Consider herbicide residue before switching canola fields

Growers switching crop plans this spring should consider their herbicide use last year, especially last fall, before seeding canola on any fields not originally planned for canola. Click here for a link to herbicide carryover considerations.

Wet soil conditions can create unexpected herbicide carryover. With the lack of oxygen in saturated soils, herbicides that rely on aerobic (oxygen loving) bacteria for breakdown may not have broken down as effectively as expected. In some severe cases, breakdown may be as limited as under drought conditions.

Check with the manufacturer of residual herbicides used in past seasons and ask whether they are comfortable with canola as a follow crop when field conditions have been saturated.