Four the week

This was taken 4 hours after a minus 7°C frost. Green pods are already turning white and popping open.
This was taken 4 hours after a minus 7°C frost. Green pods are already turning white and popping open.

Swathing after frost. After heavy frost, swathing may be necessary to preserve yield. After light frost, leave the crop standing but check again after a couple days to make sure damage isn’t worse than expected.

Green scheme. Early swathing, especially in hot fast-curing conditions, can lock in high green counts. Wait until 60% seed colour change on the main stem if you can. Swath at night if necessary.

Clublegtinia. No, we have not found a combo disease of clubroot, blackleg and sclerotinia stem rot, but all three can be found in canola fields this harvest. Now is a good time to assess your 2014 disease situation.

They’re baaaack! Flea beetles are hopping around canola pods. They won’t be doing much damage — certainly not economic levels — but they make growers twitchy just the same.