Welcome to the inaugural weekly crop report provided by the Canola Agronomy Network. The Canola Agronomy Network is a network of Canola Council of Canada agronomists, plus researchers, industry agronomists and government extension specialists. The goal is to provide in-season, just-in-time information to growers and industry with the aim of providing practical and timely information on canola production issues and challenges.
The crop reports are expected to continue for the balance of the growing season, to bring growers up to date with current canola crop conditions and specific challenges where action may be required by growers. Direct questions regarding this report to John Mayko, Agronomic Research & Extension Manager with the Canola Council of Canada at maykoj@canola-council.org or ph/fax: (780) 764-2593.
Growers are considerably more optimistic about crop potential than they were this time last year. The combination of generally warm temperatures over the past few weeks, combined with welcome moisture in most areas, have lead to this optimism.
Seeding is just getting underway. In the central and north-central areas of Manitoba, and southern areas of Saskatchewan, less than 1% of the canola area is seeded. Some areas in southern Alberta--around Vulcan and High River—have up to 10% of the canola acreage seeded. Seeding is limited in most other areas with fieldwork confined to soil testing, fertilizer application and other preparatory operations.
The bulk of the fieldwork in some areas is associated with harvesting the rest of last year’s crop. In Saskatchewan, approximately 150,000 acres of last year’s crop remains to be harvested this spring. Quality of the over-wintered crop varies widely with grades as good as Number 2 reported, but the majority appears to have over-wintered poorly. Considerable shattering is evident, as well as elevated damaged seed levels, which appear to replace the elevated green seed levels present last fall.
In addition, there are reports of insect contamination of the spring-harvested canola. These insects have been identified as the mould grain beetle and the foreign grain beetle, which prefer to feed on cracked kernels, damaged seed, or moldy seeds, but generally do not cause damage to mature, dry grain.
According to Scott Hartley, Entomologist with Saskatchewan Agriculture & Food, the best way to eliminate this type of beetle is by running the grain through a pneumatic conveyor (grain vac). The Crop Protection Guide lists the insecticides that can be used for binned crop, including Protect-It and Phostoxin/Gastoxin. Before using any of these insecticides, check with the product manufacturers for their latest label recommendations.
Although the quality of much of the spring-threshed crop appears to be poor at this point, most will likely find a home in the feed market. Get spring-threshed grain samples analyzed at a feed laboratory to determine the exact nutritional composition of the grain, as well as the presence of any adverse material such as molds and fungi. This will assist the grower and buyer in determining a fair value for the crop.
Most areas of western Canada received moisture as either rain or wet snow during the past week. The severest drought affected areas (East-Northeast Alberta, Northwestern Saskatchewan) received the least amount of precipitation (10-15 mm). But even these amounts improve the surface moisture conditions for seeding. Other areas have ample to excess soil moisture levels. High soil moisture levels causing delays in field work in areas of the west Peace River region and in some areas of Manitoba. Overall soil moisture conditions are rated as good to very good over most areas.
For a current map of moisture conditions from PFRA go to the following link: http://www.agr.gc.ca/pfra/drought/drprec4_e.htm.
Soil temperatures are generally favorable for this time of year. Soil temperatures are as low as 2-4° C in the west Peace (with ample moisture) to as high as 10-13° C in Manitoba’s Red River Valley. For most other areas, soil temperatures are intermediate, depending largely on the amount of soil moisture present.
The favorable temperatures have led to a fair amount of weed growth for this time of year, especially winter annuals and volunteer canola. As well, flea beetles have been noticed in fall-seeded canola research plots near Saskatoon, SK. Watch for flea beetle activity and be prepared to treat crops accordingly with either an extended control seed treatment or granular insecticide, or monitor the emerging crop closely for signs of damage.
Due to the last year’s extensive drought, many areas are experiencing an increase in soil testing activity with generally higher soil N levels appearing in many of these drought-affected fields. Soil test more than ever this year, due to the effects of the drought, the removal of crop biomass as silage or green feed last summer, and the higher prices for fertilizer this season.
Despite the cooler temperatures experienced since the precipitation over the past weekend, resume field operations and begin seeding as soon as possible.
The following link to the Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development site contains useful information regarding the influence of seeding date on crop yield http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/crop5758.