Evaluating the competitive ability of semi-leafless field pea cultivars

Non-Peer ReviewedField pea (Pisum sativum L.) is an important grain legume in Western Canada. Growers can, however, be reluctant to include pulse crops in their rotation because they are poor competitors with weeds. Developing more competitive field pea cultivars is important to mitigate weed competition. The identification of competitive cultivars and the traits conferring competitive ability should lead to the development of more competitive field pea cultivars. The objective of this research was to evaluate the ability of semi-leafless field pea cultivars to suppress and withstand weed competition and to identify traits that may confer competitive ability in field pea. Field experiments were conducted in 2012 and 2013 at Floral, Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and St. Albert, Alberta. Fourteen semi-leafless field pea cultivars were seeded at a target density of 75 plants m-2 under weedy and weed-free conditions. Imidazolinone-tolerant wheat (c.v. CDC Imagine) and canola (c.v. 45H73) were planted as pseudo weeds in the weedy plots. There was no cultivar by treatment interaction for all of the measured variables thus, cultivars did not differ in the presence or absence of weed competition. CDC Dakota produced the greatest pea yield and Reward produced the poorest pea yield at Saskatchewan. CDC Dakota and CDC Striker were among the best for pea biomass production at Saskatchewan, compared to Reward, which was among the worst. CDC Centennial and CDC Mozart were significantly better at Saskatchewan for their ability to withstand competition, while CDC Dakota, CDC Patrick, and CDC Meadow were statistically the best in their ability to compete with the pseudo weeds. At Alberta, CDC Striker and CDC Dakota were statistically best in their ability to compete with the pseudo weeds, versus Cooper and Stratus, who were among the poorest. At both Saskatchewan and Alberta, no correlations were strong enough to show which traits are conferring competitiveness in semi-leafless field pea cultivars

Evaluating the competitive ability of semi-leafless field pea cultivars

Non-Peer ReviewedField pea (Pisum sativum L.) is an important grain legume in Western Canada. Growers can, however, be reluctant to include pulse crops in their rotation because they are poor competitors with weeds. Developing more competitive field pea cultivars is important to ameliorate weed competition. The identification of competitive cultivars and the traits conferring competitive ability should lead to the development of more competitive field pea cultivars. The objective of this research was to evaluate the ability of semi-leafless field pea cultivars to suppress and withstand weed competition and to identify traits that may confer competitive ability in field pea. Field experiments were conducted in 2012 at Floral, Saskatchewan and St. Albert, Alberta. Fourteen semi-leafless field pea cultivars with divergent pedigree, vine length, seed size, and market classes were seeded at a target density of 75 plants m-2 under weedy and weed-free conditions. Imidazolinone-tolerant wheat (c.v. CDC Imagine) and canola (c.v. 45H73) were planted as pseudo weeds at a target density of 20 plants m-2 in the weedy plots. Variables measured were leaf area index, plant height, pea biomass, weed biomass, pea yield, and weed seed production. Data were subjected to ANOVA using the mixed model procedure in SAS. There was no cultivar by treatment interaction for pea yield at Floral, so cultivars did not differ under treatments. CDC Dakota produced the greatest pea yield and Reward produced the poorest pea yield. CDC Dakota was among the best for pea biomass production at both sites, compared to CDC Leroy, which was among the worst at both sites. CDC Dakota was also among the best for the low weed seed production at Floral. CDC Mozart, CDC Patrick, and Cutlass were among the best at Floral for ability to withstand competition at Floral. While, CDC Dakota, CDC Meadow, and CDC Patrick were among the best for their ability to compete at Floral. At both sites, no correlations were strong enough to show which traits are conferring competitiveness in semi-leafless field pea cultivars

Determinants of the level of knwoledge application: a knowledge-based and information-processing perspective

Knowledge application is of key importance in the development of successful new products. Knowledge application refers to an organization's timely response to technological change by utilizing the knowledge and technology generated into new products and processes. This study uses the knowledge-based theory of the firm and considers its roots in the information-processing approach to organization theory to identify and structure potential antecedents of knowledge application. This study develops four hypotheses concerning antecedents of knowledge application. The hypotheses are tested using data collected from 277 high-technology firms. Empirical results indicate that a long-term orientation supported by a research and development (R&D) budget, formal rewards, and information technology directly increases the level of knowledge application, while R&D co-location indirectly increases the level of knowledge application. It is surprising to find that an increase in the level of organizational redundancy reduces the level of knowledge application. The findings also suggest that information technologies, lead-user, and supplier networks do not appear to significantly influence organizational redundancy