change varieties," he told an audience at the Farm Tech 2010 conference in Edmonton. "Yield is influenced 50 per cent by genetics and 50 per cent by agronomic practice -- all of which is influenced by the weather."

The first step in deciding to use a new variety is to consider what crop characteristics are important. These may include characteristics such as maturity, straw strength, height and protein content.

The next step is to collect information, using the provincial variety guide, seed guides from other provinces and information gleaned from talking to neighbours.

The producer should then determine which traits are essential and which are of secondary importance, Graf says.

Keeping these things in mind, the producer can then go through the provincial variety guide and mark varieties that fit these criteria. Varieties that don't meet the criteria should be crossed out. At that point, the producer can start examining yield and make choices.

"By going through the process in this way, you'll be happier with the variety you choose," says Graf.

Graf told his audience there have been some changes to Alberta's seed guide this year, and reporting based on the geographic area has been eliminated.

Provincial average yield has been added, he says, while crop zones have been removed, as they don't account for the loss of sites across the province.

-- Alexis Kienlen is a field editor with Alberta Farmer in Edmonton.