Sunflower growers are hoping more heat is in the forecast over the next few weeks.
Troy Turner, agronomist with the National Sunflower Association of Canada (NSAC), says after a slow start the crop is now starting to look strong. He says sunflowers are ranging in stages from V8 to R1.
Turner says they are still waiting on the number of acres planted but he is hoping that it will be around 100,000, which is what was forecasted earlier in the year. He notes there are large pockets of sunflowers around the Holland/Treherne area and also in the Altona area.
According to Turner, there are a few disease issues that growers should be scouting for.
"In the last week, we've been seeing a few different diseases starting to show, in particular being downy mildew and sunflower rust. Nothing that is of any reason to be panicking over but just something that growers should be keeping an eye on."
Source : SteinbachOnline