STAT Communications Ag Market News

Planning Lentil Harvest

EDMONTON - Aug 9/16 - SNS -- Alberta Agriculture believes farmers can successfully harvest this year's lentil crop in that province with a little planning.

"For harvest ease, land rolling was applied after lentil seeding to push rocks into the soil and smooth over seeder grooves," says Neil Whatley, crop specialist, Alberta Ag-Info Centre. "Lentil growers roll fields to enable combine headers to more safely pass nearer to the soil surface to capture low hanging pods at harvest time."

Lentil crops mature from the bottom up. "As such, seeds in pods on the plant's lower branches will be more mature than those at the top of the plant at harvest time. Some flowers may still be present at the top of some plants while the seeds in the lower canopy are ready to harvest. Timing the harvest operation is a compromise between increased yield from younger pods higher in the crop canopy and shatter losses from mature pods near the bottom. There is greater yield potential from pods in the lower canopy so shatter prevention is of paramount importance. Some seeds in pods in the uppermost canopy will not be mature enough to harvest and will blow out the back of the combine."

While a lentil crop continues to appear green when seen across a field at harvest time, closer observation will show the crop is mature and ready for harvest. "The crop is ready when the bottom third of the pods in the canopy are tan coloured and rattle when shaken," says Whatley. "Crop desiccation or a pre-harvest herbicide application is recommended at this stage."

The most consistent and widely used desiccant applied on the Prairies is Reglone (Diquat) which is a contact herbicide that dries the crop vegetation, contributing to combining ease.

"Perennial weed control can be achieved with a slower crop drydown by applying glyphosate, a systemic herbicide. While there are no marketing issues with Reglone and glyphosate, if Heat (red lentil only) or CleanStart are being considered, speak with your buyer beforehand to assure product residue remains below maximum residue limits set by regulatory agencies for these two products."

Reglone dries the crop canopy but does not hasten seed maturity, says Whatley. "The effectiveness of Reglone may be enhanced by applying it on cloudy days or just prior to nightfall. Use a high water volume with Reglone - 15 gallons per acre or 20 gallons if the crop canopy is thick. One can generally thresh the crop seven to ten days after applying Reglone, or after four to seven days during hot, dry sunny weather."

Crop dry down, however, will take longer if glyphosate is applied. "While not considered a desiccant, glyphosate should only be used if perennial weeds need to be controlled. This is an opportune time to control perennial weeds because Canada thistle, for example, is well exposed in a short statured, mature lentil crop, so good herbicide coverage of the weed is ensured. Some weed situations may warrant a glyphosate application followed by Reglone four to five days later. For example, large-sized kochia plants may not fully dry down without the additional application of Reglone."

Shattering losses and seed breakage can occur if harvesting is done at 14 per cent or less of seed moisture content. "It's best to combine lentils at 16 to 18 per cent moisture content and then dried and cooled in aeration bins shortly thereafter. Speak with your purchaser beforehand as some buyers of red lentils prefer a storage moisture content of 13 per cent for dehulling efficiency."

"While seeds desiccated with Reglone can be used for re-planting, glyphosate may leave seeds unviable. So, desiccating at least some of the field with Reglone alone will provide seed for re-planting next year."

Farm-saved CL lentil seed must be Clearfield-Confirm tested to ensure it has not been contaminated with non-Clearfield seed and that it maintains the appropriate level of tolerance to Clearfield lentil herbicides, adds Whatley. "Send a seed sample to a seed testing lab like 20/20 Seed Labs, BioVision Seed Labs, or Seed Check Technologies to receive a wallet-sized commitment card."

Only active subscribers can read all of this article.

If you are a subscriber, please log into the website.

If you are not a subscriber, click here to subscribe to this edition of the STAT website and to learn more about becoming a subscriber.