What Stubble Means to Moisture Retention According to Dr. Phillip Harder, SWAT Maps

By Mitchell Japp, Research and Extension Manager

Do you have a burning question for a barley researcher? SaskBarley brought three prominent barley researchers in front of a packed house at our BarleyBin Live event at the Harvest Eatery in Shaunavon, SK this March. Dr. Charles Geddes, Christiane Catellier, and Dr. Phillip Harder brought some productive discussions and conversations to an engaged crowd. If you missed it, you can rewatch the livestream on Twitter/X.

Here’s one of those questions.

How much difference does an inch or two of stubble make?

Dr. Phillip Harder, Research Director & Hydrological Scientist at SWATMAPS, shared his research and experiences with tall stubble in some of the work he has done.

The taller your stubble the better: An extra inch of stubble may add up to about 5 mm water equivalent and, it also reduces the evaporative demand. That means that it is losing less water compared to shorter stubble. Taking the extra time to adjust the combine header can be worthwhile in dry conditions by retaining a bit more moisture in the system, both by captured snow and reduced losses. Further steps can be taken with equipment changes – like using a stripper header – to fully maximize snow retention.