Crop conditions are varied across Alberta, although the overall picture is looking good with no real significant areas of concern, according to a provincial specialist.
“The crops are variable, some are right on-time and some are late,” said Neil Whatley, crop specialist with the Alberta Ag Info Centre. He said heat in recent weeks has helped fields catch up in many cases, and if the weather persists most fields should be caught up to normal development within the next week.
Crops in southern Alberta are farthest along heading into the harvest, said Whatley. He described crops in the south as largely good-to-excellent, as were the crops in central Alberta. In the north fields were average overall. He said the southern part of the Peace River district was also looking reasonably good, although crops were poorer in the northern reaches of the region.
“All over the province we’ve had more rain than normal, so there are areas where it was flooded out,” said Whatley, “but the areas where it is good will make up for that.”
Overall, insect damage was low across Alberta this year, while disease problems were higher than normal. Some spraying took place to deal with disease issues, said Whatley.
Going forward, Whatley said average weather conditions through August would help heading into harvest.
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