Soybean production has seen greater prominence in Ontario in the past 15 to 20 years. Agronomics, trait development and better, more intensive management boosted the crop’s performance and it is now the acreage leader among the big three.
An announcement from Corteva Agriscience about its Pioneer brand Z-Series soybeans may provide growers with options to drive yields and productivity even further. The series has 20 varieties available in limited quantities; 16 in Eastern Canada and four in Western Canada.
Why it matters: Soybean growers have been losing yield in the past 10 years due to increasing disease pressure and herbicide-resistant weed biotypes.
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Pioneer says the new series, which will also be available in the U.S., offers a yield boost of 2.7 bu./ac. compared to A-Series varieties. The Z-Series carries the E3 (Enlist) trait and comes with an enhanced disease tolerance package and improved agronomics for better emergence and standability.
“It’s a yield jump and it’s a step change over the A-Series,” says Chad Garrod, eastern seeds portfolio manager with Corteva Agriscience.
“Our breeders saw this in the genetics several years ago, that there’s something truly different, and that’s why we’re making this new series.”
Unlike other product launches, this one has the same timeline in both Canada and the U.S., and Garrod says availability will depend on a grower’s location. A full commercial launch for 2025 will come later this year. The introduction also completes Corteva’s herbicide tolerance transition to a lineup of only E3 soybean varieties.
“It depends on where you are in Ontario (or Canada) and the weeds you have, but waterhemp is a big problem in certain areas while in others, it’s fairly new,” says Garrod.
“The U.S. has been fighting these resistant and hard-to-control weeds for five to 10 years, depending on their location. They’re getting this technology at the same time we are, except we can get ahead of these weeds.”
New varieties can give growers more options for in-crop applications while following the recommendations for proper pest management, featuring multiple modes of action.
It’s one thing to go in early but resistant biotypes of waterhemp and Canada fleabane can germinate throughout the year and the Enlist E3 trait gives more in-crop options for weed control with tolerance to 2,4-D choline, glufosinate and glyphosate.
The disease profile
The other challenge to soybean production comes from a quartet of diseases with soybean cyst nematode (SCN) and sudden death syndrome (SDS) posing annual threats for a growing portion of Ontario. In 2023, white mould (sclerotinia) and Phytophthora root rot were issues in many parts of the province.
Garrod says this is where the Z-Series has added strength, with enhanced tolerance to six diseases, including the Peking source for SCN, SDS, white mould and Phytophthora. The other two — brown stem rot and iron deficiency chlorosis — are of little concern to Ontario growers.
“On the disease side with SCN, seven of those 20 varieties that we’re launching in Canada have the Peking source,” says Garrod.
“The others above 0.5 maturity rating have an SCN option. Part of the recommendation to control SCN is rotating the sources of resistance, so you have that option with this series. Then on the agronomic side, our breeders talked about emergence and harvestability and their improved ratings, so you’re not just getting one (property), you’re getting the yield, the agronomics, the disease package and the E3 trait.”
