Pre-harvest Management Of Small Grains

 

To save time and money most of you prefer to straight cut your wheat, barley, rye or oats.  The allow for straight cutting the crop has be evenly ripe across the field and the straw and grain has to be dry enough that it will feed through the combine.

 

Waiting for a whole field to dry down poses a risk for the portion of the field that is already harvest ripe, including sprout damage, straw breakage and lodging. To even out dry-down and/or speed up dry-down you have two basic options. Swathing or windrowing, at one time, was the default operation that signaled the beginning of harvest.  A second preharvest option is an application of glyphosate at the hard dough stage.

 

Glyphosate is labeled as a harvest aid to control late emerged weeds that may interfere with harvest. The RoundUp PowerMax II  label doesn't define it as a desiccant. Research has shown that glyphosate applied with or without ammonium sulfate may hasten drydown of the wheat crop if conditions for drydown are adverse. With a preharvest interval of 7 days, a couple of days, at the most, may be gained. Previous Minnesota Crop News post provide details about swathing and preharvest glyphosate. 

 

Video: Sclerotinia and Lygus in Seed Canola: Field Update with George Lubberts, CCA | Enchant, Alberta

Join Certified Crop Advisor George Lubberts for this Prairie Certified Crop Advisor (Prairie CCA) field update from Enchant, Alberta. In this 12th video of the series, George takes us into a seed canola field where the male rows have been removed and the female plants are filling pods. This video was taken in the third week of August 2025.

George discusses the early signs of sclerotinia stem rot, explaining how infection begins in the stem, impacts pod development, and leads to premature ripening. He also shares insights on lygus bug management, including timing of spray applications to minimize feeding damage and maintain seed size and quality.

With cool, damp summer conditions, George notes that while disease pressure is present, overall field health remains good. The crop is just beginning to show early seed colour change, signaling progress toward maturity.

Topics Covered:

•Sclerotinia stem rot identification and impact

•Managing lygus bugs in seed canola

•Crop stage and seed colour change observations

•Timing insecticide sprays for optimal protection

•Insights from a CCA field perspective in southern Alberta