Wheatland continues monitoring crop damage following weekend storm

A severe hailstorm that swept through the region Sunday night has forced Wheatland Conservation Area to cancel its annual plot tour with SaskMustard.

Farm Manager Amber Wall says they spent Monday assessing damage across the farm's research plots after the storm delivered approximately 24 millimetres of rain along with damaging hail.

"We're still assessing the extent of any damage," said Wall. "There's lots of leaf injury, stem damage and crop stress, depending on the crop and stage at the time."

She says with the damage they've seen, crops won't have enough time to recover prior to the annual tour, which was planned for next week, so they've decided to cancel it.

Research Trials Will Continue

Despite the cancellation, Wall says all crop trials will remain in place, and researchers will continue collecting information throughout the growing season.

Staff will also monitor how various crops and crop protection treatments respond to hail injury and stress.

"We'll still be monitoring recovery and collecting data on all trials to see how the different crops and treatments respond," she said.

She notes they will also be hosting the Ministry of Agriculture's Crop Diagnostic School later this month.

Recovery Possible for Many Crops

Although damage was significant, Wall says most crops were still in the vegetative growth stage when the hailstorm hit, improving their chances of recovery.

Canola and mustard crops are expected to branch out and develop new growth points, while cereal crops at the flag leaf stage should also have an opportunity to recover if warm weather arrives.

"I think we're lucky that it's early enough," Wall said. "Most of our crops were in the vegetative growth stage, so I think they should be able to recover in the next coming weeks."

Pulses Facing Challenges

Pulse crops suffered extensive leaf loss during the storm.

Wall says chickpeas and lentils were approaching flowering when hail damaged much of their leaf mass and growing points.

Researchers are hopeful the crops will branch out and produce new growth, but recovery will take time.

"Maybe in two or three weeks we'll see some improvement," she said. "In the meantime, it's just a wait and see."

Wet Conditions Raise Disease Concerns

The hailstorm comes on the heels of an exceptionally wet June, creating favourable conditions for disease development.

Wall says chickpeas were already beginning to show disease symptoms on leaves before the storm. The combination of moisture and hail wounds could increase disease pressure in coming weeks.

"We definitely need the warmth now," she said. "Unfortunately, disease will start to creep in."

Researchers plan to sample crop roots over the coming weeks to assess potential impacts from excess moisture and root diseases while continuing to monitor overall crop recovery across the research farm.

Source - https://www.westcentralonline.com