Larger seeds. Increased yields. Reduced green seed counts.
There are many benefits to straight cutting canola, not the least of which is the time you save at harvest by parking the swather.
However, to successfully straight cut the crop, you have to make several important management decisions.
The first comes when you select a shatter-tolerant hybrid. Another arrives later in the season, when you select a pre-harvest herbicide or desiccant to dry down the crop, even out maturity and prepare the field for an easy harvest.
“There are some growers that just let the canola come in by itself and there have been lots of comments saying it’s harder on the combine,” said Megan Bjerland, AAg, CCA, a Co-op Grow Team agronomist in Swift Current, Sask., describing immature green plant material that can challenge machinery.
“You definitely hear a lot more noise when the canola is going through the combine versus the guys who are using pre-harvest herbicides or desiccants. They say it goes through the combine much easier with little to no noise.”
Know your options
In Western Canada, canola growers have several options for pre-harvest applications.
Before selecting a product for your farm, it’s important to understand the tools that are available and the benefits each offers.
“A desiccant is used to dry the crop down quickly and will halt ripening,” said Bjerland. “That’s why, when using a desiccant such as Reglone on canola, you need the crop to be very mature for application, because otherwise you can lock in some green count, which will impact you at the elevator.”
For that reason, Bjerland said a desiccant is best suited for fields with more even maturity and stand uniformity.
- MORE: Bolster II Desiccant