SPRING FROST DAMAGE BULLETIN

Frost was recorded in several areas of the province the evening of June 6th. There exists the potential that this frost event may have caused damage to some crops. THIS BULLETIN IS TO PROVIDE SOME DETAILS TO HELP YOU ASSESS YOUR SITUATION. Patience is the key as a proper assessment of frost damage cannot be made for several days until you can determine if new growth is occurring from damaged plants.

The Basics of What Causes Frost Damage

In plants, frost damage occurs when the water contained inside the plant (actually inside the individual plant cells) freezes. As the water freezes, it forms ice crystals within the plant that actually puncture plant cell walls. When the air temperature warms up, the ice crystals melt and the cell contents leak out causing the frozen plant leaves to appear limp and take on a dark, watery complexion.

Environmental Factors Which Influence the Degree of Frost Damage

The recent cool and cloudy weather has slowed plant growth but has allowed plants to harden off which allows plants to be more tolerant to slight frost conditions. The hardening off process either allows plants to become “accustomed” to lower temperatures or individual plant cells accumulate more solutes that can lower their freezing point – much like antifreeze in your trucks radiator. However, even with hardening frost damage can still occur in localized areas.

The recent rains have also made soil conditions moist and may be a factor in reducing the impact of a slight frost since temperatures change more slowly in wetter soils than in dryer soils. The free water outside of plants in the form of wet soils reduces freeze injury because free water will freeze before the water inside plant cells freeze.

Slow warming following sub-zero conditions minimizes the effects of frost. Rapid warming, dry conditions, wind and high evaporation aggravate frost injury, and the chance of plant recovery is reduced.

Although not considered an environmental factor, high crop residues may increase frost injury. Residues will act as a barrier for heat transfer from the soil to the plant, increasing the potential for frost injury.

The colder the air temperature and the longer it lasts will affect the amount and degree of plant injury and is outlined for specific crops in more detail below. In general, frost damage to plants can vary from complete death to the best case scenario of where injury is evident but seedlings remain vigorous and complete recovery can be expected.

CEREAL CROPS

Spring Cereals
Spring cereals such as wheat, barley and oats are very tolerant to temperatures as low as -6°C since the growing point is below the soil surface until the 5 leaf stage to jointing. Frost damaged spring cereals will have wilted, dark green and discolored leaves and will become necrotic at the leaf tips within 1 or 2 days after freezing. However, new leaf growth (normal green color) from the growing point should follow within 2-3 days.

Winter Wheat
Winter wheat can be severely impacted by frost damage depending on how low the temperature goes and the growth stage. Winter wheat at the tiller stage can withstand very low temperatures for a period of time (-11°C for less than 2 hours). Frost damaged winter wheat at this stage will have leaf chlorosis and necrotic leaf tips. However, the effect on yield will be slight.

Winter wheat entering the jointing stage is very sensitive to frost damage. Even if there isn’t extensive leaf damage, check the health of the growing point because the growing point is more susceptible to damage than leaf tissue. A healthy growing point should be bright white to yellow-green in color and turgid. However, a damaged growing point will appear brownish or water soaked. Other symptoms may include a dead leaf appearing in the whorl if the growing point was damaged, leaf yellowing or burning, and lesions, splitting or bending of the lower stem. Frost at jointing will have a moderate to severe effect on yield potential.

Corn
Corn in the V5 stage (5 leaves with collars showing) or less will recover from light frosts because the growing point is still below the soil surface. Frost will often kill young corn leaves but plants, even with extensive leaf damage, will likely recover if the growing point was not injured. The death of leaf tissue above the growing point has only a small effect on corn growth and yield at early stages of development. While extremely rare, if air temperatures drop to temperatures of -2°C or less for more than a few hours, the growing point region of a young corn plant can be injured or killed even if it is still below the soil surface.

The best way to assess the impact of frost damage to young corn is to leave the field alone for three to five days, then evaluate the degree of plant recovery. Be aware however that cool days following a frost event may slow the plant’s recovery and delay the ability to assess their health.

To assess corn plants, look at the growing point approximately 3-5 days after the frost occurred. The growing point can be found by pulling up the entire corn plant, including roots, and splitting the entire plant lengthwise. If the growing point is white or creamy in appearance injury didn’t occur. By this time, surviving corn plants should be showing new leaf tissue expanding from the whorls. Damaged tissue in the growing point region will be discolored and soft or "water-soaked”. There will also be lack of new regrowth from the whorl.

To assess damage in corn that hasn’t emerged, dig up a few seeds to check for germination and to see if the seedling is viable. Seeds that haven’t germinated will not be adversely affected but non-emerging seedlings could be affected if soil temperatures were very cold. Non-lethal injury by cold temperatures may cause deformed elongation of the mesocotyl. There is also possible physical damage to the coleoptile in non-emerged seedlings resulting in “cork-screw” symptoms and subsequent leafing out underground.

OILSEED CROPS

Canola
Canola seedlings will usually recover from a light spring frost that may wilt leaves, but does not cause any browning or damages the growing point of the plant. The actual temperature at which frost injury occurs will vary with the plant’s growth stage, moisture content and the length of time the temperature is below freezing. For example, canola at the cotyledon stage is more susceptible to frost damage than plants at the three- to four-leaf stage.

The extent of injury can only be determined by waiting several days after the frost. Time is required to determine the amount of damage and whether or not the growing point has been killed. If there is any green colour at the growing point or the center stem is still firm, erect and does not appeared pinched off, the plant will recover. If plants are found where frost has blackened the cotyledons and/or leaves, no action should be taken for at least four days. Under good growing conditions, green re-growth from the growing point should occur in four to five days. Under poor growing conditions; cold and/or dry, this can take up to 10 days

In 2009, fields in Manitoba showing the greatest frost damage probably also had previous issues such as heavy trash cover, flea beetle feeding, seedlings sitting in too dry soil or emerging from deeper soil depths which left the canola more vulnerable.

When evaluating fields, it is suggested that growers walk a diagonal path across the field, stopping every 20 paces and evaluating a foot square section (make an “L” with you feet and counts plants within the “square”) consider the percentage of plants killed, recovered, and the weed population. A minimal plant stand of 4 plants/ft2 throughout the majority of the field is sustainable for a crop, as long as weeds are controlled. - weed control in any field with lower plant stands crucial to maintaining yields. Canola can compensate for lower plant stands as surviving plants will take advantage of reduced competition for light, moisture and nutrients. Plants will grow larger, produce more branches, pods and seeds per pod, but will require longer to mature. A re-seeded field in the second week of June could require an even longer frost-free period and have a greater risk of fall frost damage than the current lower stand, but established canola field. For example, if 80% of the field has a minimum of 2 to 4/ ft2 and a light and/or easily controlled weed population, while the remainder of the field has fewer plants, then this field probably still has a higher yield potential than one that is reseeded. That’s because only the 20 percent with less than 2 to 4 plants per square foot likely will benefit significantly from reseeding.

Sunflowers
Sunflowers are fairly frost tolerant up to the V4 or four leaf stage. The cotyledons just emerging are most frost tolerant, with risk of injury increasing as the plant adds leaves. If sunflowers become brown or black and the terminal bud is severely damaged, plants will not recover. Less severe frost damage may result in loss of apical dominance and plants will exhibit branching from axillary buds, resulting in multiple heads later in the season.

Tolerance to frost in sunflowers can be influenced by the hardening off process. If it is cool or cold for several days previous to the frost, seedlings may have better tolerance to lower temperatures.

Flax
Like other oilseed crops, the staging of the flax plant will determine susceptibility to frost damage. When flax is first emerging, it is the most susceptible to spring frost, but can still tolerate a light frost for a few hours. After the 2 leaf stage, when the plant has hardened off, it can withstand temperatures below freezing - depending on environmental conditions, down to -8° C. One thing to look for with flax is frost canker – affected plants are girdled at or near the soil surface, which may cause the plant to fall over.

POTATOES

The cool, wet conditions have delayed planting in most potato production areas and hence the emergence of potatoes from the hill. The early planted potatoes that have emerged could potentially be affected by frost. If the emerged “sprout” is damaged by frost, the plant will produce new shoots from the surviving unfrozen portions of the sprout still below the soil surface. This leads to an increased number of stems per plant as well as a delay in emergence which can increase the risk of seed piece decay. The increased number of stems can usually be correlated with an increased number of tubers and lower average tuber size at harvest. Frost injury to the plants will add to the length of time the plant requires to mature properly. Therefore the chemical maturity of the daughter potatoes at harvest will potentially be delayed as the plants had fewer days to adequately mature.

PULSE CROPS

Peas
Peas are more tolerant of frost than either edible beans or soybeans. Pea crops are rarely lost from early spring frosts because they can have 2 nodes (growing points) on the plant stem between the seed and soil surface. If the growing point is killed, these nodes become active and each node will send a shoot to the soil surface. The pea plant would mature later than other pea plants that didn’t have their main shoot killed. Yield potential of the frosted pea plants would be determined by environmental conditions during flowering.

Soybeans
Due to the variability of the frost, the level of soybean injury has to be evaluated on a field by field basis. Generally frost injury was more severe on fields with heavy residue from previous crops.

Soybeans that hadn’t emerged by Friday night are OK. This would include most soybeans seeded in late May on heavy clay soils. Soybeans seeded on clay soils between May 26th and May 30th typically would have germinated but the seed would have just started to move up in the soil from its seeding depth.

When it comes to emerged soybean seedlings and freezing, size really does matter. While soybeans are sensitive to frost, however the smaller the soybean plant the more tolerant they are to frost. Soybean plants that are just cracking through the soil (VE) and up to the cotyledonary stage (VC) can tolerate -2.8° C for a few hours.

At the time of the frost last Friday night (June 5th), the most advanced soybean fields were between the cotyledonary and unifoliate growth stage. Soybeans exposed to frost at the cotyledonary stage may leaf out again – however you will have to wait 3 to 5 days before going out to look for signs of new growth. At the cotyledonary stage soybeans have 3 potential growing points - the main shoot plus 2 axillary buds that are located at the base of the cotyledons. Under normal conditions the axillary buds never grow, but if the main growing point is killed by frost, the 2 axillary buds will start to grow within a week of the frost event. Under the current cool, cloudy conditions you may have to wait up to a week before you see any sign of recovery. During the summer 1 of the axillary branch will become dominant and be the main stem of the soybean plant.

Soybean plants that were still below the soil surface were not affected by the frost and will emerge normally.

Even soybean fields that suffered plant a lot of frozen plants doesn’t automatically mean that it has to be reseeded – especially considering the late date and the current wet soil conditions. Soybeans have a tremendous ability to compensate for reduced stand when scattered plants are removed especially on fields where your seeded for a final plant population of 200, 000 plants per acre or more. Soybeans cannot compensate for large areas of stand loss.

Edible Beans
Edible beans that hadn’t emerged by Friday night would not have been injured by the frost.

Edible beans are more sensitive to frost than soybeans. This could be the reason why we don’t see a lot of regrowth from axillary buds like we do with soybeans. Growers will have to wait 4 to 6 days to look for signs of growth from the main growing point and make a decision at that point.

Since edible beans are seeded on lighter textured soils, fields seeded 10 days before the frost are potentially affected by the frost. The level of edible bean injury has to be evaluated on a field by field basis.

Frost Damage and Protection in Strawberry and Saskatoon Orchards

With the late frost in some areas of the province, especially south-central region, saskatoon and strawberries flowers were at risk of damage. Most saskatoon orchards are at balloon or full flower phase so they may be at the greatest risk of frost damage, while for strawberries flowering was just starting (10% flowering or less).

The amount of damage to the flower tissue depends on many factors such as length of frost event, lowest temperature achieved, soil temperature/ moisture levels (heat release from the soil by conductivity) and precipitation (snow/ rain) occurring during frost event (may help protect plant similar to irrigation method).

Keep on mind that temperatures can be two to three degrees cooler than temperatures reported by weather stations, which are taken at shoulder level. Therefore, thermometers or electronic temperature alarms should be located in low spots where frost would usually occur first.

Saskatoons Frost Tolerance and Injury Symptoms

Saskatoon flowers and newly-set fruit are susceptible to damage with frosts at -2.2ºC or lower. Below this temperature actively growing plant tissues (e.g. flower buds) are killed or damaged. This damage may be visible within one hour to couple days after the frost. Symptoms of frost damage are not always visible, but look for slight browning of internal flower tissue and slight browning of flower petals.

Saskatoon flower buds can tolerate lower frost temperatures depending on its stage of development. Detailed frost tolerance research on apples, which is in the same family, indicate the following: tight bud flower stage can tolerate -8ºC, first pink -6ºC, full pink -4.6ºC, first bloom -4 ºC, full bloom -4.7 and post bloom -3ºC. Note: These temperatures would have to be present for 30 minutes with an expected kill rate of 90%.

Photos of frost damaged saskatoon flowers see: http://www.prairie-elements.ca/saskatoon/12.1-weather.pdf

Photos of frost damaged saskatoon flowers

Photo credit: Richard St.Pierre

Strawberries Frost Tolerance and Injury Symptoms

Strawberry flower buds and fruit are susceptible to frost injury any time after bud break (-1ºC or lower). Frost damages the center of the flower with the center turning black while the petals and leaves appear uninjured. The blackening occurs within a few hours to one day after the frost. Frost can also damage the developing fruit, deforming the berries.
Frost injury rarely causes complete crop loss because the strawberry plant produces flowers over a two to three week period. The first flowers to open are the largest and face the greatest risk of frost injury. Closed buds are also sensitive to frost damage. Frost losses can range from 20 to 80% depending on the temperature and the duration of the frost, the cultivar, vigor, stage of development and the weather preceding the frost.

Strawberry flower buds can tolerate lower frost temperatures depending on its stage of development. For example tight bud flower stage can tolerate -5ºC, tight with white petals -2.2ºC, full bloom -1ºC, past full bloom and immature fruit can tolerate -2.2ºC. Note: These temperatures would have to be present for 30 minutes with an expected kill rate of 90%.

Frost Protection Measures

Most strawberry fields in the past have been irrigated by solid set irrigation which allows for quick conversion to a frost protection system. However with the increased use of drip tape in strawberry fields and all saskatoon orchards this method is not available. Mild frost damage can be controlled by management practices other than solid set irrigation. These include not tilling the soil during the frost risk period in early spring. Untilled soil acts as a heat sink during the day and this heat is released during the night to protect the plants. Irrigation prior to a frost will provide an increased heat release from the soil by conductivity. The use of polyethylene covers will reduce damage to flowers caused by light frosts and cold winds. Long term measures include thinning out shelterbelts surrounding the orchard to allow for more air flow and reduce the problem of frost pockets on the site (see Managing Farm Windbreaks to reduce Frost Injury: http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/hort/news/hortmatt/2007/05hrt07a7.htm ).

Saskatoon orchards may have to consider using frost control measures practiced by other tree fruit orchards in Canada in order to protect their yield and investment. Such measures include use of wind machines, outdoor heaters/ fires and artificial fogs. These measures more effective with radiation frost than advection frosts (see frost type definitions below). However the cost of setting up such systems must be balanced with value of the crop. In vineyards where crops are very valuable, costly measures to protect a crop can be justified.

The Frost Control Principle and Frost Injury Levels

As water freezes, heat is released, keeping the plant parts above the freezing point. This frost control method is effective down to about – 6.6°C. The key to utilizing this principle successfully is to leave the irrigation system operating until after sunrise to ensure that the ice will melt.

A temperature of – 1°C at the plant level may cause slight injury to open flowers. A medium injury to open flowers can be expected at – 2°C. Temperatures below – 3°C at the plant level will cause severe injury to buds and developing berries.

Key tools for frost control include an automatic thermal alarm, several probe sensors or thermistors and several accurate thermometers. The thermistors are placed in the flower buds of two random plants, preferably with one plant located in a low area of the field and the other beyond the frost protection system. The thermometers should be placed at the thermistor locations as a double check. A comparison of the readings at the two sites will help determine when to stop the irrigation system. These are the key steps for frost control:

Start the sprinklers just before the air temperature at ground level reaches 0°C, use nozzles designed for frost protection (low output rate, metal).
Apply 2.5 to 3 mm/h. (1/10 to 1/8 in./h.). At this rate 655 to 822 L/ha (60 to 75 gal./acre) of water is applied.
• Do not stop when ice begins to form on the plants.
Operating time needed to control frost varies from three to fifteen hours, but usually takes eight to ten hours. A slight breeze or cloud cover during the night may temporarily raise the temperature about the freezing point, but the temperature can drop below freezing just as quickly if conditions change.
Ice may form anywhere from 1.6 to 12 mm thick (1/16 to ½ in.) depending on the intensity and duration of the frost. This does not seem to injure low growing strawberry plants.
Leave sprinklers on until the temperature increases enough to start melting the ice that has formed.

Photo 1: The strawberry blossom on the left is frost injured. The pistils (female flower parts) are darkened and killed, while the stamens (male parts) and the rest of the flower show no injury. The strawberry blossom on the right has not been frost injured.

Photo 2: Strawberry leaf frost damaged, with black curled leaf edges.

Definitions:
Radiation Frost - Clear; calm; inversion; temperature greater than 0 °C during day
Advection Frost- Windy; no inversion; temperature can be less than 0 °C during day

References:

St. Pierre, R. Growing Saskatoons: A Manual for Orchardists. 1997, University of Saskatchewan. http://www.prairie-elements.ca

Snyder, R. and Paulo de Melo-Abreu, J. Frost Protection: fundamentals, practice, and economics. Vol. 1. 2005, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. http://www.fao.org/docrep/008/y7223e/y7223e00.HTM

Commercial Strawberry Production on the Prairies. AAFRD, SAFRR and MAFRI. 2005.
Order information: http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/cropproduction/gaa01d15.html

Identifying Winter Kill in Alfalfa

Date: May 19, 2009

Author: Glenn Friesen, Forage Specialist, Crops Branch, Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives, Ph: 204-745-5672
If you think you may have some winter damage to your alfalfa fields because of excess water or icing of the fields, there are some guidelines you can follow to determine if you should renovate the field.
Dig up some plants from three or four locations in the field or the suspected area and inspect the root damage. Make sure you include the top six inches of the root.
Slice the root lengthwise and check for rot or discolouration inside the root.
If there is significant discolouration with 50% or more of the stems, then this stand will have poor winter survival for next year.
If there are a number of dead plants, to determine if there is an economic stand left, count the viable stems in a square foot. If there are more than 40, it should provide a reasonable yield, if below 30 stems per square foot, consider replacing the stand. Another option is to count the number of plants per square foot. An ideal number is ten or more; if less than three, consider renovation.

If there is winter injury, the alfalfa crop will be slow to recover, so leave that first harvest until mid-bloom to allow the damaged crown to recover and build reserves. An alfalfa plant can usually withstand 10-20 days of ice covering before toxic compounds build up and kill the plant. Before you start to tear up a field, do a complete survey.
Contact your local Forage & Grassland Farm Production Extension Specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives with further questions.

Reference: Dan Undersander, University of Wisconsin Extension Service

Ice Encasement and Alfalfa Frost Damage

Date: May 19, 2009

Author: Glenn Friesen, Forage Specialist, Crops Branch, Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives, Ph: 204-745-5672
The disappearance of snow earlier in the winter left some fields exposed to the elements, which could present the possibility of winterkill damage to alfalfa stands. Cold conditions after snowmelt, combined with ice encasement may create the possibility of overwintering damage in alfalfa stands.
Producers are encouraged to evaluate stands in the spring for overwintering damage. Low areas in the field are more susceptible than higher areas to flooding and ice encasement damage. If areas in the field have been flooded out, it may be possible to sod-seed to re-establish alfalfa in these areas, depending on the age of the stand. In the cast of alfalfa, a stand two years or older should be rotated to another crop to avoid autotoxicity.
For overall stand assessment, the measurement of stand density in terms of number of stems per square foot is the usual recommended measure of stand productivity. In a pure alfalfa stand more than 55 stems per square foot is considered as no limitation to yield, between 40 and 55 will have some yield reduction expected, and stands less than 39 stems per square foot should raise questions about whether the stand should be replaced.
For grass and alfalfa mixtures, consider the ratio between grass and alfalfa before applying the above guidelines to the stand evaluation.

Assessing the Frost and Flood Damage in Your Alfalfa

Date: May 19, 2009

Author: Glenn Friesen, Forage Specialist, Crops Branch, Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives, Ph: 204-745-5672
Unseasonably wet conditions last fall combined with above average precipitation and cool conditions this spring, some hay stands are dealing with excessive moisture. Additionally, some areas of Manitoba experienced frost conditions over the past week. If you are concerned about your hay stand and its production potential this season, below are some tips to assess the damage.

Hay Fields

Just as in annual crops, the concern with forages is protecting the growing point. At this time of year, growing points in grasses are all at the soil surface or below ground, and protected from frost injury. On the other hand, legumes elevate their growing points as the growth stage advances, leaving them susceptible to frost injury. The crucial advantage perennial crops have over annuals are the crown and root reserves. Although growing tip damage may occur, the plant will always have the capability of sending out new growing points, as long as the crown is not damaged. Temperatures needed to affect alfalfa crowns vary depending on slope position, amount and type (“wet or dry”) of snow cover, soil temperature, soil moisture, companion crop, and wind. Most studies estimate that alfalfa crown damage may become an issue when air temperatures reach -5C for more than 4 hours. Stand assessment should take place 3 to 5 days after the frost.
Producers can expect to see some minor leaf burn due to frost damage; however, there is much less concern for crown injury.

Established fields

Established alfalfa seeded last spring or earlier will recover to take advantage of the additional moisture quite nicely. Plant tops that remain green and upright will keep growing as normal.
However, plants in younger stands (1-3 years) generally have fewer crown buds developed and available for rapid re-growth. Yield potential may be affected. Plan on monitoring the stand for plant stand reductions into the early summer.
If the top 4" or more on a plant is wilted, if plants are drying out, and/or if they're becoming discolored, they will stop growing for a short period of time. Eventually, new shoots will develop -- some from branches on the main stem and some from the crown. Growth will be set-back slightly, and yield may be affected.

Below is a guideline to use when assessing stand damage:

If less than 30% of stem tops show wilting/browning from frost, do nothing. Enough stems remain to provide good growth and yield of first cutting. Stand will have some yield reduction of first cutting but will recover completely on second cutting.
If most or all stem tops are damaged and stand is less than 10” tall, do nothing. The growing points have been killed but the alfalfa will form new buds at lower leaf junctures (ancillary buds) and continue growing (first cutting might be delayed). Alfalfa may demonstrate some horizontal growth. Mowing existing top growth will not enhance recovery. If stand is over 12” inches tall, harvest and allow to regrow.
If all stems on a plant are frozen back to the ground, the plant is dead. This extent of frost damage has not occurred in Manitoba to our knowledge. However, if observed and fewer than 5 plants per square foot remain, consider rotating to another crop and replanting alfalfa in another field to avoid autotoxicity.

Seedling fields (Seeded in spring of 2009 or fall of 2008)

At emergence, alfalfa and most winter hardy forage grass and legume seedlings are extremely tolerant to cold. But, frost tolerance changes with age. Four or more hours of temperatures around -5C may kill new seedlings, especially once the seedling has reached the 3rd – 4th trifoliate stage. Heat from the soil often protects them from brief, cold temperatures. Seedlings frozen so that all trifoliate leaves are discolored and dying will not re-grow. Seedlings with 1 trifoliate remaining should regrow. Alfalfa seeded with a companion crop survives lower temperatures and longer exposure times before showing frost damage. Reseeding your stand should not be required if more than 20 plants per square foot are remaining; however, less than 15 plants per square foot should trigger a consideration to reseed or broadcast additional seed on the field. Since the plants are less than two years old, autotoxicity is not an issue.
However, as most spring seeding of forages takes place in late May to mid-June, few if any fields are in the germinating to emerging stage at this time of year. Therefore, field conditions should be excellent when the time comes to seed a new forage field. In fact, this extra moisture received might also give producers a chance to clean up that last flush of weeds.

Pastures

Pastures can be thought of in the same manner as established hay fields. Since most pastures are mainly grass, frost injury is not a significant concern. Much like the hay fields, the added moisture will improve stand health and may increase productivity, depending on the amount of overgrazing that has taken place and the fertility program.

Spring Flooding

Excessive moisture last fall, significant snow fall in some area, and spring rains have left the moisture level of many forage stands at field capacity. Flooding a forage stand limits the amount of oxygen in the soil profile, and since plant roots require oxygen to remain healthy, plant productivity and survival is reduced when soil moisture levels are too high. Below is a list of the flooding tolerance of a few common forage crops.

Spring flooding tolerance levels of a few common forage crops.

Alfalfa: 2 weeks
Alsike Clover: 2 – 3 weeks
Smooth brome grass: 2 – 3 weeks
Timothy: 5 – 7 weeks
Meadow Foxtail: 5 – 6 weeks

Producers are recommended to monitor their pastures for flooding damage in lower areas. If plants have died, re-seed the area by broadcasting or sod-seeding with a double disk press drill.

For more information, contact:
Pam de Rocquigny, Business Development Specialist – Feed Grains
Crops Knowledge Center, Carman
Ph: 204-745-5676

Anastasia Kubinec, Business Development Specialist – Oilseeds
Crops Knowledge Center, Carman
Ph: 204-745-5645

Tom Gonsalves, Business Development Specialist - Potatoes
Crops Knowledge Center, Carman
Ph: 204-745-5671

Bruce Brolley, Business Development Specialist – Pulses
Crops Knowledge Center, Carman
Ph: 204-745-0044

Anthony Mintenko, Business Development Specialist - Fruit Crops
Crops Knowledge Center, Carman
Ph: 204-745-5675

Glenn Friesen, Business Development Specialist - Forages
Crops Knowledge Center, Carman
Ph: 204-745-5672

For further information, contact your GO representative.