While the general Saskatchewan crop insurance deadline to have crops seeded is June 20, the actual date for canola differs by rural municipality and by variety. For example, at R.M. 459 around Melfort, the deadline for one canola hybrid is June 7 while the deadline for another is June 9. This information is not available on the SCIC website, so …
Take a plant stand count
While scouting for disease and insects, take time to assess the stand. If the stand is spotty and thin, be more conservative with thresholds when protecting the crop from insects, diseases and weed competition. Also, recording the average number of plants per square foot will help growers improve seeding methods for 2011. Stands of less than 4 or 5 …
Tips to help canola mature faster
When assessing how late is too late to seed Argentine canola, start with the average date of the first fall frost. Here are maps showing average dates for first fall frost in each province: Alberta Saskatchewan Manitoba Most fall frosts occur within two weeks either side of the average date for your area. Next, look at days to maturity for the …
Volunteer canola is a high-risk crop
With high emergence rates of volunteer canola, some growers with many acres still to seed may be tempted to leave these volunteer “crops” to maturity. Volunteer canola is not a hybrid anymore, so yield potential of each individual seed is lower and not all plants will have herbicide tolerance. And with distribution concentrated in the windrows, the stand is not …
If growers must broadcast seed…
Broadcast seeding usually results in lower yields compared to drill seeding. But when wet conditions limit equipment flotation and when time is running out to get the crop in, growers may wish to consider broadcast seeding. Here are some tips: 1. Increase seeding rates slightly to compensate for non-uniform seed depth. 2. Consider lightly cultivating (two to four cm) or …
When is too late to seed canola?
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Tempted to seed early? Think frost
Warm soil temperatures and decent soil moisture in most regions will mean rapid emergence. Seed put in the ground today could be up in seven to 10 days. (The graph below shows the connection between soil temperature and faster more even emergence.) Frost damage risk for these early crops is higher, especially if the plants have not been hardened off …