‘Timing is about right’: Canola starts to flower

Early canola flowers have emerged in southern NSW and northern Victoria, but farmers say timely rainfall has kept crops healthy and flowering is not due to stress.

Early flowers have begun to appear in canola crops across southern NSW and northern Victoria, but farmers and agronomists say there is little cause for concern.

After a dry start to the season, the recent rain has been welcomed, and while some crops have started to flower, it is likely just an indication that they were sown early.

Finley, NSW agronomist John Lacy said he noticed flowers on a canola crop after heading to Albury recently.

He said the good news was that the crops were not flowering early due to stress.

“It is more likely that these were the crops that were lucky enough to get an early break back in April, rather than moisture stress,” he said.

Mr Lacy said his region had received falls from 13mm to 30mm since Friday, and farmers had welcomed the rain. “There will be really good potential for crops after this,” he said.

Based on data from the Grains Research and Development Corporation the optimum flowering time of canola can occur anywhere from mid July through to August, depending on the region, seasonal conditions and the variety.

Ashley Fraser of Baker Seeds at Rutherglen. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

Ashley Fraser of Rutherglen said a few of his canola crops had just started to flower.

“We are seeing the first flowers coming now, and the timing is about right, and the crops are looking good,” he said.

Mr Fraser emptied 40mm out of the rain gauge on Monday morning after the weekend falls.

Even though crops were starting to flower, he wasn’t concerned about frost. “It’s not unusual for us to have a few frosts in August,” he said.

Ben Langtry of Marrar in southern NSW. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

At Marrar in Southern NSW, Ben Langtry said he had one canola crop with very small flowers starting to appear.

“I’ve heard of other crops starting to flower near Ganmain and The Rock,” he said.

He said it was normal in the region to start to see flowers on canola in August, and the crops had plenty of moisture underneath, so it wasn’t due to stress.

He received 18mm on the weekend and was expecting another 10mm earlier this week.

Mr Langtry said a nice cool spring and follow-up rain were exactly what canola crops needed from now on.