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Pod sticking products, which have been used successfully by European canola growers for a number of years, have the potential to revolutionize canola production practices in Western Canada. The same holds true for pea production.

Pod-Stik™, a foliar product based on a unique polymer blend that’s been proven successful in Europe and the U.K., is now available to Canadian canola and pea growers from UAP Canada – providing the longest-lasting protection against harvest losses from pod shatter.

Pod-Stik lasts about eight weeks after application before breaking down and does not have any adverse affects on dry down, seed maturity or quality. It’s a convenient and effective way to maximize the value of your maturing canola or pea crop.

UAP recommends that Pod-Stik be applied about three weeks before harvest when the pods are light green and still pliable. Somewhere in the 40-60% colour change.

The 2008 growing season was the first time Pod-Stik was used in Western Canada and UAP talked to growers throughout their experience using the product to see how it was working under local conditions. Here’s what some of them had to say:

  

Troy Monea

Troy Monea grows about 2,500 acres of canola, wheat, barley and peas on his family’s farming operation near Wetaskiwin, Alberta. After hearing about Pod-Stik last summer, he asked his aerial applicator to apply it to about a half-section of canola to check it out for himself.

Monea was impressed with the results and plans to apply Pod-Stik in both canola and peas in 2009, as well as recommending it to his custom application customers in Central Alberta.

"The hilltops were drying out faster than the low spots and I needed more time to try to let the low spots mature. We decided to use Pod-Stik to try to give the crop another 10 or 12 days before swathing,” said Monea, explaining the situation in his canola field last year.

“When we came to swath, we were able to swath the hilltops. None of the canola was shattered on the hilltops. If we hadn’t sprayed Pod-Stik, they would have all been gone. It’s definitely a product that will protect what you’ve put into the field already. It’s going to protect your yield potential."
   
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