Patchy germination of canola shows true effect of dry conditions

The dry conditions have taken a toll on early sown crops. While some have come through almost unscathed others are showing the effects of staggered germination.

With canola prices surging to $810 a tonne in Victoria, farmers say they don’t want to be counting losses at harvest due to patchy germination.

The dry conditions have taken a toll on early sown crops and while some have come through almost unscathed due to good soil moisture others are showing the effects of staggered germination.

Gorst Rural director Cam Conboy of Lake Bolac said there was a big variance in how canola was faring in his area.

“We have everything from emerged crops, through to ones at the one and two leaf stage and then the crops that haven’t germinated at all,” he said.

“The further west you go the more patchy it is with staggered germination.”

Mr Conboy said farmers were living in hope that some rain would help struggling crops.

“Some of the bigger hybrid seeds have a bit more vigour and energy and we are hoping they will hang on until we see rain.”

Despite the concerns about a dry year he said it was too early to be making any decisions about re-sowing at this stage.

In addition to the dry weather the region has also experienced a run of frosts with temperatures dropping to -3.

“When we see these temperatures things really start to slow down and the plant has to spend its energy to repair itself,” he said.

For the western district Mr Conboy said it truly was a time of uncharted waters and the region wasn’t used to being this unseasonably dry.

“For us it is often too wet,” he said.

In the recent Rabobank crop report, the area of canola across Victoria was forecast to remain “virtually stable” and figures from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences stated the planting area was 520,000ha for an average yield of 1.73 tonnes a hectare, amounting to a production of 900,000 tonnes.

Goorambat farmer Greg Gall said he too was holding out for rain and had some crops that were experiencing a split germination.

“There are some crops that are not up at all,” he said.

Mr Gall said he wouldn’t look at re-sowing but like most regions wanted some rain to turn the season around.

“If we could get 10mm in the next few days that would be unreal to keep things ticking over,” he said.

Rutherglen farmer Andrew Russell.