Whatever the cause for lodging — wind, rain, late-season hail — the crop will present a harvest challenge. Swathing low to the ground doesn’t leave much stubble to hold the swaths in a wind and can limit air-flow through the swath. Swathing lodged crop often leaves a lot of bunches in the windrow. And lodged crop may need to be swathed in the same direction. There is no clear advantage to swathing versus straight combining lodged crop. It often comes down to personal preference.
Swathing or straight combining lodged crop may require some trial and error to see what direction works best. Some prefer going perpendicular to the lean; some prefer going into the lean.
Disease consideration: Canola that does not straighten up after lodging may develop higher levels of sclerotinia stem rot. This might be one exception where earlier swathing is better — for two reasons: (1) green pods can bend so can take the increased trauma of attacking a lodged crop and (2) sclerotinia stem rot can spread faster in lodged crop, so cutting early could make it less severe. However, by cutting early you guarantee a yield loss due to early swathing. So make sure the disease risk is there.
Source : Albertacanola