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Growers waiting for green seed levels to drop before combining should weigh the risks. The best bet may be to harvest the crop now to maintain the yield and quality that’s there, and start looking for buyers…
Green canola
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A lot of canola hit by frost or swathed in the heat is now stuck with high green counts. Every field is different, so there is no one best answer. Here are a few questions to ask and sample scenarios to consider before making the decision to combine now or give the crop more time…
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Many canola fields that were swathed too early or during hot weather or both will have dried down without sufficient enzyme breakdown of seed chlorophyll, resulting in a high green count. Fields that are dry (less than 10% moisture) and still have 5% green are unlikely to see that green count drop much, unless canola seed moisture rises back up…
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Some elevators are reporting higher green seed counts. Swathing too early and swathing in hot and windy conditions are contributing factors in many cases. Cutting canola in hot conditions leads to rapid dry down and desiccation, which doesn’t give chlorophyll time to clear from immature seed. Waiting until less mature seed is at least firm to roll between thumb and…
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With uneven maturity and later canola crops, this will be another year to watch green counts. Here are some tips to follow when testing for green seed: Rather than start up the combine to take a sample, insert a scoop shovel underneath the swath and use your hands to thresh pods near ground level into the shovel. These plants will…