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Excess moisture can cause nutrient deficiencies in canola

July 9, 2014 - With the excess moisture Western Canada has had this growing season, growers should be on the lookout for various signs of stress in their canola crops.

Yellowing, purpling and/or stunted growth are all signs of nutrient deficiency created by excess moisture, according to the Canola Council of Canada (CCC). Excess moisture creates two problems for crop nutrition: one, it can remove nutrient from the soil; and two, it can "drown" roots and make it impossible for them to take up nutrients, even if nutrients are present in ample quantities.

The best practice in this case is to wait and see how well the crop recovers before investing in a nutrient top dress, advises the CCC. Crop stressed by excess moisture may not recover strongly after the soil dries out and therefore may not benefit, financially, from a top dress of nutrients. If the decision is made to top dress a field, top dress could be targeted to higher ground where plants are healthiest and a return on investment is most likely.

READ MORE about waterlogged canola.

July 9, 2014  By Top Crop Manager