[Update 3/23/15] --All of our winter canola winter killed--big(timely emerged), little(emerged at freeze down), thin residue or very heavy residue. We have just sprayed the canola fields in preparation of going back with DNS and some garbs. We dumped a pint of Buctril in with the Rt3 to take out the rr canola. It appeared that more of the non roundup ready canola cultivars survived than the roundup ready cultivars--like 0++ to 0+. One interesting note: --on one bare soil spot, in a truck road, on a north facing slope where the full force of the November blast hit, one row (≈50' long) of late emerged canola looks perfect. They look like soldiers in perfect alignment the size of a silver dollar. Go Figure!!??
Our winter wheat (Brundage 96) came through the winter in very good shape(99+% stand), and all big enough for Ospray or Power flex. We need to get it sprayed NOW. Several scouting trips have shown no crown, or visible root damage. Burned leaf tips are the only sign of winter and they have mostly disappeared. Later we'll see if we have diminished harvest results, like 2014.
[Update] 12 29/14---- The winter wheat is showing color improvement, and the large canola plants are also showing some activity; however, this morning we have no snow and temperatures in low 20's and wind from the ENE@ 20-35mph. In the next day or two we are expected to have lows around zero. This is the second hit on this crop. How many more before spring??? We did get a little snifter of snow in the early morning. The cultivated ground that I see from the window is bare, and it's too miserable to walk the fields to observe the effects on the crop and in the tall stubble.
[Update] 12/16/14---- The winter wheat stand no longer looks spotty. Many of the leaves are partially burned off but the crowns look good at this point in time. Compared to other stands in the area, ours looks great.
The winter canola stand is anyones guess at this point in time; however, I'm guessing that we will reseed most or all in the spring. All the large leaves are colorless and laying on the ground with the leaves of the small plants gone.
[Update] 11/13/14----Tuesday, the 11th Nov. temperatures dropped dramatically (+21F) and 12-35mph wind. We are expecting lower temperatures and more wind. These conditions are similar to the early December, 2013 event that damaged our winter crops (high winds, cold temperatures, and no snow cover). My concern is that this is even earlier and more events could follow prior to the end of February. Come spring it will be interesting to see what, if any, of the canola survives, and what damage the wheat will have. Our volume of residue should aid survival by moderating the effects of wind and cold temperatures. I wish we would have seeded some winter wheat on 20" spacing to see if the standing stubble left with that spacing would improve survivability.
The winter wheat has all emerged. The 0.25" rain received the 29th September brought up the remainder that didn't emerge when seeded. The late emerged wheat is mostly in the 3-4 leaf stage. The timely emerged wheat (seeded ≈ 6th Sept.) has many tillers.
The winter canola has mostly emerged. The late emerged canola is very small, with some still emerging. The timely emerged canola (seeded 19th Aug.) is dinner plate size. These large size canola plants nestled in and around standing stubble two too three times their height is something I want to evaluate come spring. If those plants are the only survivors, we may want to rethink tires and tracks on the combine, sprayer, and tractor to promote less stubble smash.
This post sat in the "draft box" way too long, forgotten. It still had some points that I want to remember.
Our drill with the CrossSlot opener creates very little soil disturbance. It momentarily cuts a narrow slot in the soil and deposits the seed with starter fertilizer, and also deep bands the nitrogen, then with two packer wheels mounted in a V configuration the slot is closed and firmed. In a marginal moisture situation this opener, if it's not operated in a manner that compromises the technology by leaving the slot open, can maintain a high humidity environment at the seed site. Baker Industries promotes this capability for better germination and emergence. Dr. Stewart Wuest of OSU supports this concept. He has a study titled "seed-soil contact and the role of vapor in germination". The Abstract states: ------Seed-soil contact has been assumed to be the most important factor for rapid transfer of water from soil to seed. Recent research demonstrated that seeds are capable of geminating without soil contact, and that 85% or more of the water absorbed by seeds can be directly attributed to vapor. A new appreciation for the capacity of soil atmosphere to supply water vapor to seeds will help in future efforts to improve seeding equipment.--- (See link page.)
The dry condition encountered in the fall of 2014 is what this drill was designed for. I'm sorry to say that we did not execute well. I have stated before how important the ADF (auto down force) system is to this drill design. Inconsistent soils and variations in residue across the field are conditions that challenge disc drills. We can see in many areas where the seed was placed shallow. With the ADF system out we used the manual mode which allowed us to pressure the system, but not allow the system to automatically adjust hydraulic pressure to ground conditions.
One adage we have come to rely on for successful direct seeding is to seed into moisture. With the dry conditions we are experiencing this fall, the end of the first week of September was at that limit. We should have been able to get 85-90% up. As it is we are more like 50-65% emerged. It is a lost opportunity, and something we will have to address before another year.
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