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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:

  
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Don Boles
Don Boles of Tulane Farms in Three Hills, Alberta had a similar experience. Boles grows 3,000 acres in a four crop rotation of peas, wheat, barley and canola. Towards the end of the season, he heard about Pod-Stik on a Monday and by Wednesday afternoon he was spraying 800 acres of his pea crop with Pod-Stik to help manage the harvest and minimize harvest losses due to shatter.

"We grew three different varieties of peas and needed to manage the harvest since the varieties were not perfectly even in maturity. So, we had to combine our pea fields in a certain order. That’s where Pod-Stik came in, said Boles.

“The results were excellent. The advantage of Pod-Stik is it keeps the pods from shattering. If you get a heavy rain in a field of peas, it can shatter pods like it's been hailed on. But with Pod-Stik you're protected.”

Boles plans to use Pod-Stik in canola this year -- and try straight-cutting the crop.
   
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