June 27, 2007

 

Good corn crop conditions in Canada's Manitoba province despite delayed rains

 

 

Warm temperatures and good soil moisture have allowed Manitoba's corn crop to develop at a fast pace and establish a strong base, but a period of no precipitation combined with sunshine would be beneficial, an official with the Manitoba Corn Growers' Association said.

 

"There are corn fields in Manitoba that have been dealing with excess moisture for the past month and in turn have started to turn yellow," said Gary Unrau, president of the association. However, he said a period of sunshine and warm temperatures would be enough to turn the discoloration of those crops around.

 

"If corn producers in the province were to receive proper sunshine and heat, there is still a chance the plant can get rid of that excess moisture," Unrau said.

 

All of Manitoba's corn fields are showing some signs of rain delayed growth, he said.

 

"I would estimate that between 5 percent and 10 percent of each corn field is probably suffering from delay due to moisture," Unrau said.

 

Some of the crops hit harder by the moisture have been turning yellow, which is a concern in terms of crop maturity at the end of the growing season, Unrau said.

 

The old adage of corn being knee high by the Fourth of July still applies, he said.

 

However, despite the small percentage of the crop hurt by yellowing, overall the crop was ahead in terms of development for this time of the season. Few disease problems have been reported so far as well, he said.

 

Statistics Canada estimated that Manitoba producers seeded 200,000 acres of corn in 2007 compared with 150,400 in 2006.

 

Unrau agreed that while a lot of traditional growers moved away from producing corn in 2006, many returned to the crop in 2007.