Which crop should I harvest?

This spring and summer has been a trying one in southern Alberta; and the fall looks to be the same way. With all the excess moisture, hail and stress crops in the DynAgra trading area are multi staged and late. So the question arises, “How do I harvest a multi staged crop?”

We had this same sort of problem last year because of the cold spring that we were faced with; and last year the yields and protein were quite good. We just have to manage the situation right. When you go out and look at your crop, you have to look at which stage of the crop looks the most promising and which one is most likely to make it to maturity before a major frost event. In canola, we have to take into account the shattering of over ripened canola and the green seeds in immature canola stand. And in wheat we have to worry about those immature green seeds making it into the hopper and then into the bin causing quality and storage problems.

There are products on the market to help with harvest management, such as glyphosate, Reglone and Cleanstart. The only chemical-aided option to dry down Roundup Ready Canola is Reglone, make sure not to apply Reglone too early to a canola stand, because it does not kill the plant but attacks the plant tissue and dries it down, so if the product is applied too early it can lock the green into the seed and it won’t ever turn color. For a Reglone application, you want to have 75% seed color change on the main stem at application time. A reminder that Reglone is just a desiccant and will dry the weeds in your field down but will not kill them, Reglone is registered for use on canola and peas as well beans and alfalfa.

If you choose to use a glyphosate as preharvest on canola you want to have 30% moisture or less on the crop. And for wheat once you can take a kernel and press it with your thumb nail and the imprint stays, you are at optimal preharvest timing.

But with any chemical-aided dry down be sure to be ready to combine once the crop is ready, usually within 7 to 14 days the crop will be ready to harvest. Any questions come into you local DynAgra for advice from our certified and experienced staff. Happy combining.

Yours in crop protection,