Good emergence is being reported on Manitoba spring cereals and field peas, although more rain would certainly be welcome in many areas of the province, according to the latest weekly crop report.
Isolated storms brought significant rainfall to areas in the Eastern region, as well as parts of the Interlake and the Northwest last week, although overall amounts across the province were still highly variable, ranging between 0 and almost 60 mm, the report said.
Cereal crops are showing rapid development and remain in good condition except for some later seeded fields that are experiencing uneven emergence due to topsoil dryness. Soybean planting is nearing completion with just a few isolated fields left to be seeded. Canola ranges from germinating/emerging to the late two-leaf stage for the earliest seeded crop. Growers continued to monitor fields for flea beetles and “remain concerned that the hot, dry weather would make canola seedlings less able to withstand insect damage.”
Corn growth stage ranged from the one- to the five-leaf stage for some of the earliest seeded fields. Corn crops remain in good to excellent condition and showed rapid growth in the warm weather, the report said.
Sunflower growth stages range from V1 to V2 stage for the earliest seeded fields. Most flax crops are at growth stage 4 to very early stage 5 and the crop is expected to advance rapidly given the growing conditions. Dry peas in the most advanced fields are in the 4th to 6th node stage.
Dry bean planting is now complete with the exception of a few isolated fields. Beans are emerging but have struggled in areas where soil moisture was lacking and producers had to plant deeper than normal, the report said.
The hot weather has been hard on livestock and several producers have reported animals exhibiting symptoms related to heat stress.
Southwest
Temperatures have been variable and have been trending upwards. Daytime temperatures reached the mid-30s. Most weather stations in the region received 2-3 mm, but in the northern side of the region, Russell and Forrest received 45-56 mm, and in southern areas, Virden and Waskada received 33-35 mm of rain. The majority of the areas like Rivers, Miniota, Shoal Lake, Souris, Minnedosa, Wawanesa, and Killarney reported below normal rainfall during this spring. General seeding has been wrapping up with sunflower seeding at 95% complete and some early seeded crops at first true leaves. Soybean seeding is 98% complete, with early soybean and dry bean emerging but not trifoliate yet.
Canola is estimated at 95% complete with early stages of germination. Some fields need moisture to get good emergence as canola was seeded in dry conditions. Some areas are reporting flea beetle activity. Grain corn is 95% done and silage corn is 80% complete. Some early-seeded corn is at the V2 to V3 stage.
Northwest:
A week of showers/thunderstorms, high temperatures and high relative humidity contributed to a mixed week. While the high temperatures and soil moisture encouraged rapid crop growth, some extreme precipitation events (localized) caused some damage in areas. Storms early in the week brought large amounts of rain in a short period of time to Gilbert Plains and Ashville area.The weekend saw a couple more events bring large amounts of precipitation with two storms moving through an area just south of Swan River. Overland flooding, high water levels and road washouts occurred in these areas. Some fields were cut from waterflow. Spring wheat across the region sits at approximately 98% complete.
Majority of spring crop has emerged and looks uniform. In-crop herbicide application has begun where appropriate stages have been reached. Pea seeding is complete and emergence looks good and is uniform. Current staging is at the third to fourth node stage. Soybean seeding is complete across the region. Recent rainfall and high temperatures have moved crops along with most fields at the unifoliate growth stage. Canola seeding is approximately 90% complete. Earliest seeded canola is approx. two leaf stage, while remainder of the canola crop continmues behind.
Central:
The past week has been hot and windy. Under these conditions, the soil has been quickly drying and many producers require moisture to enhance the germination of later seeded crop, to assist with winter cereals as they enter the reproductive stage, and to maintain the growth of forages and hay in pasture. Patchy thunderstorms have supplied ample water to many producers in the region over the past week, but others, sometimes only a few miles away, have been left dry.
The region would greatly benefit from a widespread rain. Seeding is complete except some wetter ground or land being put to greenfeed or silage. Overall emergence on crops has been good providing there was moisture at seeding depth. The earliest seeded crops have had the most successful and uniform emergence, due to the dryer soils at later planting. Most cereals are around the three to six leaf stage, canola around the three leaf stage, and soybeans from emerging to unifoliate, and some with the first trifoliate emerging.
Eastern:
Very hot and humid across the Eastern Region with thunderstorms and the potential for violent weather a concern most afternoons and evenings. Rainfall accumulations ranged from 3 mm to over 76 mm with very wide variations across the region. Areas that received lower rainfall amounts were experiencing uneven crop emergence and seed stranded in dry topsoil, particularly in the case of canola. Cropland soil moisture rated as mostly good across the region but it was noted some cropland had slipped into the short soil moisture category. Strong southerly winds worked to limit spraying progress and also contributed to drying out topsoil and stranding shallow seeded crop, particularly canola. High daytime temperatures also affected spraying progress depending on the crop and chemistry involved.
Across the Eastern region, seeding was completed and producers attention turned to spraying as crops and weeds advanced quickly where emergence was good. About 15% of acres across the region had received a first pass of herbicide over the reporting period. Spring cereals ranged from the one leaf to four leaf stage and in some districts up to 25% of acres had received their first pass of herbicide. A few late seeded fields are still emerging.
Interlake:
Soil moisture varies from very dry to adequate depending on the area. Dry conditions continued throughout the week, with scattered showers over the weekend. Rainfall varied across the region. Soil moisture is good in Fisher Branch area due to the recent rainfall that was received on Monday. The North Interlake region received some rain however the east side of the region missed the rains. Some parts of the South Interlake received about 25 mm of rain over the weekend. Frequent rains will be needed to sustain crop growth through the season.
Seeding progress has been excellent in the Interlake region, with most of the region reporting 95 to 99% complete except for later annual forages. Seeding is wrapping up this week for soybeans and corn in wetter areas. Dry areas have seen uneven emergence of canola due to lack of adequate moisture. Cereals such as wheat, oat and barley have good even stands. Most soybeans are at the cotyledon to unifoliate stage, cereals are at one to three leave stage, and corn is at V2-V3 stage.
