Troy Prosofsky, CCC agronomy specialist in southern Alberta, is getting this question a lot. Southern Alberta often seeds canola about two weeks before everyone else on the Prairies, and by mid to late May growers are wondering whether to skip canola and plant barley instead. To answer the question whether it’s too late, consider the profit potential of the option …
Rotate herbicide-tolerant systems, limit seed-placed N
Issues of the week With warmer temperatures forecast and with very good soil moisture across most of the Prairies, this will be a busy week of seeding. Growers don’t need to rush. As long as they seize the advantage of these conditions by taking the time to ensure precise, shallow seed placement at an appropriate seeding rate, canola will get …
Calibrate the drill between seed lots
Canola thousand seed weight (TSW) can range from less than 3 grams up to 6 grams or more. This can have a dramatic effect on seeding rate.Click here to see a CCC video on the topic. To calculate an appropriate pound per acre seeding rate for each seed lot, use this formula: Seeding rate (lb./ac.) = [9.6 x desired plant …
Hit those cleavers early
Cleavers have emerged and are growing rapidly in scattered fields across the Prairies. Derwyn Hammond, CCC agronomist for Manitoba, says some are three inches tall already. “If growers wait until in crop to control those large cleavers, they’ll have trouble,” he says. Know the weed spectrum for each field before seeding. If cleavers and other weeds are large or the …
Rotate herbicide systems in tight rotations
Some growers are looking at tighter rotations for this year, seeding canola on fields that were in canola two years ago or, in some cases, last year. This is not a best practice for well-known reasons of disease build up and lower yields. In Manitoba, for example, canola on canola stubble yields 83% of the average canola yield for the …
Limit nitrogen in the seed row
Many growers strive to apply all their fertilizer during the seeding pass. This one-pass system is a good way to save fuel, minimize soil disturbance and maintain the integrity of the seed bed, but it does present challenges for seed and fertilizer separation. Putting all seed and fertilizer down a single-shoot opener presents a high risk of seedling injury and …
Suspected cutworm actually a cranefly larva
Here’s another example why proper pest identification is important. The “suspected” redbacked cutworms found in the Carrot River area last week turned out to be cranefly larvae, commonly called “leatherjackets.” They were the same size as cutworms but were at a more advanced stage than redbacked cutworms would be at this time of year. They didn’t curl into a ball …
What to do first, seed or control weeds?
Issues of the week With soggy conditions, seeding is at least a week away for many growers across the Prairies. That raises an important question: Should growers seed as soon as they can or control all those weeds first? Applying a pre-seed burnoff as soon as those already-emerged weeds resume active growth may be more important to a grower’s bottom …
Look closely to assess weed size and number
Lots of crop scouts say fields don’t appear to be “greening up” that much with weeds, but once you get out and scout closely there are lots of annuals emerging, and some perennials and winter annuals are more advanced than expected. Erin Brock, CCC agronomist for the Peace region, took these photos (see below) this week. At first glance from …
Should growers control weeds first, then seed?
That’s a tough decision. We’re heading into the ideal time for seeding canola based on past research and crop insurance data. Manitoba crop insurance numbers show that canola seeded the first two weeks of May typically yields the highest. The table below, taken from the Canola Council of Canada factsheet Seeding canola: The ideal timing, shows the yield and quality benefits from …