Canola growers can lose up to 5 bushels or more per acre if the combine isn’t adjusted properly. This article includes tips on how to measure combine losses. If losses are too high, growers can lower them by adjusting fan speed and sieves, for example, and by slowing down the whole combine operation…
Harvest and Storage
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When doing their own disease surveys, growers may find it easier to check crops while swathing. Stop at five random spots in the field while swathing and check 20 standing plants at each spot. This will give you a good idea how much of the field actually had sclerotinia or blackleg or clubroot, for example…
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Many canola crops are maturing earlier than expected this year, in many cases due to hot weather. This has put some growers in a bind. They had sprayed insecticide expecting to be outside the pre-harvest interval (PHI) required between application and the planned cutting date, but now as the crop approaches swathing timing they realize that not enough time has…
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Even if canola is very dry, storage experts still recommend that hot canola be put on aeration for cooling. There will still be convection currents and some moisture movement within the bin, which can concentrate moisture at the bottom of the central core — creating a possible start point for heating…
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Thin crops and high winds can lead to heavy shattering losses if swaths start to roll. Here are tips to reduce potential losses from swaths blowing: —Swath parallel to the typical prevailing winds in the area. —Cut the plants as high as possible, just below the lowest pod. —Using a properly adjusted swath roller, push down the swath so that…
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Growers who are using Lorsban or the generics Citadel, Pyrinex and Nufos to control insects are advised to observe the pre-harvest Interval (PHI) for this product. The PHI for this product is a minimum of 21 days before direct combining or 21 days before swathing. Our canola industry relies on exports and countries that we export to have strict regulations…
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Swath at the best time for the majority of the plants in the field with the least negative impact possible on the rest — the biggest yield with the least losses. Note that waiting, if the calendar allows, is often positive for yield. If late season hail damages pods, then these pods have a higher potential for shattering as they…