Local sugar-beet growers will be monitoring the weather a little more closely than usual this week.
After cloudy skies dumped heavy rains on southern Alberta, Andrew Llewelyn-Jones of Lantic Sugar Inc. added this will be a make-or-break week for some fields.
It may be too early to say for sure, but there will be some low-lying areas that will be problematic, he added. Just how problematic they will be will depend on Mother Nature.
“Beets can stay underwater for a while and still survive, so it depends on how well the fields drain and how much it warms up.”
The forecast looks solid in terms of sun and warmth for the next few days, as no rain is being predicted for at least into the weekend, and temperatures are expected to improve greatly from last weekend.
Make no mistake, some growers are facing fields with a lot of water.
“We had anywhere from four to seven inches, depending on who you ask and where you are,” said Llewelyn-Jones.
The wet weather will help in one respect, he added, as some growers were having problems with crusting, as previous rain and warm weather that followed created a tough environment for beets to poke through.
That will not be a problem now for the beets that are not drowned in rain water.
Wet conditions will prove a nuisance for growers that needed to re-plant fields damaged by heavy winds, according to Llewelyn-Jones, as that process has been delayed.
Other than the wind-damaged fields, the 2010 beet crop was in the ground prior to the rains. He added southern Alberta fields had good subsoil-moisture levels even before the downpour, which should take some pressure off the irrigation system for the near future.
However, with beet roots capable of burrowing six to eight feet underground, Llewelyn-Jones added even though moisture levels are solid now, growers need to carefully monitor the situation.
He went on to say for the next week or so, it would be nice to see a return of the sun, and temperatures in the 20-degree Celsius range, to help dry out the fields and get the beet crop back on track.
Edzo Kok of the Potato Growers of Alberta, confirmed growers had already had a difficult time getting the crop into the ground, before last week’s rains hit.
“Since potato planting requires fairly dry conditions, most growers were forced to plant their lighter soils to potatoes this year, as the heavier land was not drying out fast enough. Many of the low wet spots were simply avoided or, if they were planted, there was an expectation that they could be lost with the first heavy rain. Most potato growers also cultivate their fields in a manner that holds much of the moisture in the rows rather than allowing it to all flow to the low spots.”
As a result, Kok added most growers will come out of the recent rain storms in pretty good shape.
“All these factors worked in our favour in dealing with the recent heavy precipitation. For the most part, the potato crop will handle the excess moisture, apart from the low spots that many were already anticipating they may lose.”
However, he added the time is now for the weather to turn around and help growers who may be facing losses due to the water accumulation.
“We are too late to go back to the fields and plant for any possible losses and now must count on Mother Nature to turn around and deliver us some ideal growing conditions — we need some heat.”