harvest management
The following articles are categorized as 'harvest management'
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Do you have time for high-green canola to cure?
Growers waiting for green seed levels to drop before combining should weigh the risks. The best bet may be to harvest the crop now to maintain the yield and quality that’s there, and start looking for buyers.
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Why is desiccated canola not drying down?
If canola is not drying down after a Reglone application, the following may provide some insight as to why…
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Spread residue evenly in fields planned for canola in 2012
Good canola stand establishment, especially in direct seeding situations, starts with straw and chaff management for the previous crop. Spreading residue evenly across the field is critical.
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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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Harvest tips for high green canola
A lot of canola hit by frost or swathed in the heat is now stuck with high green counts. Every field is different, so there is no one best answer. Here are a few questions to ask and sample scenarios to consider before making the decision to combine now or give the crop more time.
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Straight combining canola hit by frost
Experienced straight combiners often want a frost to desiccate the crop and whatever weed patches might be present before they start harvest. If the crop is mature, the frost should not hurt quality at all. If frost hits before the crop is fully matured, swathing may give the crop time to cure and rescue more yield in the process. Check for major frost damage to pods before making this decision.
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Before frost: Leave immature canola standing
If the forecast is for frost tonight, growers will not see much benefit to swathing today if canola is still green. With a light frost, crop left standing will still have a chance to mature further. A heavy frost will lock in high green counts unless the crop has adequate dry down time to achieve a seed moisture of 20% or less.
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Seed may be mature but not brown
This time of year, mature canola seeds can take a long time to turn brown or black. Growers wondering why seed color change is taking so long may want to check the fields again and look for these other signs of maturity: All seeds are firm to roll. White/yellow banding. No skin peeling.
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How much green will you have?
Many canola fields that were swathed too early or during hot weather or both will have dried down without sufficient enzyme breakdown of seed chlorophyll, resulting in a high green count. Fields that are dry (less than 10% moisture) and still have 5% green are unlikely to see that green count drop much, unless canola seed moisture rises back up above 20% to allow green-clearing enzymes to restart.
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What to do after heavy/light frost
Did you have frost last night? Growers with standing canola are wondering whether to swath right away. Before making that decision, note the temperature and duration of the frost.
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