October 8, 2014
Soils with pH below 5.5 or above 8.5 can reduce canola yield potential, largely due to reduced nutrient availability. Amending soil with products such as lime to increase pH or elemental sulphur to lower pH can work, but it takes large volumes and a large investment…
July 23, 2014
Sulphur and nitrogen deficiencies are showing up in some canola crops. The crop may not have received enough fertilizer to begin with, especially if this year’s rates did not compensate for high yields and high removal last year. Excess moisture may have added to nutrient losses. Flowering is not an ideal time to top dress, and applications any time after…
July 9, 2014
Canola in fields with excess moisture will often show various signs of stress, including yellowing, purpling, stunted growth — or all of three. Excess moisture creates two problems for crop nutrition: (1) It can remove nutrient from the soil. And (2) it can “drown” roots and make it impossible for them to take up nutrients — even if nutrients are…
July 3, 2014
Two potential top dress situations are showing up in canola fields across the Prairies this week: 1. Excess moisture and poor nutrient availability. 2. Crop runs out of nutrients…
July 3, 2014
Canola crops side by side can have different risk factors, and often do not require the same crop management for nutrients, weeds, insects and disease. Crop rotation, fertilizer rates, plant population, stand uniformity and crop stage are a few factors that can influence whether one crop needs a treatment while the other right beside may not…
June 25, 2014
We had a “follow up question” to last week's article "Hail damage: Economic loss depends on cro stage." The grower was asking about foliar nutrition after a hail storm. He had 2” of rain a week after a hailstorm and he feels that a foliar application could be worthwhile. The hail hit canola at the 5-6 leaf stage with a…
June 18, 2014
Excess moisture can reduce soil nitrogen levels through leaching and denitrification. A top dress could address this. But excess moisture and other weather factors that set back the crop may also reduce overall yield potential, which means the crop may not take up as much nutrient anyway…
June 11, 2014
Canola needs a little bit of boron, and most Canadian Prairie soils have enough to meet this demand…
May 27, 2014
Top dressing fertilizer usually occurs after emergence, often as a response to increased yield potential or as a remedy for noticeable deficiency symptoms. However, growers are looking at top dressing this year as a logistical aid in getting the crop seeded faster. Here are some agronomy messages to help in your decision making…
Return to Canola Council Home