High temperatures, strong winds, and lack of widespread rainfall has continued to stress Manitoba crops, according to the latest weekly crop report on Tuesday.
Many crops are maturing faster than normal and moving into reproductive stages faster than expected due to drought stress. Meanwhile, fungicide applications on cereals and canola are unlikely to occur on many fields, given the forecast and lower expected yield potential, the report added.
Southwest:
Normal daytime highs arrived this week, as temperatures ranged from 28 to 30 degrees C but nighttime lows were cooler, dropping to 2 to 6°C. Average daily temperatures were 17 C over most of the previous week. Crop growth has improved significantly, but lack of moisture hindering the yield potential in most of crops. Thunderstorm systems brought some rain to the Southwest over the past week and on the weekend. Melita, Reston, and Boissevain had 25 to 30 mm rain with less falling further north. Pocket areas close to Rapid City got 40 to 50 mm of rain on the weekend.
Many districts can use more moisture, as crops are progressing rapidly, using up all available moisture. All crops are shorter than normal, and majority of crops have suffered from dry and cold conditions in early spring, sometimes frost and in many cases, insect pressure. Patchy germination is evident in all crops; most crops are stagey. Early seeded cereal crops are starting to head, and in most cases are shorter than normal. Dry conditions and heat affected tiller development and overall yield. Later-seeded cereals are in the flag leaf stage. Little to no fungicide application is occurring, as conditions right now are not favorable to disease. Overall 40% of wheat crops are rated excellent, 40% rated good, and 10% of cereals are in poor conditions due to dry weather conditions in the southwest.
Northwest:
There were scattered isolated showers through the Northwest region last week. With the exception of pockets in the region, as well as Roblin and The Pas areas where 13mm fell, there were no significant accumulations. Daytime temperatures were over 25°C, however nighttime temperatures were cool and dropped to single digits. Strong winds continued to be an issue through this week, causing stress and damage to crops, blowing fields and posing challenges to pesticide applications. Soil moisture conditions have deteriorated further this week and are a continued concern.
Spring cereals across the region are mostly in the flag leaf stage with heads emerging in the earlier seeded fields. Cereals are rated at 80% in good condition, as they have been better able to withstand the challenging spring conditions. Yield potential of the cereal crop is still positive. Winter wheat and fall rye are heading out in the Roblin area. There are winter wheat fields in the Dauphin area already starting to turn colour. The pea crop is starting to flower and it is shorter than average due to dry conditions, but crop density remains high. The forecasted extreme heat during flowering is a potential issue. Canola across the region is in various stages and generally is in poor to fair condition as it is showing the effects of insect feeding, dry conditions, spring frost and wind.
Central:
Southwesterly winds prevailed early in the week shifting north, cooling temperatures. Some thundershower activity on the weekend in the region. Precipitation was light on Saturday but moderate on Sunday bringing up to 18 mm in areas along and west of the escarpment. Much of the eastern portion of the region and north of the TransCanada Highway received little to no rain. Topsoil moisture is poor to good at the moment with more rain needed to replenish soil moisture in many areas of the region, as crops are growing and evapotranspiration increasing. Sunny and warming temperatures are in the forecast this week, which should stimulate crop and forage growth where moisture is adequate but will add stress to crops in areas with poorer soil moisture.
Winter cereals and perennial ryegrass fields are advancing in development. Fall rye and winter wheat fields are mostly done flowering and grain filling is evident. Wheat, oats and barley are growing well west of the escarpment where moisture conditions are more favourable than in the Red River Valley. Many cereal fields are short this year where soil moisture is poor. Development varies from the boot stage to flowering. Herbicide applications are considered done in cereals. Some fungicide applications have occurred to protect against fusarium head blight (FHB) in areas where moisture conditions are favourable and the crop is growing well. Growers facing drier conditions are hesitant to apply fungicide protectant against FHB.
Eastern:
Rainfall recorded at the Eastern weather stations ranged from zero to 16 mm across the region. A number of isolated rainstorms that passed through the region that yielded anywhere from 10 to over 30 mm of precipitation in localized areas. Areas in the southeastern parts of the region received more rain. Daytime and nighttime temperatures were above seasonal norms during the reporting period. Last week, moisture deficit stress on annual crops started to be observed in areas of the northern districts where subsoils are known to have low water holding capacity. All producers would welcome an inch or more of rain. Many farmers are concerned about the current high temperatures as cereals are in the midst of flowering and especially as canola begins to flower.
Crop development is moving at a rapid pace, being forced by high temperatures. Winter wheat flowering is ending and fall rye has begun to head fill. Spring cereals are at early head emergence to flowering. Corn is at the V6 to V8 stage. Field pea crops are at 10% flowering stage with very low disease levels in the upper and lower canopy. Sunflowers are at the V7 to V9 stage. Canola is at 4-leaf to rosette stage on reseeded acres and at the bolt stage to early flowering on original seeded acres, with the odd field very close to fungicide timing at 20% bloom.
Interlake:
Limited crop report data available for the Interlake region for the week of June 16 to 22. Winter cereals are fully headed out, while about some spring wheat is just starting to head and flower, the balance is still jointing. Wheat, barley, and oats are rated as 70% good to 25% fair. Peas are flowering, with good crop stands, though shorter than normal. Pea fields are 15% excellent to 80% good, 5% fair. Canola crops have improved somewhat, starting to cabbage over and beginning to bolt. Canola has improved to 65% good, the remainder fair. Soybean fields now have visible rows end-to-end, and the earliest crops are beginning to flower.
Most crops are V2 to V3. Flax crops are more uneven, and stands thinner due to water and temperature stresses. Sunflowers are shorter than normal, reaching the 8-leaf pair (V8) stage. Cornfields have improved and progressing well, but some fields look noticeably drought-stressed with spindly, rolled leaves. Crop conditions improve moving south in the region, where greater rainfall has improved crop growth. Patchy or uneven crops noticeable throughout the region.
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