The Canadian Grain Commission has a colour guide for elevator graders to follow. Distinctly green is a dark green throughout the whole seed. Light green or greenish yellow seeds – sometimes called ‘limes’ – are not distinctly green and are not included in the green total.
Green seed: What to do about it?
Most green seed issues result when heavy frost hits canola before the seeds mature. This permanently stops the chlorophyll-clearing process and locks in green. Nothing can be done to reduce this green. Drying can shrivel up green immature seeds, which might seem to have a benefit, but it does not reduce the green in mature seed. With high-green canola, farmers will want to…
Questions about handling high-moisture canola
What moisture level is too high to combine canola?
How to prepare to handle high-moisture canola?
How long can you store damp canola (>12.5% moisture)?
How to reduce storage risk for high-moisture canola?
How to add supplemental heat?
How to estimate airflow rate (cfm/bu) through a bin?
High green. Will it clear?
Canola that still has a lot of green seed might not de-green that much further. Green may have been locked in by frost and if more de-greening was possible, it probably should have happened already with the moisture over the past two weeks. When good harvest opportunities arise, the best bet at this stage of the season is probably to get that canola in the bin.
Delayed harvest and residue management
Getting crop in the bin is a bigger issue than residue management right now. Residue will be a factor in harvest because standing canola downed by snow will have to be combined close to the ground. That means more residue to churn through the combine and less residue to hold snow. Tough residue won’t chop and spread that well either. But that’s just the way it is. Deal with residue later.
Still lots of green? It might not clear
Canola that still has a lot of green seed might not de-green that much further. Green may have been locked in by frost and if more de-greening was possible, it probably should have happened already with the moisture over the past two weeks. When good harvest opportunities arise, the best bet at this stage of the season is probably to get that canola in the bin.
Harvest aids don’t work in cool conditions
Farmers are asking if there’s anything they can apply to get harvest moving. The answer is no, nothing that comes from a bottle. A return to warm, dry conditions will get harvest progressing again.
Canola Watch quiz – Aeration fans
Three quick questions to help you determine if your aeration fans can do the job.
Storage: When to turn on the fan?
Aeration fans should be started as soon as the canola covers the floor of the bin, so that immediate cooling can take place. Fans must be operated continuously until the temperature of the canola is near the average outside temperature.
Swath timing considerations for mid September
The ideal swath timing for top yield is when average seed colour change across the field is at least 60% on the main stem. But canola growers may want to reassess that approach based on the following considerations.