Agricultural News
Spring Moisture Rejuvenates Oklahoma Canola Crop
Tue, 12 May 2015 17:53:28 CDT
Late season rains have been a blessing for the Oklahoma canola crop. Oklahoma State University Canola Specialist Josh Bushong said overall the crop is highly variable, but the farmers that have received good moisture this spring have a good pod set.
"For the most part, pod density has been good and we've had good seed set within those pods so far," Bushong said. "Really good pollination this year. Not having those April freezes defiantly was a help, but for the most part we have a decent crop out there."
Radio Oklahoma Network Farm Director Ron Hays recently caught up with Bushong. Click or tap on the LISTENBAR below to listen to the full interview.
Swathing looks to begin in the southern part of the state in the next week or so. In the Lahoma and Enid area, there will be more challenges where the canola crop started to rebloom. Bushong said he is hoping for a situation where both crops can be harvested simultaneously. With a big difference in maturity, he said they will be monitoring the crop closely to see how it progresses over the next few weeks.
If the rain continues, Bushong said farmers likely won't be able to swath the crop on time, so farmers may resort to using a desiccate to shut down the crop. He said farmers have access to Sharpen and Diquat with both labeled for use in canola.
Farmers will want to consider this added expense. Bushong said swathing costs approximately $15 to $22 per acre. Applying a desiccate is more expensive with the cost of the chemical and application of about $18 to $22 per acre. While it's more expensive, he said this allow farmers to buy time.
"You're basically paying for risk management," Bushong said. "Get that crop off in a more timely fashion. The longer we keep it out in the field, the more risk we have of having it shatter out."
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