The canola crop is off to a rough start in parts of southern Manitoba.
"We're getting reports of canola not looking as good as what producers would like to see," says Anastasia Kubinec, oilseed specialist with Manitoba Agriculture.
There are a number of stressors affecting the young crop.
"There has been some wind damage, where we've had sandblasting on the stems of little canola," she says. "Also with the hot, dry conditions in the last couple days, canola is definitely stressed and showing signs of moisture stress at this point."
Seed treatments have lost their effectiveness with slow emergence on early-seeded fields.
"Canola that's been in the ground for close to a month is showing some seedling diseases, such as wirestem, where you get pinching off of the stem right below the soil surface due to pythium or rhizoctonia in the soil. That's due to your seed treatment wearing off," explains Kubinec.
"We're also seeing some flea beetle damage on plants, again because the seed treatment has run its course," she says.
Kubinec recommends growers scout their canola fields often.
"They need to start doing plant stand counts, maybe talk to their crop insurance agents about what the minimum is. They can also talk to their local Farm Production Advisor with MAFRI about plant stands and potential for yield," she says.
"With the really dry soil conditions, if they want to reseed canola, they're going to have to go pretty deep to hit moisture. If they have a decent enough plant stand, upwards of four to six plants per square foot, it might be best just to leave the stand at this point."
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