Canola growers need to go walking in their fields all season

Canola growers need to keep best practices in mind all year, says a geneticist with the Canola Council of Canada. “Ninety per cent of our canola is exported,” Nicole Philp told a canola/flax growers meeting in Moose Jaw. “We need to keep those markets open.” Growers should be thinking… “What are some of the best practices that I’m not doing that I should be doing?” Producers can do five things to keep international market channels accepting canola.

“Use acceptable pesticides only. We need to make sure that what we’re applying is being applied correctly at the right time for the right reason.” Growers with questions should ask their elevator.

Registered pesticides should be used correctly following product labels. Every product has a set period of time between application and when the crop can be harvested.

If applications are too close to harvest the seeds can accumulate residues and become a trade limitation, even causing a rejection of an export shipment.

The online calculator at spraytoswathe.ca provides the interval times.

Philp hates “to see clumps of blackleg. There are lots of things we can do.” Crop rotation is obvious; the longer a field is out of canola, the lower the risk of blackleg infection.

Store canola properly by making sure the bin has not had treated seed in it and thoroughly cleaning the bin so no residues are transferred on the seed.

Using bins treated with Malathion is a big no for canola. And make sure stored cano- la is in good condition to avoid spoilage and quality loss.

Do not use de-registered canola seed varieties, Overeats buyers can refuse shipments with de-registered varieties.

A list of de-registered canola seed varieties can be found online at keepitclean.ca. Philp suggested subscribing to canolawatch.ca for weekly updates on thresholds and concerns.

Keep scouting fields to monitor for pests and disease all season, she said. Consider threshold levels of pests and potential yield loss before spraying or the spraying may not be economical.

“You see pests out there and you want to do something now.”