Crops advancing rapidly: Manitoba Crop Report

Crops have advanced rapidly across all parts of Manitoba this past week, faster than many agronomists had expected. Rapidly growing crops have hastened crop flowering, and cereal and canola fungicide application is well underway.

Warm temperatures, high humidity, and rain in recent days has increased the risk for fusarium head blight and sclerotinia disease development in crops, and most farmers are choosing to use a preventative fungicide on spring cereals and canola. Spraying is also expected to begin in flax fields shortly, and continues on field peas for for mycosphaerella.

Scattered and widespread rainfall last week slowed in-field herbicide and fungicide application by ground, and many farmers are choosing to spray fungicides by air this year, to reduce rutting on soft fields.

Despite good growing conditions, heavy rains have damaged crops, leaving large drowned out spots.