Manage the stand you have

The key with a thin stand is to do what it takes to protect those plants. A stand needs a minimum of 4-5 plants per square foot to have the best chance to reach its yield potential. For a canola field at or below that plant population, consider lowering the action thresholds for insect, weed and disease management all season long.

It helps to keep a scouting notebook or app to jot down all observations. Even if you see nothing of concern, early scouting gives you a baseline for crop emergence and condition of the stand. Then you’ll know for sure something is wrong if the crop doesn’t look as healthy the next time you scout.

Problems can escalate quickly this time of year and cause irreparable damage if not addressed early. Scouting alerts you to these problems. And while the cause and solution may not always be obvious, this insight motivates you to get help and make an informed decision on the most economic course of action.

If the stand has lots of gaps without plants and low plant density overall, reseeding in late May or early June might be the best course of action as long as the field has enough moisture for rapid emergence.

Reseeding and dry conditions. If dry conditions have slowed emergence, stranding seed in dry soil, going in again to seed deeper probably isn’t the right solution. Going deep will further dry out the top soil, and when it does rain, you’ll have two batches of seed emerging. Each batch will likely emerge at distinctly different times. Read more.

Did you walk your fields today? Tips and scouting guide. What to look for. Read more.