FROST

[ALLFARMER]

It was -7.5C in Scott, SK last night, -5.5C in Unity, -6C in Spiritwood, -8C in North Battleford, and -5.5C in Kindersely. Some of the emails I am reading today say it froze for 12 hours. There were peas and lentils up in these areas. Anyone else get hit this hard in AB and southern SK.?

[melvill]

There was a hard frost in the Cereal-Oyen areas of east central Alberta. I have no idea how long it lasted but when I got up at 7:00 am everything outside was covered with a heavy white frost. Likely little damage to crops though as seeding has been delayed by wet ground and very little of what has been seeded is up yet.

[melvill]

Does anyone have experience with canola that is germinated, not out of the ground and has frozen? Some reports of 2 inches of soil freezing. This is breaking new area for me and I am not an agrologist. Charlie? Lee?

[Braveheart]

Larry, last spring in Manitoba we experienced those very conditions. Temperatures dipped to -7C several nights. Some canola below ground was frozen and didn't emerge. Some lay in the ground for so long, the seed treatment, usually Helix, wore off and the seed was vulnerable to flea beetles and just didn't seem to have any vigor. Watch it closely. Anyone who reseeded last year was really happy they did. Those who didn't reseed suffered.

Braveheart

[JayByer]

Larry, sorry I did not jump in sooner, but I had troubles getting on. I believe that if the first two inches are frozen solid and you were taking chunks out with your spade when you were looking for you seeds, you are in trouble. Normally soil is a great insulator and even if it goes down to several degrees celcius, the soil is still at freezing or above. Germinated canola is very sensitive to tissue disruption and if the soil was actually frozen hard, it is my suspicion that the tissue was damaged as well. Once this damage happens, with the growth point being exposed as soon as the cotyleden emerges from the seed, I suspect the plant is done for, as no secondarr growth buds occur. My suspicion is that any germinated canola in that circumstance is finished, but perhaps there was enough ungerminated canola that will take its place. If all the seeds have started though, the crop is likely done.

I hope this helps

Jay

[JayByer]

Thanks for the replies.

Regards
Larry