Saskatchewan Crop Development Normal But Rain Needed to Avoid Crop Damage

Saskatchewan Agriculture reports crop development is progressing for the most part relatively normal but some areas will need rain to avoid serious damage.
Saskatchewan Agriculture released its weekly crop report Thursday.Kim Stonehouse, a Crops Extension Specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture says, with spring planting now complete, regions that did not receive significant amounts of precipitation will need rain soon to avoid serious crop damage.

Quote-Kim Stonehouse-Saskatchewan Agriculture:

We did see some rain across the province last week.It was mainly concentrated in the southeast and the east central regions.That's where the highest amounts fell.There was a significant amount that fell in the northeast too that was very welcome.Areas around Calder received around 36 millimeters so that was a significant amount, Stockholm area, around 35 millimeters and Rocanville was around 34.

With the sporadic rain though across the province, moisture conditions overall remain similar to the levels we had seen from the week previous.Cropland topsoil moisture is rated right now at about two percent surplus, 44 percent adequate, 42 percent short, 12 percent very short.Crop development is progressing for the most part relatively normal although in drier areas it tends to push the plant a little bit ahead because it doesn't have enough moisture to maintain the vegetative state so it wants to go to seed right away.

Crop damage that we've been seeing is mostly from dry conditions, heat and wind and most of that is minor to moderate however there are some areas in the province that have reported increased crop damage from the wind and the dry conditions.Last week there was another factor that caused some damage, there was frost in some areas.Most of the province actually some frost last week at some point.

Stonehouse says flea beetles, grasshoppers, cutworms and pea leaf weevil have been reported throughout many regions with some areas reporting minor to moderate crop damage.He says, as producers have mostly wrapped up seeding, they are moving on to applying in-crop herbicides and they'll be monitoring for insects and environmental damage.