Manitoba Agriculture
Crop Report
August 15, 2023
Northwest Region
A warm start to the week and then a change to cool, wet weather up until the weekend. Rain set in mid-week and a couple of days of scattered showers brought varied precipitation amounts. Dauphin weather station receiving the most at 49 mm and Swan River the least at 5 mm, with some heavier localized amounts near Roblin. Alonsa had the highest daytime temperature last week at 27.7°C while Rorketon had the coolest over night temperature at 3.4°C. Although the rain was welcome across the region due to recent dry conditions, it also posed a slight delay in pre-harvest applications and some harvest operations.
Fall rye and winter wheat harvest began over the weekend in most of the region. Harvest in the Dauphin and Swan Valley area is approximately 90% complete. Perennial ryegrass harvest also began last week and is mostly complete. Yields are unknown at this time.
Spring cereals are mostly in the hard dough stage, with some later seeded fields in the soft dough stage. Pre-harvest applications have been ongoing as stages are reached. Dependant on weather conditions, harvest may begin this week.
Most of the canola across the region is podded and maturing. Approximately 10 to 15% of the canola remains flowering but should wrap up shortly. Upper pods on plants are small, this may affect yield in some crops. Some sunscald is appearing with recent high temperatures. Aster yellow symptoms are very noticeable in some fields.
Flea beetle pressure has been heavy in the last week and tops of plants are found covered in flea beetles. Lygus and some bertha armyworm has been reported in canola.
Field peas are in the R6 to R7 stages. Field pea harvest is continuing as crops reach maturity, with a pause last week due to rain. Desiccation continues in fields that have reached the appropriate stages. Initial reports of yield are lower than normal as first fields harvested are the ones that did not receive adequate moisture. Progress is approximately 5% complete.
Soybeans are mostly at the R6 stage and advancing. Recent precipitation was welcomed last week for soybean fields.
Bertha armworm monitoring is done for the year. Trap counts remain low across the Northwest region. The highest counts are Durban and Minitonas at 146 and The Pas at 277. Both counts remain below threshold levels, however monitoring is always recommended. Grasshopper pressure continues, and is especially heavy in some areas across the region.
Provincial Overview
Harvest progress sits at 3% complete across the province (Table 3), which is on-par with the 5-year average harvest progress. Winter wheat and fall rye harvest continues, with 67% of acres harvested. Early yield reports for winter wheat are averaging about 60 bu/acre. Harvest has started in spring cereal crops, with the majority of harvest happening in the central region. Overall, cereal crops remain in fair to mostly good condition.
Corn is mostly in the R3 to R4 growth stages, with the most advanced crops at R5. Canola is mostly in the pod fill stage, with some fields starting to turn, and desiccation and swathing starting on a limited number of acres. Field pea harvest continues, with approximately 22% of acres harvested. Soybean fields are mostly in the R5 to R6 growth stages. Rainfall over the past week has helped to alleviate stress in the corn, soybean, and dry bean crops associated with a lack of rainfall.
Producers are encouraged to scout their fields for weeds which have escaped control. This is an important part of integrated pest management. Waterhemp has been found in the Central and Eastern regions and producers should seek identification of any unusual pigweed in their field.