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Crop establishment

The following articles are categorized as 'Crop establishment'

• Tips from excess moisture meetings

  Nutrient carryover is a common question from growers with unseeded acres. The standard answer is: Nitrogen is always variable throughout a field, and after a wet year without a crop, reserves might actually be better on the hilltops than in low spots. In low areas flooded for long periods, lack of oxygen limits microbial breakdown of organic matter. Therefore nutrients made available through mineralization will be lower than expected in these low-lying areas. Leaching of nitrogen and sulphur and de-nitrification of nitrogen will be higher in those areas as well. Test saturated areas separately.

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• Rotations for yield

  A recent Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada study found that growing peas and, to a lesser degree, lentils the year prior to canola can enhance canola yield. Canola on canola stubble will generally have lower yields than canola on other stubble.

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• Planning for next year

  Harvest is a good time to assess your canola results and prep fields for canola in 2012. If yields were disappointing given the large biomass of the crop, take time now to check for clues as to why.

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• How waterlogging hurts canola

  Canola yield potential can start to drop after a few days underwater. Top up fertilizer may help a canola crop set back by waterlogging, but don’t apply anything until soils dry out and the crop starts growing again.

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• Management for a thin stand

  Step one with a thin stand is to determine the cause so it can be prevented next year. Step two is to scout closely and take extra care to protect those few plants from insect damage and weed competition.

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• Slow emergence adds to seedling disease risk

  No foliar sprays are available for seedling diseases, but growers should still dig and look at roots and stems to identify whether disease is the cause for weak plants. Understanding what contributed to seedling disease in fields this year may help plan for better results in your canola fields next year.

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• Crusting: Rain is the only practical solution

  No research has been conducted to show the best ways to break up crusting and free the crop. If a few plants have emerged, it may be best to leave them be. One to 2 plants per square foot are better than none.

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• Did you walk your fields today?

  Small and vulnerable canola plants face many threats during their first three weeks. The crop may need your protection to get through these stages with its top-end yield potential intact. Canola growers are encouraged to walk their fields a couple times a week — or more — until plants are firmly established and growing strong.

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• Protect canola at this most fragile stage

  Canola is most fragile during the first 21 days after emergence. The small plants are highly susceptible to flea beetles, cutworms, seedling diseases, weed competition and various other threats. Scouting may be required every day for at-risk crops, especially if a threat such as flea beetles seems to be building. At a minimum get out to each field a couple times per week during this period.

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• Start scouting the day after a frost

  You can often tell the condition of a crop the day after a frost. It may have survived without any damage, in which case you may not have to worry. Or, if most of the plants are black and bent over, it may be clear that serious losses have occurred. But does that mean the field should be reseeded? The answer to that question is rarely so clear the day after a frost — which is why waiting 3-4 days can help.

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