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Story Posted: September 09, 2010 Canola Watch 20: Cut green now, combine in October In This Issue: It's September 9. Do I cut that green canola?, Questions and contacts. Issues of the week
Crop and weather reports Alberta: Swathing is 30% complete in the south, 50-75% complete as you move toward the Yellowhead Highway and 80% complete north of there. Rain, heavy dew and cool temperatures have slowed harvest progress. Many areas had light frost in the past week. Read the Alberta crop report. Saskatchewan: Swathing is near complete in the south and 70-80% complete in most other regions. A pocket around Wilkie is at 50%. Combined fields in the Glaslyn area, which had the lowest rainfall in the province this year, are showing the highest yields so far. Heavy rains continue in many regions, with up to 3.5" northeast of Saskatoon and 4" around Moose Jaw and Regina. Most of the province got at least some rain in the past week. Read the Saskatchewan crop report. Manitoba: Swathing is nearly complete in southern areas and has reached 70-85% complete in the northwest. Combining is 40% complete in the southwest and 70% complete in central and eastern regions. All parts of the province have experienced rain delays. Some eastern locales got up to 7" in the past week. Read the Manitoba crop report. Quick Hitters Spread residue evenly in fields planned for canola in 2011. Step 1 in good canola stand establishment, especially in direct seeding situations, is to have straw and chaff from the previous crop spread evenly across the field. Check that combine chopper knives are sharp and that the chaff spreader is doing its job. If the combine can't spread cereal chaff and straw evenly across the width of cut, then consider dropping the straw and baling it. Another option is to use a heavy harrow to spread the straw. However, heavy harrowing should be delayed until the straw is dry enough to allow even distribution and minimize piling up and bunching of the straw. Click here for the library of residue management articles from the Reduced Tillage Linkages website. Big weeds? At this stage, with swathing so close, there is limited time for glyphosate to do its job. Swathing is the best control method. Remember that swaths with a lot of big green weeds will take longer to dry down for efficient combining. Consider a post harvest spray if perennials or winter annuals start regrowing. Use nonresidual herbicides for fields that will be seeded to canola next year. Condition bins with tough canola. A lot of canola could be going into the bin tough this year as growers take advantage of those rare days with good combining weather. While aeration can help keep grain cool and delay spoilage initially, aeration alone will not remove much moisture if temperatures are cool and humidity is high. In some cases heated air drying will be required if canola is going to be stored for longer periods of time. Growers who don't have access to a dryer should have a plan in place to deliver canola before high moisture levels cause it to heat. Click here for more tips on conditioning and drying tough canola. Need swathing tips for lodged crop? Click here to hear CCC senior agronomy specialist John Mayko in the latest installment on ACPC radio. And click here to read the article from last week's Canola Watch. It's September 9. Do I cut that green canola? What's the forecast?
Time Management. How much canola is left to swath? If there is more canola standing than can be reasonably swathed within a couple days after a frost, then swathing a few fields early might be good risk management. Ensure seeds throughout the plant are firm when rolled between thumb and forefinger, and if possible, wait for at least some seed colour change. Mushy, watery seeds will likely be lost. Combine Timing. Swathing early does not mean combining early. Canola swathed green takes a lot longer to cure than canola swathed at 50% to 60% seed colour change. Whether growers swath a green crop now or wait a week, combining will likely occur around the same time. And by cutting early, the crop may not meet its yield and quality potential. Curing time. When the long-term forecast is wet and cool, early swathing when canola seeds are firm but green often does not lead to high green counts - provided growers are patient and allow for the additional curing that must take place in the swath. By contrast a period of hot, dry weather before the green is cleared can lock in high green counts.
Questions and contacts If you have questions on regional issues, contact one of the following Canola Council of Canada regional agronomists or provincial oilseed specialists:
This report is supported by each of the provincial canola grower associations. For more information on some of their activities, check out the following links:
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