Yield drops after 2-3 days in standing water

Parts of Manitoba and southeast Saskatchewan have fields with standing water after receiving up to 5” of rain in the past week.

Canola is quite susceptible to water logging and shows a yield reduction after only 2-3 days in excessive moisture. Wet soils cause an oxygen deficiency, which reduces root respiration and growth. Root failure reduces nutrient uptake, and plants will eventually die unless drowned areas dry out quickly.

Wet conditions also increase soil nitrogen losses. Wait to see how the crop recovers from saturated soils before investing any more in fertilizer. Don’t do anything while soils are still wet. Roots cannot take up nutrient when soils are saturated. Applying nutrient direct to leaves doesn’t help. Most foliar-applied nitrogen is washed off and then goes into the root zone. Uptake through the leaves is minimal.

Reseeding: If only a small percentage of the field is lost, reseeding may not pay off — especially if that small percentage includes a bunch of pot holes all across the field. Help for the reseeding decision.

Further reading:

Waterlogging and what it does to canola