Wheat Pete’s Word, July 6: Wilting Clover, Tillering Corn and Crying for Rain

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It’s hard to believe we’re already at wheat harvest, but it’s time to get the combine set up! And take a look at those fields! Producers across the province are finding disease, insects and nutrient deficiencies, and it’s all in this week’s Word, with Peter Johnson, resident agronomist for RealAgriculture.

Have a question for Wheat Pete? Call 1-888-746-3311, send him a tweet (@wheatpete), or email [email protected].

Highlights:

  • It’s dry in most of Ontario, one of the few dry spots in all of North America.
    • Farm safety – make sure you have a fully charged fire extinguisher on all equipment.
    • Don’t give up on red clover that’s wilting, as long as it hasn’t gone totally crispy.
    • Clarification on Irrigation – 27000 (U.S.) gallons of water is equal to one inch of rainfall on one acre.
  • Wheat harvest has begun.
    • Sand soils in Essex county – dry, no fungicides sprayed for stripe rust = 55bu/ac. But, at least it’s good quality! With almost no fusarium.
  • Scouting:
    • Watch for spider mites. They start out of the fence row and move into the crop — primarily soybeans. Tips on monitoring.
    • Keep scouting for soybean aphids.
    • Leafhoppers still around. Scout and control if necessary.
    • Seeing some sudden death syndrome in soybeans.
  • Corn crop:
    • Seeing lots of tillers on corn. “What that means is the corn crop is happy.”
    • Is it not true that early nitrogen is critical on a dry year?
    • “Never farm last year’s weather.”
    • Dry broadcast fertilizer is causing a lot of burn this year.
    • Potassium deficiency in corn at V9. What’s going on?
  • Soybeans:
    • Foliar applications are likely not the answer, even in a drought.
  • Alfalfa:
    • Yes, it can go boron-deficient. The same is true of canola, but other crops can be injured by too much boron. “It’s kind of walking a fine line.”
  • Weed Control:
    • Pinnacle + Classic + Reflex tank mix?
    • What’s this nightshade with rhizomes?

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