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| Archive |
Crop Production Update |
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| Oct 13, 2009 Issue Number: 19 |
| Weekly Report: |
Canola
Around 70-80% of the canola crop in the province has been combined. The majority of the canola remaining in the field is where seeding occurred in the middle portion of June, due to excess moisture or re-seeding due to the early June frost event. As combing the remaining swaths, special attention is needed to the quality of the seed coming off, watching for levels of green and moisture.
As canola is stored, it is important to stay aware of the moisture and temperature of the seed in the bin. Seeds can be conditioned using aeration or natural-air drying to ensure safe storage. Under Manitoba conditions, canola can be stored for long periods of time at moisture levels of 8 to 9% if seed temperatures are below 20°C. For more information visit Canadian Grains Commission website for article at http://www.grainscanada.gc.ca/storage-entrepose/jmills/shsap-depae-2-eng.htm.
Flax
Flax harvest is around 40-50% complete in the province with early report of good quality and good yields (20 – 40 bu/acre). An issue that has arisen in a number of fields is the straw remaining green even though bolls are dry. More time combined with drier conditions, desiccation or a swathing operation may required before the crop can successfully put through the combine.
Sunflowers
The majority of sunflower crop in the province is drying down (R8) or dried down (R9), depending on if a hard frost has occurred.
The main concern in sunflowers now is poor harvest weather, disease and blackbirds. A number of fields are showing signs of sclerotinia head rot causing seeds to drop out, and browning/blacking of the stems (phoma, phomopsis) which can lead to lodging. With no fungicide treatment available in sunflower for these diseases, the importance of maintaining a 3 or 4 year rotation between sunflowers with non host crops has become evident.
Potatoes
Overnight low air temperatures in most potato production areas have been significantly below freezing most nights since last Thursday night. Manitoba Agriculture, Food & Rural Initiatives has soil temperature monitoring sensors at the 2 inch (5 cm) depth in the Manitoba Ag Networks Weather Station Sites. To date no soil temperature below zero has been recorded at any of the Manitoba Ag Networks Weather Station Sites in potato production areas. The soil temperature data can be found at http://tgs.gov.mb.ca/climate/SoilMoisture.aspx . Preliminary estimates are between 3,000 and 4,000 acres of potatoes in the field and that approximately 95% of the provincial potato acres have been harvested.
Due to the cool temperatures at which some processing potatoes were harvested over the past week there are expected to be challenges with fry colours of some of the processing potatoes harvested this year. The overnight low air temperatures recorded overnight Monday ranged from 10o F (-12o C) to 19oF (-7o C). Producers who will still be digging potatoes are reminded to dig after pulp temperatures are over 41oF (5o C) so as to decrease the amount of shatter bruising. Store frozen potatoes separately and run the ventilation continuously without adding in humidity. It is recommended, if practical, to add heat into the potato pile so as to decrease the amount of moisture in the storage and reduce potential issues with rot. Where practical, consider pre conditioning process potatoes in the bin to burn off sugars when rot issues have stabilized in the storage. The process of pre-conditioning needs to be conducted at relatively warm temperatures (approximately 60o F (15.5o C)). Producers need to know the types and the percentages of rots found in their storages to make an informed decision on when to begin warming the potatoes. Monitor fry colour and sugar levels to determine when to “ramp” the storage temperature down to a normal range.
No additional cases of late blight were found in samples sent in to the Crop Diagnostic Lab last week. Correct identification of late blight is critical to properly managing the disease and potatoes in storage. If you have samples that you are concerned about, please send them off for proper identification to the Crop Diagnostic Lab on the University of Manitoba campus (545 University Crescent, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 5S6). Contact MAFRI staff to assist in disease identification and to facilitate delivery of samples to the lab.
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| Other Seasonal Reports |
Prepared by Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives, Crops Knowledge Centre, Industry Focus Section
Phone: (204) 745-5663
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