WINNIPEG — Last week’s extreme heat has caused some damage to Manitoba’s edible bean crops, and reduced the potential for farmers to squeeze in any extra yield this year, a specialist says.
“We’d seen some premature ripening even before the extreme heat hit,” says Dennis Lange, farm production adviser with Manitoba Agriculture.
From Aug. 9 to 15, Manitoba saw temperatures ranging from 25 C to 35 C, based on data measured in Winnipeg, according to AccuWeather.
Frank Reimer, president of Global Grain Canada Ltd., says he has seen plants with visible damage and pod abortions, mainly in southern Manitoba.
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He says now that the weather has cooled down it will help development, but not enough.
“The damage is done,” Reimer says.
Lange says edible bean crops are maturing faster than farmers would like, but overall crops still look relatively good.
However, the chances of getting an extra yield from young pods and flowers this year is low because most aborted due to extreme heat.
Lange has heard multiple reports of bacterial blight, a warm-weather disease with the potential to impact yield and seed quality.
“We’ve been getting quite a few calls on that, bacterial blight showing up in the beans,” Lange says.
“When leaves look diseased, growers get a little concerned with that, but there’s really nothing you can do because it is a bacteria.”
However, Lange says with good conditions plants will usually grow out of the disease.
“The yield on main stem should be OK, and we’ll just have to wait for a few more weeks to see what kind of yield we get,” Lange says.
Edible beans will start being harvested in about two weeks. In the lead up to it, Reimer says the market is the slowest he’s seen in years, especially with pinto beans.
He says they’re waiting for orders to get prices moving again.
