Wind blows out seeds and plants

After a windy week across most of the Prairies, top soil is dry and some canola seed and seedlings have been blown out of the ground.

If the field is not seeded: Growers still want to seed shallow, but may want to move closer to 1” deep if wind at seeding is likely to blow the topsoil off a shallower furrow. Direct seeding in this situation is preferable.

If the field is seeded: Wind sand-blasted off the growing point of some emerged seedlings this week. These seedlings will die. Wind has also blown the topsoil clear off some knolls, taking the seed with it, and the moving soil may have buried other seedlings. Wind-cleaned knolls will not have any crop, and if they account for a large percentage of the field, the grower will have to reseed those patches or leave them fallow. If reseeding, note that knoll tops always mature earlier and may catch up to the rest of the crop, especially if seeded to an earlier maturing variety.

Check the field closely. How much of the field is lost? Some seeds may still be in the soil, and for seedlings sheared off, there may be some later emerging seeds that could fill in the stand and provide reasonable yield potential. Yield may not be ideal but the potential is perhaps better than a reseeded crop.