Overview
Rainfall was received in most regions of Manitoba this past week but amounts varied by region from low levels to excessive. Areas that did receive significant rainfall have commented the crops have improved slightly from the previous week. Crop development has been rapid but there is some concern for producers choosing to spray for fusarium head blight as crops are advancing rapidly and growers do not want to miss the narrow spray window. Corn growth stage ranged from V6 to V8 leaf stage for the earliest seeded fields. Canola ranged from two to four leaf stage on late seeded and re-seeded fields to full flower on the earliest seeded fields. Most fields ranged from the early bolting to flowering stage. In lower rainfall areas, growers remain concerned about uneven and stagey canola stands which are proving difficult to manage in terms of herbicide and fungicide timing.
Cereals
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Corn growth stage ranged from V6 to V8 leaf stage for the earliest seeded fields. Across the region, herbicide applications are getting close to complete as the corn advances out of stage. Some second pass herbicide applications are still expected. The crop remains in good to excellent condition with rapid growth. Corn progress in the central region varies greatly depending on soil moisture and region. Many fields have areas visibly showing moisture stress and associated nutrient deficiency symptoms.
Most cereals are now entering the stem elongation or booting phase, with around 1/3 undergoing anthesis. Some crops in the Central region have been suffering from moisture stress, with cereals particularly hit badly. In some areas cereals were yellowing or starting to die.
Given the wide range of growth stages across fields this year, flag leaf fungicide applications continued on some spring wheat fields while fusarium head blight (FHB) fungicide applications began over the weekend on the earliest seeded wheat fields.
Fall rye moved into the soft dough growth stage over the last week. Winter wheat crops are at the milk to early soft dough stage. Winter cereals remain in good to excellent condition.
Oilseeds
Canola ranged from two to four leaf stage on late seeded and re-seeded fields, to full flower on the earliest seeded fields. Most fields range from the early bolting to flowering stage.
Sunflower fields range from V8 into the R1 (early bud) growth stage over the past week with the crop demonstrating rapid growth and good to excellent condition.
Flax crops were at growth stage 5 (stem extension) and getting taller but some plants at early growth stage 6 (buds visible) could be found in fields.
Pulses and Soybeans
Most of the field pea crop was in the R2 (beginning bloom) growth stage over the last week but some plants at the R3 (flat pod) growth stage could be found. Producers and agronomists continued assessing the need for fungicide applications given variable rainfall across the province.
Soybean growth stage ranged from the first to second trifoliate on late seeded fields to R1 (early flower). Crop growth and development continued to be rapid in the warm weather. Field yellowing from iron chlorosis was disappearing.
Dry beans are at the second to four trifoliate stage.
Forages & Livestock
Forages
Dairy producers have completed first cut and approximately 75 per cent of beef producers have begun haying. Most cutting is temporarily on hold as more rain is in the forecast this week.
Hay yields are highly variable due to the patchy nature of thunderstorms and associated rainfall experienced to date. Additional rain is essential for regrowth on hayfields that have already been cut and baled.
Reports of alfalfa weevil are of concern around the Beausejour area, and producers are considering the need to spray following first cut.
Corn and oat fields are coming along nicely, however newly seeded forages are struggling to establish due to the extreme heat.
Pastures are in optimal shape in the Western region with recent rains.
In the Central region early forage growth is adequate for grazing, but regrowth will be reduced unless
producers receive more rainfall.
First cut of alfalfa continues for dairy & beef producers, but due to drier conditions alfalfa weevil damage
has been observed.
Cutting earlier is one way to manage the weevil and prevent further damage. Forage growth is adequate
for grazing and regrowth, but will be reduced if it stays dry.
Livestock
Cattle are out on pasture and grass conditions are fair. Grass growth is struggling to keep up with the grazing pressure on continuous grazed pastures and as such, conditions are beginning to deteriorate.
Fly pressure is strong this year and is contributing to issues with pink eye. Cases of foot rot have been reported to a lesser degree.
Water tables are surprisingly low for this time of year, and dugouts are approximately 30% full in the Eastern region.
In the Eastern region pastures seem to be keeping up with cattle feed demand but regrowth will be reduced in areas where there is a lack of moisture. Most dugouts are at adequate levels in the Eastern Region.
Water supplies are adequate, dugouts are 80 per cent full in the Western region.
Regional Comments
Southwest
Back to back rain events early last week dumping up to 55 mm in a wide swath of the Southwest region. Northern areas of the region such as Neepawa and Erickson received the most. Storms passed through the Killarney area with some hail and accompanied by strong winds that damaged grain bins. There were reports of a hailstorm north of Rivers which caused damage to canola crops. Russell, Reston and surrounding areas have missed the rains and crops are starting to show lack of moisture stress.
Peas are at flowering and are in the early stage of pod development, crop looks good. Root rot in peas is now presenting itself after these rains.
Sunflowers ranged from V6 to V10 stage and are looking good. Soybeans range from V2 to early flowering stage. Most producers have completed the second application of herbicide.
Cereal crops are heading faster than expected and several fields are in the flag leaf to early heading stage. Crops are showing some stress and will probably be shorter than usual. In areas under mositure stress, we are starting to see some yellowing of older leaves.
Canola ranges from six leaf to bolting stage, with later seeded canola having more even emergence than early plantings. Some reports of grasshopper damage in canola crops and producers are spraying where economic thresholds have been reached.
Glyphosate resistant kochia is extensive in the area. Grasshoppers are in the nymph stage and are presently coming into fields from grass areas and pasture.
Northwest
A week of warm temperatures along with some precipitation in some areas that were lacking moisture helped crops progress. Areas in the southeast part of the region received highest precipitation this week with McCreary receiving the most at 66mm. Crops are advancing rapidly within the entire region with at least 130 per cent of normal Growing Degree Days.
Spring wheat continues along nicely, the most advanced crops in the Swan Valley and Roblin area are approximately 50% headed out. Some fungicide applications have occurred where stages have been reached. The most advanced field pea crops are in the R2 stage with the remainder closely behind. Large amount of pea weevil notching has been noted in the Roblin and Swan Valley region. There are some shorter crops in areas that haven’t received adequate moisture.
Most soybeans are in the vegetative stage while the most advanced soybean crops have entered the R1 stage in Swan Valley. The rest of the crop continues closely behind. There has been some grasshopper pressure reported in the Dauphin area.
Canola is mostly looking good with varying stages of crops. Earliest seeded crops are in full flower, while the rest of the crop follows behind in bolting, rosette and seedling.
Central
Most producers in the central region were relieved to receive at least some rainfall over the past week, with many producers receiving between 5 to 20 mm. However, in areas like Portage, producers received much less rainfall. This rainfall has visually improved crops which have advanced rapidly over the past few days. Some of this rainfall came in the form of heavy storms, with the storm around Austin and MacGregor on June 20th being particularly fierce. Heavy winds resulted in localized damage including fallen trees, toppled pivots, and lodged crops. Some fields around Bagot were written off from hail damage.
Many crops have been suffering from moisture stress, with cereals particularly hit badly. In some areas cereals were yellowing or starting to die, with some heading out already. Some corn fields have patches with ‘floppy corn syndrome’ also known as ‘rootless corn syndrome’ which is often attributed in part to dry and warm conditions.
Grasshoppers are reaching the 3rd or 4th instar stage. Populations are high in some areas, with damage being observed at the edges of fields near ditches. Some producers are spraying pastures, ditches and field margins especially in cereals and canola. In a few extreme cases producers have sprayed entire fields for grasshoppers. Cutworm populations remain high for some producer fields. These producers are taking control measures in dry bean, wheat, oats, soybean and canola. Only a few producers took action against flea beetles this past week as canola is now mostly beyond the susceptible stage. Green cabbage worm and diamondback moth have also been observed in canola.
Most cereals are now entering the stem elongation or booting phase, with around 1/3 undergoing anthesis. Some of the later planted canola is at the three leaf stage. Most canola is somewhere in the rosette stage or bolting with some fields flowering. In some regions, such as in the Rhineland, Stanley, and Dufferin areas most fields are flowering. Winter wheat and fall rye are either approaching or at the soft dough stage. There is some concern that spring applied nitrogen was not accessed by crop because of lack of rain.
Soybeans are between V4 and very early flowering R1. Iron Deficiency Chlorosis (IDC) is still prevalent on some fields. Dry beans are at the 2nd to 4th trifoliate.
Corn progress varies greatly depending on soil moisture and region. In the driest fields corn is around V6 to V7, with many fields having areas visibly showing moisture stress and associated nutrient deficiency symptoms. Some fields in the Rhineland, Roland, Morris areas even had floppy root syndrome in part due to the dry weather in small patches within their fields. Corn fields with more favorable moisture are undergoing row closure and are at V8-12.
Peas are either approaching flowering or flowering. Due to the low moisture peas appear to be shorter than they were in 2022. Their short root system seems to be making them show the effects of low moisture in the driest areas.
Sunflowers are looking healthy and are between V8 – V10. Flax is undergoing stem extension.
Eastern
Accumulated rainfall over the reporting period ranged from 5 mm to more than 40 mm but was highly variable across districts. Northern districts received the least amount of rainfall over the last week ranging from 5 to 20 mm while many central and southern districts did better ranging from 20 to 40 mm. Temperatures during the reporting period moderated somewhat as compared to last week and varied between normal and slightly above normal for this time of year.
Fall rye moved into the soft dough growth stage over the last week. Winter wheat crops are at the milk to early soft dough stage. Winter cereals remain in good to excellent condition overall. There was evidence of armyworm feeding damage coupled with larvae populations above economic thresholds which led to insecticide applications in some fall rye and grass forage seed fields. Scouting continues and more spraying is expected.
Spring cereal fields ranged anywhere from boot/flag leaf stage to flowering although some very late seeded crop still in the seedling stage can be found. Across the region, herbicide applications on cereals were complete except for the very late seeded fields. Given the wide range of growth stages across fields this year, flag leaf fungicide applications continued on some fields while fusarium head blight (FHB) fungicide applications began over the weekend on the earliest seeded wheat fields.There is some concern for those choosing to spray for FHB as crops are advancing rapidly and growers do not want to miss the narrow spray window. Overall, cereal crops remain in good condition except for some of the later seeded fields that struggled with uneven emergence and remain thin and stagey. Some in-crop spraying for control of grasshoppers in wheat as well as spraying of field headlands or outside rounds has occurred. The initial appearance of low number of aphids in some cereal crops has been noted. Scouting continues and more spraying is expected.
Corn growth stage ranged from V6 to V8 leaf stage for the earliest seeded fields. Across the region, herbicide applications were getting close to complete as the corn advanced out of stage but some second pass herbicide applications were still expected. The crop remained in good to excellent condition and demonstrated rapid growth in the warm weather. It is expected that some fields will easily be waist high by July 4 this year.
Sunflower fields moved into the R1 (early bud) growth stage over the past week with the crop demonstrating rapid growth and good to excellent condition. Herbicide applications are complete.
Canola ranged from two to four leaf stage on late seeded and re-seeded fields to full flower on the earliest seeded fields. Most fields ranged from the early bolting to flowering stage. In lower rainfall areas, growers remained concerned about uneven and stagey canola stands which are proving difficult to manage in terms of herbicide and fungicide timing. Overall crop condition ranged from fair to good with herbicide applications completed on about 85 per cent of acres. Producers with late seeded crop will be focused on finishing up herbicides this week while those with early seeded crop are planning their fungicide applications and watching weather conditions.
Flax crops were at growth stage 5 (stem extension) and getting taller but some plants at early growth stage 6 (buds visible) could be found in fields. Herbicide applications are complete. The crop remains in good condition.
Soybean growth stage ranged from the first to second trifoliate on late to very late seeded fields to R1 (early flower) on most fields. Crop growth and development continued to be rapid in the warm weather. Field yellowing from iron chlorosis is disappearing rapidly. Herbicide applications were complete on the most advanced stands although second pass applications were ongoing this week before remaining fields advanced beyond spray stage. Overall crop condition remained good on most fields with the exception of some later seeded crop that remains stagey and thin due to poor topsoil moisture conditions at seeding time.
Most of the field pea crop was in the R2 growth stage over the last week but some plants at the R3 growth stage could be found. Producers and agronomists continued assessing the need for fungicide applications as field peas continued to advance rapidly in the warm temperatures and relatively dry conditions. Thus far, a very low presence of disease in the lower crop canopy has been found but scouting continues. Some fungicide applications have occurred but other growers are waiting on the weather to see if more disease conducive conditions develop.The crop remains in good to excellent condition but growers remain concerned about adequate soil moisture supply for the crop going forward.
Interlake
There was a heavy rainfall this past week in the North Interlake. Excess rainfall in the Fisher branch and Peguis First Nation farm area and also in the Steeprock and Moosehorn areas being reported. Temperatures continue to be extremely variable, with most of the region seeing highs ranging from 30 to 35 C.
Alternatively very dry conditions continue in the southern part of the Interlake region. Cereal crops showing severe moisture and heat stress and starting to show loss of their green colour. Heading is occurring well ahead of schedule in cereals. Wheat mostly ranges from the six leaf stage to early flowering stage. Soybeans are second trifoliate stage to early flowering stage. Sunflowers are at V6 to V8.
Canola is cabbaging and soybeans are hanging on and look good with the recent showers last week. More moisture is needed for continued plant growth.
The big issue across the Interlake this past week is increasing army worm populations. High populations of army worm are being reported in the Riverton, Arborg and Fisher branch areas. Reports are mainly in fall rye but starting to show in the annual cereals as well.
Grasshoppers seen in pasture lands but not a major concern in the north Interlake. Grasshopper hatch is ongoing in pastures and perennial grass crops in the south Interlake.
Second spraying on soybean and corn last week and will continue this week. Fungicide applications have started on some flag leaves on spring wheat. Fungicide application for fusarium head blight on early seeded wheat will start this week.
