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If canola is to be swathed later than optimal (with earliest pods shattering), cut in moist conditions (rain or heavy dew) to limit shattering as much as possible…
Swath timing
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With blackleg, sclerotinia stem rot and clubroot, base the swath timing decision on healthy plants that will contribute to yield. One exception where early swathing could provide an economic benefit is the case of severe alternaria black spot (shown)… -
If half the plants are ready and half are just beginning seed colour change, growers may want to hold off on swathing. By waiting 3 or 4 days, there is minimal risk for riper parts of the field and a huge potential benefit for later parts… -
There is no clear advantage to swathing versus straight combining lodged crop. It often comes down to personal preference… -
Yield and quality benefit from leaving canola standing longer before swathing. The common recommendation is to wait until at least 50-60% seed colour change (SCC) on the main stem. But that may be overly simplistic — especially if plant populations are low. The graph shows that as plant populations drop, more and more yield will come from side branches… -
If it does not straighten up, the result can be higher levels of sclerotinia stem rot and harvest challenges… -
Some of the earliest canola fields will show seed colour change over the next two weeks. For those growers, we provide this short primer on swath timing and straight combining… -
Yes, keep going. The recommendation to wait at least 4-6 hours after a frost to assess the extent of frost damage only applies to canola that was not quite ready to swath. If you were already swathing or were going to swath a crop that day, there is no benefit to waiting…
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Read more for paragraphs on: Early swathing leaves yield on the table Swathing ahead of a frost forecast Cut timing must meet pre-harvest intervals How to tell when uneven crop is ready to swath? Sun-scalded pods may not be mature…
