Early season hail rarely has an impact on canola yield potential because hailed seedlings usually survive. Delayed maturity may result.
How to count plants (and reasons for low numbers)
Plant counts help quantify the success of canola plant establishment in each field. If counts are less than expected, the article also lists common causes.
Seedling survival in waterlogged fields
Wet soils cause an oxygen deficiency, which reduces root respiration and growth. Root failure reduces nutrient uptake, and plants will eventually die unless drowned areas dry out quickly. A few days in waterlogged soil can be enough to kill young canola plants.
Should I reseed wind-damaged canola?
When growers have canola stands of fewer than four plants per square foot — due to low seeding rates, poor emergence, insects*, crusting, frost, wind, etc. — they grapple with the question whether to reseed.
Do I bother with canola plant counts?
Plant counts can influence management decisions for the current crop (if counts are low, you’ll need to protect all of those plants) and for next year’s seeding rate and plant protection decisions. Plant counts are an important part of the checklist for your post-emergence assessments.
Look for seedling diseases and other emergence issues
Got canola emergence issues? Little canola plants are vulnerable to many different risk factors, including seedling diseases. Seed treatments are usually very good at managing the common seedling disease pathogens of canola, however seed, seedling and root rots can flare up under the right circumstances. Here are details about the three pathogens in the canola seedling disease complex, and the factors that tend to favour each of them.
Broadcast seeding tips
In late springs with wet conditions, broadcast seeding may be the only way to get the job done. In some cases, broadcast seeding may actually provide better seed placement than “mudding in” seed with a drill.
Use the calculator BEFORE seeding and AFTER emergence
At around the two- to four-leaf stage, do plants counts for each field to see what percentage of seeds emerged to form plants. This will answer the important question: Did you achieve your target plant population?
Seeding depth. How far to chase moisture?
The same wind that makes it a challenge to spray also dries out the top layer of soil. Should this dry layer of topsoil mean a change in seeding depth?
How to help canola mature faster?
Canola seeded in late May and early June will have lower yield potential than canola seeded in early May, and it may run into challenges with timely harvest while farmers wait for the crop to mature. Here are some considerations for late-seeded canola and some tips to help canola mature faster.