Deciding when to swath canola is never an easy decision.
Angela Brackenreed, agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada, says even if producers have been growing canola for a long period of time, the decision of when to start cutting can be difficult.
"What you want to be looking for is that seed colour change on the main stem. Ideally if you could target 60 - 70% seed colour change," she said.
Brackenreed advises producers to find the main stem and then divide it into thirds. She says the bottom third should be totally brown or black, the middle section should be partially turned and a tannish brown colour, while the top third should be green but firm.
"It never gets easy, particularly when you have a lot of variability or low plant population that lead to a lot of branching," she said. "So simply you need to target your swathing to where the majority of the yield is. This is the only time I recommend scouting from your truck."
She notes scouting from the truck gives you a better overall view of the entire field.
Source: PortageOnline