| Depending on your situation it may not be as big an issue this year as there wasn't a lot of thick wheat stubble around. A McFarlane harrow on a hot day will do a lot to break the straw down, if you could get a rain between harrowing and planting I think that would be enough ensure the residue wouldn't hinder you. If you can get good depth control and seed placement a shank type drill is also an option.
We planted canola in 30" rows with a planter a couple years ago, ran the row cleaners pretty aggressive and got better emergence than we have obtained with any other seeding system. Yields were about 12% less than canola planted with a drill in 15" rows but I think a lot of that could be attributed to harvest loss. We swathed the canola and got a rain before we could pick it up. The 30" canola didn't have enough stubble to hold the windrow off the ground. There were a lot of things I liked about 30" canola and I think we will probably continue to play with it. |