Many Manitoba crops are maturing faster than normal and moving into reproductive stages faster than expected, due to drought stress.

Manitoba Agriculture Oilseeds Specialist Dane Froese says producers are in desperate need of rain.

High temperatures, strong winds, and a lack of widespread rainfall, have combined to stress Manitoba crops.

Froese says herbicide applications are nearly complete, with some second-pass spraying to come in soybeans and corn.

Fungicide applications on cereals and canola are unlikely to occur on many fields, given the forecast and lower than expected yield potential.

And alfalfa weevil damage is causing forage crop yield losses in parts of the Eastern and Interlake regions.