Soil
moisture conditions
across much of Manitoba
and Alberta remain good
to excellent for crop development,
but dry pockets remain near
Swan River and Souris, Manitoba
and near Pincher Creek and
High Level, Alberta. Heavy
rains have caused flooding
near Morris, south of Winnipeg.
Dry conditions are spreading
throughout much of southern
Saskatchewan and have been
exacerbated by recent high
temperatures and low precipitation.
Soil moisture in northwest
Saskatchewan remains poor,
with some areas very poor
depending on the amount
of rain received from scattered
showers throughout the area.
For current PFRA maps of
moisture conditions, check
these Web pages:
http://www.agr.gc.ca/pfra/drought/drprec4_e.htm
http://www.agr.gc.ca/pfra/drought/drprecw_e.htm
http://www.agr.gc.ca/pfra/drought/prgrowing_e.htm
Additional
moisture information for
Alberta is available from
Alberta Environment at:
http://www3.gov.ab.ca/env/water/WS/data/precipmaps/weekly.pdf
The latest
crop report from Saskatchewan
Agriculture, Food &
Rural Revitalization is
available at:
http://www.agr.gov.sk.ca/docs/reports/crop_report/crprpt030622.asp?
firstPick=Reports&secondPick=Crop%20Report
Crop development has been steady over most areas again this past week with some fields approaching 50% bloom in east-central Manitoba. Early seeded crops are blooming in most other areas. Later seeded crop are in the full rosette-bolting stage. Warm weather across most regions accelerated crop development. Some bud and flower blasting due to the high (30+oC) temperatures has occurred in parts of Manitoba, but crop damage has been tempered by the high humidity.
Weed spraying is wrapping up in most regions with only second pass herbicides being applied to later seeded fields or in regions that experienced delays due to high winds.
Reports of odd-looking plants have been reported in scattered fields across Alberta. Similar symptoms were reported in fields last year, which were designated as being affected by a fastidious prokaryotic agent (FPA). These symptoms have been found in a number of different varieties and different herbicide-tolerant systems. The symptoms of FPA in canola can be confused with Group 2 herbicide injury. Cotyledons and leaf tissue can be purple in colour. This is the only similarity between FPA symptoms and Group 2 herbicide injury. Plant symptoms include callus-like tissue in the growing points, unusually large cotyledons or brittle, rubbery plant tissue. Initial investigations last year indicated that the causal agent might be a phytoplasma, spread by leafhoppers, similar to the cause of aster yellows. Initial diagnoses of affected plants indicated that the phytoplasma is not present this year, therefore, the cause of this year’s affected plants is unknown at this time. Check these Web pages for images of affected plants and for further background information:
FPA
brittle callus tissue
FPA
cotyledons & prolific
growing point cell cluster
FPA
growing point damage
FPA
multiple branching brittle
cotyledons
FPA
multi-branching no group
2 history
FPA
background information
(pdf—May
require downloading Acrobat
reader. Click here
to download)
We encourage anyone who sees similarly affected plants during field scouting to please contact your local Canola Council of Canada regional agronomist (listed at the end of this report) so that we can monitor the incidence and extent of this damage.
Grasshoppers continue to cause damage in western Manitoba, northern Saskatchewan and eastern
and north-central Alberta. Damage is also occurring in areas outside the high risk areas outlined in earlier
grasshopper forecast maps for 2006:
http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/prm10642
Growers
must continue to be vigilant
in their scouting for grasshoppers,
especially in areas of moderate
and high risk. Additional
information on scouting
and identifying pest species
of grasshopper and thresholds
was discussed in two previous
crop reports:
http://www.canola-council.org/seed/canola-watch/watch-jun4.shtml
http://www.canola-council.org/seed/canola-watch/watch-may28.shtml
Cutworms
continue to be a problem
in many parts of northern
Alberta and Saskatchewan.
In most areas, the cutworms
are approaching the later
larval stages (30-38 mm
in length) or have already
pupated but in some areas,
the cooler than normal weather
has slowed their development
to some degree. Spraying
of insecticides at the late
stages is generally not
recommended since many cutworms
may have already pupated
and crop growth may limit
the amount of insecticide
that will reach the soil
surface. Check the May 22
crop report for a discussion
on cutworms:
http://www.canola-council.org/seed/canola-watch/watch-may22.shtml
More information on cutworms
is available on this MAF
page:
http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/insects/fad06s00.html
Beet
webworm moths continue
to be noticed again this
past week in many areas
of Alberta and western and
northern Saskatchewan, but
the numbers are generally
lower than those noticed
in past weeks. Scout for
the eggs (laid by the moths)
on the undersides of leaves
of preferred plant species
such as lamb’s-quarters,
and on canola. Beet webworm
larvae have been noticed
in fields in central and
northwestern Saskatchewan.
For more information and
images of the moth and larvae,
visit these Web pages:
http://vc55moths.topcities.com/imagearchive/pyralid/loxostegesticticalis.htm
http://www.canola-council.org/images_insects.html
Diamondback moths continue to be caught in moth traps throughout western Canada. Currently, no areas are considered to be at great risk from this pest, but the numbers have been increasing in some areas. This situation is subject to change if trap counts spike higher in the future.
Economic
damage from diamondback
moths occurs primarily in
podded canola. For more
information on diamondback
moth including scouting
and thresholds, visit these
web pages:
http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/insects/fad07s00.html
Cabbage seedpod weevils continue to be found in parts of southern Alberta.
Lygus
bugs continue to be
found in northwestern Saskatchewan
and Alberta, especially
where first cut alfalfa
is occurring. Recent work
conducted by Jim Jones,
formerly with Alberta Agriculture,
indicates that lygus control
at early crop stages is
usually unwarranted and
early lygus feeding, in
fact, increases crop robustness.
For more information on
that work, visit the ACPC
website:
http://www.canola.ab.ca/acpc/lygus.shtml
The specific protocols involved
in sweeping for insects
as well as action thresholds
were discussed in last weeks’
crop report:
http://www.canola-council.org/seed/canola-watch/watch-jun25.shtml
Red
turnip beetles continue
to be found in central Alberta
east of Lacombe and in the
Peace region between Girouxville
and Debolt. Further information
on their identification
and control was discussed
in the June 18 crop report:
http://www.canola-council.org/seed/canola-watch/watch-jun18.shtml
A trapping program to
detect bertha armyworm
moths across western
Canada continues this year.
High numbers are being noticed
in southwestern Manitoba,
especially near Melita and
Pierson. These high counts
may indicate the potential
for worm damage at later
crop stages.
Spraying for sclerotinia continues in central and eastern Manitoba. Apothecia have been observed in last year’s canola fields. The higher soil moisture levels experienced in many other areas, such as central Alberta, may put growers at a higher risk of yield losses from sclerotinia compared to previous years. Soil moisture and weather conditions over the next week will be critical as the crop progresses through the 20% bloom stage in many areas.
Rob Park from Manitoba Agriculture also offers these comments on sclerotinia control. "This year we've had dry soil surface conditions up until just recently and with this last rain we'll likely have a moist soil surface for seven days or more, especially where the crop canopy is dense. This applies to not only canola but cereal fields that have a history of canola. We also have a large number of canola acres that are presently at the 20-30 % bloom stage. In seven to 10 days, some of these fields will be well past the 50% bloom stage when spores are released. Spores need to land on the petals as a food source and the petals need to fall on the plant so that as the spores germinate they can infect the plant. It takes about 10 days of prolonged soil moisture (not crop canopy moisture) to produce apothecia. Some disease control products can last for three weeks in the plant and the spores that the apothecia produce can survive up to three weeks. Spraying right after a rain can waste 10 of those 21 days of protection. If growers delay spraying for a week after a good rain and the soil stays moist, they can gain an additional seven days of protection. Don't forget that the optimum timing is from the 20-50% flowering stage on the main stem. Proper timing may leave enough disease control to protect some of the branches that flower later."
Direct
overall questions regarding
this report to John Mayko,
Agronomic Research &
Extension Manager with the
Canola Council of Canada
at maykoj@canola-council.org
ph/fax:780-764-2593.
For specific questions regarding regional issues associated with this report, please consult one of the following Canola Council of Canada regional agronomists or provincial oilseed specialists;
Derwyn Hammond, Agronomist,
Manitoba, hammondd@canola-council.org,
204-729-9011
Rob Park, Manitoba Agriculture
& Food, rpark@gov.mb.ca,
204-745-5665
David Vanthuyne, Agronomist,
Eastern Saskatchewan, vanthuyd@canola-council.org,
306-782-7799
David Blais, Agronomist, Western
Saskatchewan, blaisd@canola-council.org,
306-895-2122
Jim Bessel, Senior Agronomist,
Northeastern Saskatchewan,
besselj@canola-council.org,
306-373-6771
Bill Greuel, Saskatchewan
Agriculture, Food & Rural
Revitalization, wgreuel@agr.gov.sk.ca,
306-787-2756
Doug Moisey, Agronomist, Central
& Southern Alberta, moiseyd@canola-council.org,
403-553-2829
Christine Mardell, Agronomist,
Peace River Region, mardellc@canola-council.org,
780-518-1513
Murray Hartman, Alberta Agriculture,
Food & Rural Development,
murray.hartman@gov.ab.ca,
403-782-8024
Kerry Clark, BC Ministry of
Agriculture, Food & Fisheries,
Kerry.Clark@gems9.gov.bc.ca,
250-787-3213
The Canola Crop Watch Report provides just-in-time information on canola production to growers and industry. Contributors to the Canola Agronomy Network are:
Manitoba Agriculture & Food, Manitoba Canola Growers Association, Agricore United, Cargill, James Richardson International, Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, United Farmers of Alberta, Saskatchewan Agriculture, Food & Rural Revitalization, Saskatchewan Canola Growers Association, Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission, Alberta Agriculture, Food & Rural Development, Alberta Canola Producers Commission, BC Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Fisheries, and the Canola Council of Canada