Canola Watch Alert: Canola crops missing flowers and pods likely due to early season environmental stress

Jul 21, 2022

Canola growers across Alberta and BC are seeing canola in their fields with racemes (stems) which should be producing flowers and pods, but this normal sequence of pod formation has not happened. Consensus upon field inspection and consultation with experts is that early season environmental stress resulted in a hormonal imbalance. This causes the growing point(s) in the canola plants to stop growing, producing these abnormal racemes and sterile pods. However, favourable environmental conditions over the past 30 days should alleviate these symptoms.

We are confident these symptoms, in the fields and samples inspected, are not the result of recent insect feeding. Growers are encouraged to continue to actively manage their crop using economic thresholds and expected return on investment to guide crop inputs. We are not aware of any crop protection or fertilizer application that can alleviate these symptoms.

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Video: Dicamba Returns for Georgia Farmers: What the New EPA Ruling Means for Cotton Growers

After being unavailable in 2024 due to registration issues, dicamba products are returning for Georgia farmers this growing season — but under strict new conditions.

In this report from Tifton, Extension Weed Specialist Stanley Culpepper explains the updated EPA ruling, including new application limits, mandatory training requirements, and the need for a restricted use pesticide license. Among the key changes: a cap of two ½-pound applications per year and the required use of an approved volatility reduction agent with every application.

For Georgia cotton producers, the ruling is significant. According to Taylor Sills with the Georgia Cotton Commission, the vast majority of cotton planted in the state carries the dicamba-tolerant trait — meaning farmers had been paying for technology they couldn’t use.

While environmental groups have expressed concerns over spray drift, Georgia growers have reduced off-target pesticide movement by more than 91% over the past decade. Still, this two-year registration period will come with increased scrutiny, making stewardship and compliance more important than ever.