In this issue (click the
bookmark links below to move to specific sections
of this report):
Seeding progress | Soil
moisture conditions | Soil
temperatures | Frost
| Seeding tips
| Weed growth
| Flea beetles |
Grasshoppers | Cutworms
| Wireworms | Field
Scouting
Canola seeding
advanced across many areas of western Canada
this past week, but remains highly variable.
Seeding in Manitoba ranges from just getting
started in the northwest up to over 50% in central
and eastern areas. Growers in northeastern Saskatchewan
are just getting started with canola, while
growers in the southwest near Swift Current,
are nearly finished. Southern Alberta is the
most advanced with up to 95% of the canola seeded
around Calgary, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat.
Seeding progress in central areas ranges from
25-30% in the St. Paul region to 60-70% complete
in the Barrhead, Wetaskiwin and St. Albert regions.
The Peace region also ranges from up to 80%
seeded near Dawson Creek to just getting started
in the north Peace near LaCrete. Seeding in
most areas is quite widespread, but delays across
the southern prairies are expected this week
due to a snowstorm.
Soil moisture conditions across western Canada range from poor to excellent. Many areas received and /or are receiving moisture this week, which will help improve seed germination. However, other areas such as western Saskatchewan (south of Hwy. 16) and east-central Alberta have poor surface moisture. Some seeding operations in southern Alberta and southwestern Manitoba were stalled waiting for precipitation, but should receive moisture with the current spring snow. Most other areas continue to have some surface moisture for crop germination, but windy conditions continue to remain a concern in many regions.
For current maps of moisture
conditions from PFRA for western Canada, check
the following link:
http://www.agr.gc.ca/pfra/drought/drprec7_e.htm
The latest crop report from
Manitoba Agriculture, Food & Rural Initiatives
is available at:
http://web2.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/mwcr/index.php
The latest crop report from Saskatchewan Agriculture, Food & Rural Revitalization is available at: http://www.agr.gov.sk.ca/docs/reports/crop_report/crprpt040510.asp
Additional moisture information
for Alberta is available from Alberta Environment
at:
http://www3.gov.ab.ca/env/water/WS/data/precipmaps/weekly.pdf
Soil temperatures have not improved across most areas this past week. Low daytime highs and frost on most nights have kept soil temperatures cool. Emergence of early seeded canola has been quite general in parts of southern Alberta and is beginning in other areas.
Frost has been noticed in many areas this past week, but damage to emerging canola has been slight. The amount of frost injury will depend on moisture conditions, rate at which thawing occurs, the growth stage of the plant, and the amount of cold temperature hardening the plant has experienced. A canola seedling will usually recover from a light spring frost that does not damage its growing point. A light frost that wilts the leaves, but does not cause any browning will not injure the plant. Some discoloration of the leaves may occur, usually a yellowing or whitening especially under drought conditions. Wait several days following the frost to determine the extent of the damage and whether or not the growing point has been killed. If there is any green colour at the growing point in the centre of the frozen leaf rosette, the plant will recover and yields will be higher than if the field is worked and reseeded. Under good growing conditions green re-growth from the growing point should occur in four to five days. Under poor growing conditions--cold and/or dry--this may take up to 10 days.
To evaluate a frost-damaged
field, walk a diagonal path across the field
and evaluate all plants in a 1/4 m2
(3 ft2) area every 20 paces. This
should result in 50 to 100 samples. Record your
observation from each sample. Calculate the
percentage of the field that has adequate plant
recovery. For example, let’s take a field
where 60% of the field has a minimum of 20 to
40 recovering healthy plants per m2
(2 to 4 per ft2) and a light weed
population, and the remainder of the field has
fewer plants (may even be none to spotty). This
field has a higher yield potential than one
that is reseeded, especially if it's the last
week of May or first week of June. With a moderate
weed population that cannot be controlled, the
plant stand should be 60 to 70 recovered plants/m2
(6 to 7 per ft2). The surviving plants
will take advantage of the reduced competition
for light, moisture and nutrients, and grow
larger, producing more branches, pods and seeds
per pod, compensating for the lost plants. The
surviving plants will require five to eight
days longer to mature, but a re-seeded crop
will require an even longer growing period and
have a greater risk of fall frost damage.
Remember, that a proper assessment of
frost damage cannot be made for several days--until
it can be determined whether new growth is appearing
from damaged plants.
Although seeding may be delayed in some areas due to cool and wet conditions, growers must continue to be careful during their seeding operations and not get caught up in ‘spring fever’. Take the time to properly calibrate your seeding equipment to apply the proper rates of seed and fertilizer, and set your seeding depth and speed in order to properly place the seed. Remember to ask yourself the question, "If you don’t have the time to do it right the first time, do you have the time to re-do it?"
Weed growth has continued to be slow in many areas due to the cool conditions. In some cases, growers are eliminating a pre-seeding burn off spraying operation due to the lack of obvious weed growth. Other areas, such as western Saskatchewan, southern and central Alberta and the western Peace region continue to notice more weed growth this past week, especially winter annuals and dandelion. The recent frosts have continued to hamper burn off spraying. Growers should check with their glyphosate supplier as to performance guarantees under these cool and frosty conditions. Growers are also reminded to get on their hands and knees to do a proper assessment of early and small emerging weeds. If they decide to eliminate the burn off treatment, it is especially important to do an early in-crop spray to eliminate early weed competition.
Flea
beetles have been noticed in many areas
of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, southern Alberta
and the Peace, although feeding to this point
has been limited to volunteer canola and winter
annuals. Refer to last week’s report for
further information on flea beetles;
http://www.canola-council.org/seed/canola-watch/watch-may5.shtml
There
have been questions regarding the impact of
the recent cold weather and snow on grasshoppers.
Grasshopper risk will not likely be affected
by this snow and cold due to the fact that the
pest species are mostly still in the egg stage.
Eggs are unlikely to be affected by cold and
wet conditions. Any grasshoppers emerging at
this time of the year are unlikely to be pest
species. For more background information on
grasshoppers, including identifying pest and
non-pest species, refer to the following website
from Dan Johnson at the University of Lethbridge;
http://people.uleth.ca/~dan.johnson/htm/forecast04.htm
Cutworms
continue to be noticed in some areas of southern
Alberta and in parts of B.C. Fields with a history
of cutworms are more at risk. Cutworms are known
to be particularly destructive to early season
plantings. Young larvae often cut plants off
at ground level. Dig around the affected plants
to find the culprit and note larvae size. Large
specimens (over 25 mm long) will soon stop feeding
and pupate and are also more difficult to kill.
If cutworms are still small, and numerous enough
to warrant control, apply one of the registered
insecticides. Apply surface treatments in the
evening, preferably under warm, moist conditions,
as cutworms are active at night and these treatments
will only control surface-feeding larvae. Do
not disturb the soil for five days after treatment.
Cutworm moth females lay eggs in areas of the
field with weeds, other vegetation, or heavy
residue, where soil moisture is high. Cutworms
are dull grey, brown, or black, and may be striped
or spotted. They are stout, soft-bodied and
smooth, and up to 1 1/4" (32 mm) long.
They curl up tightly when disturbed. Refer to
last week’s report for more information
on cutworms:
http://www.canola-council.org/seed/canola-watch/watch-may5.shtml
Wireworms
have also been noticed in southern Alberta.
Wireworms are slender, hard-bodied, wire-like
larvae that can damage young plants. They are
a yellowish-white to a coppery colour with three
pairs of small, thin legs behind the head. The
last body segment is flattened with a forked
or key-shaped notch. They range in size from
1/2 to 1-1/2" (13 to 38 mm) long. Wireworms
do more damage during cool, wet springs, when
they remain in the rooting zone of the crop
for a longer period of time. They cause damage
by cutting underground portions of the stem
and roots. There is no insecticide available
to treat for wireworm after the crop is planted.
Most wireworm species take two to five years
to complete their development with some life
cycles ranging from four to seven years. Since
larvae may damage several successive crops,
identify fields with wireworm problems now to
help with control for future crops. For more
information on wireworms, refer to the following
links:
http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/insects/fad28s00.html
http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/prm2509?opendocument
http://www.ext.nodak.edu/extpubs/plantsci/pests/e188-1.htm
Begin
scouting fields as soon as 10 days after
seeding to detect germination problems early.
Even if surface emergence is not noticed, scrape
back the soil and find the seeds. The condition
of the seeds can help determine the cause of
poor germination. Hard seeds are probably an
indication that conditions have been too dry,
and that more moisture is needed to facilitate
germination. However, if the seeds are soft,
it may indicate that seed decay is taking place.
If the seed coat is cracked, notice the structure
of the developing seedling. Seedling turgidity
is a function of the emerging hypocotyl remaining
rigid and having enough moisture to push through
the soil surface. The healthy emerging hypocotyl
will be firm and white in colour. If moisture
in the seeding zone runs out during emergence,
the hypocotyl will dry out and discolour, often
turning brown and wilted. This phenomenon is
common in areas where soil surface moisture
is dried out due to wind or lack of rainfall.
The result is patchy emergence. This phenomenon
is often misdiagnosed with the seedling diseases
complex such as damping off. Cool dry soil conditions
are often the main culprit for poor emergence
due to lack of seedling turgidity.
Any questions regarding this overall report
should be directed 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 Alberta,
moiseyd@canola-council.org,
780-645-3624
Christine Mardell, Agronomist,
Peace River Region,
mardellc@canola-council.org,
780-518-1513
Nancy Muchka-Dahl, Agronomist,
Southern Alberta,
muchkan@canola-council.org,,
403-625-3406
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 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; 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.