It’s no secret that the Prairies have been for the most part very dry. When the wheat crops needed it the most, the rain wasn’t falling. There has been some moisture in the last couple of weeks, as many fields are headed into flowering. But what does that mean for your fungicide applications?
RealAgriculture Agronomist Peter Johnson says that in Ontario, they are mostly spraying for the main head since heading isn’t ideally uniform this year.
“I think growers in Western Canada should really be looking and watching that. We already see the fusarium developing here — both in our winter barley, our spring barley, and our winter wheat. We’re seeing fusarium in the early crop across the board in all of those species, and it’s not horrendous, but almost every head in some field has one floret that is gone with fusarium. ”
He adds that if the weather conditions are prime, it will spread through the head, so it is essential to stay on top of your fungicides ahead of time.
“It’s such a quality factor, that if you are conducive for fusarium, I think you have to spray in Western Canada. I’m a big ‘control fusarium guy’ because it can have such huge ramifications to market the crop,” he emphasizes. “So what I would suggest to Western growers is to have a look when that main head first emerges out of the boot.”
Hear what Wheat Pete has to say about drought and fungicide decisions, here:
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