June 2017 Page 3 to snow could tell you), and the best we can do is learn how to adapt to the whims of hail and the damage it brings. Our 2016 hail canola trial found that hail had a relatively minor effect at the 3-leaf and 7 days after flowering stages. Interestingly, damage at the first flower stage in tended to show a moderately negative hit to yield when exposed to severe hail. Damage at 21 days after flowering tended to show the most impact from hail, with even mild hail reducing yield to 30% of our un-hit check, and the most severe hail reducing
yields to a mere 3%. Fungicide application seemed to help with the recovery of peas damaged by hail, with yields increasing across almost all timings and levels of hail compared to the yields of damaged peas without applications. The nutrient blend seemed to have no effect on yield. The application of a nutrient blend to wheat damaged by hail tended to increase yield when compared to the yield of untreated wheat hit by hail. Hail still decimated wheat in the later stages of its growth.
While a nutrient blend may help increase yield compared to untreated wheat, those yields are still nowhere near the yield of wheat not damaged by hail. While these results are interesting, they are far from being confirmed. These are the results after one year of trials at one location. Similar trials are being conducted at Vegreville and Lethbridge that may produce different results. Our current results may contain uncontrollable factors such as weather or moisture, and by conducting the trial again we can get results generalizable
Areal view of all treatments of the hail canola project, August 8, 2016