A little frost now what ?question for Murray Hartman

[mcfarms]

Last night we had a little frost (2 degrees) on our last field of irrigated canola(argentine) that we had just started swathing at approx. 40 percent seed change. So the question is do we leave it a couple days and then continue swathing, continue swathing today or being as it is a heavy heavy crop that is already lodged because of the wind and 7 inches of rain over the last three weeks do we leave it and straight cut.

Which of these scenarios is most likely to minimise the potential for green seed.
Or is the enzyme most likley destroyed and the green is were it will stay??

Anyone done on farm trials under these conditions to see which methodolgy is likely to have the more positive result. I am more concerned about clearing the potential for green than the risks with shattering .

Thanks

[mhartman]

Since your canola was around 40% moisture --start of swathing -- the -2C frost will have damaged the chlorophyll clearing enzymes in the seeds of upper pods only,and accelerated drydown of those pods.
In this situation, continue swathing the field when it can support traffic again. There will be no significant advantage in leaving it stand for green seed reduction now. The damage has been done.
Hopefully, you won't see much green seed problem since you were at about 40% -- I wouldn't expect more than 2% green unless the stand density was on the thin side.

[mcfarms]

Thanks Murray, the swather is going again this afternoon as I type I was considering (and still am) leaving 10 or 15 acres as a straight cut trial but will see what the hired dad ends up doing.