Must canola cure 2-3 weeks?

The question is, how soon is too soon to combine after swathing? There is not set length of time that canola must stay in the swath before combining. If moisture is below 10% and green is below 2%, go combining. Two to three weeks of curing is just an estimate.

Fast curing often increases the risk of green seed getting trapped as moisture drops faster than green-clearing enzymes can do their job. But if green counts and moisture levels are both low, the canola is considered cured and combining can begin.

The bigger question in this case will be whether the plant biomass and any weeds in the windrow have dried down enough for efficient harvest speed. The seed may be ready, but the plants may not be.

In this case, you may want to harvest anyway, but keep in mind that heavy green material can bunch up on sieves and increase harvest losses. Don’t push the combine too hard. Measure how much seed is being thrown over. To learn how, read the article “Earn an extra $1,920 per quarter” in this issue.

Green plant materials, and any dockage for that matter, that ends up in the sample can also increase the storage risk. Plant material has a different mass than grain, the often tends to bunch up at the sides of the bin, creating potential hot spots.