A year to top up sulphur during canola bloom
The canola crop may be in bloom, but if the flower petals look small or pale instead of that nice vibrant yellow, the crop may be suffering from sulphur deficiency, says a soil fertility specialist.
The window to correct the deficiency is closing quickly,
says Elston Solberg, a senior Agri-Coach with Agri-Trend Agrology, but if you
can get a treatment on while the crop is still in bloom, it can translate into
an appreciable yield increase. (The accompanying photo shows robust canola
flowers on left and smaller, pale
sulphur deficient flowers on the right).“I have seen many fields across Western Canada this year suffering the effects of a sulphur deficiency,” says Solberg. “With all the rain this year the sulphur applied at seeding has leached down into the soil profile, and also because of the rain, more crops are shallow rooted.”
As conditions dry out, the roots will develop and reach the sulphur but that may be too late to help this year’s crop.
He’s advising farmers to look at their crops, if the flower color is pale and if flower petals are small, a broadcast application of products such as ammonium sulphate or ATS (Ammonium thiosulfate 12-0- 0-26S) can help increase yield potential. Products applied as a foliar application won’t be effective at this stage. They need to be broadcast applied or dribble banded.
“I have seen in some trials where a top dress of sulphur even at the 30 percent bloom stage has increased yields by five to eight bushels per acre,” says Solberg.
Depending on crop stage, Solberg says there likely isn’t time in most crops to wait for the results of a tissue test. Producers will just have to make an eyeball assessment and decide what to do.
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Lee Hart (pictured at right) is a long-time farm writer, and honorary member of the Alberta Institute of Agrologists, with many observations on the agriculture industry, who never hesitates to admit he is wrong (should that ever happen.)
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