Rain fell in many parts of Saskatchewan this past week, but some areas continued to be shortchanged, leaving crops looking for more.
The southeast and east-central regions received the highest rainfall amounts, with the Calder area recording 36mm, followed by the Stockholm area at 35mm and Rocanville at 34mm, said Thursday’s weekly crop report. However, in those regions that did not get significant relief, “rainfall is needed soon to avoid serious crop damage,” the report added.
With sporadic rain across the province, moisture conditions overall remained at similar levels as the previous week. Regardless, some areas continued to see a decline in topsoil moisture. Provincewide cropland topsoil moisture was rated as 2% surplus, 44% adequate, 42% short and 12% very short as of Monday, versus 1% surplus, 46% adequate, 44% short and 9% very short a week earlier (see map below).
Environmental conditions contributed to crop damage this past week, including dry conditions, heat and wind. Damage overall was reported as minor to moderate. In addition to damage caused by hot, dry and windy conditions, producers also noted that some minor damage was being caused by frost and wildlife in many regions of the province. Flea beetles, grasshoppers, cutworms and pea leaf weevil continue to cause crop damage throughout many regions with some areas reporting minor to moderate crop damage.
Varying stages of crop development are reported given the varied amounts of rain throughout the province:
Thirteen per cent of winter cereals are in the tillering stage, 20 per cent at stem elongation, 26 per cent at flag leaf, 36 per cent are heading and five per cent are in the dough stage.
Read the rest of the report here:
https://www.saskatchewan.ca/crop-report
