Wheat Pete’s Word, July 22: Egg masses, green silk, and big wheat yields

Wheat yield results are starting to trickle in from across Ontario, and the verdict is… pretty good!

In this mid-July edition of Wheat Pete’s Word, host Pete Johnson covers off what seems to have contributed to yield and what didn’t seem to hold the wheat crop back. Plus, there are some insect pressures to watch for right now, and weather conditions are shaping up wetter than it has been; disease pressure is starting to climb.

Have a question you’d like Johnson to address or some yield results to send in? Disagree with something he’s said? Leave him a message at 1-888-746-3311, send him a tweet (@wheatpete), or email him at [email protected].

SUMMARY

• Keep those questions coming!
• Barley and pea silage went gangbusters
• There is SOME big wheat out there. 135 bu/ac out there. Anyone break that over the scale? Let Pete know!
• Sandy farm, needed manganese twice, right along St. Claire river. In June, closed off the tile. Sub irrigation thought process. 128 bu/ac on sand!
• Armyworm question: did they make the right call to not control? Sept 20th planting, with manure, 116 bu/ac. 1/2 mile away, no manure, no armyworm, only ran 100 bu/ac. Manure makes the difference, not the armyworm
• Sunburned flag leaves — would they have an impact on yield? One farmer was pretty disappointed in yield. It was dry and too hot. Just didn’t get the grain fill we wanted.
• Alternaria isn’t the disaster to the crop, but it’s an indication that the crop died early. Could mean that land needs manure?
• On to corn fungicide timing, y’all. Dr. Dave Hooker says silking is the right time in Ontario (green silks, too!) and an application of fungicide should average 6 bu/ac increase. Single vs double vs several modes of action? Miravis NEO had a slight advantage in DON reduction. Feeding hogs? Might be the product for you. Caramba and Proline are the other two options for DON control.
• Variability is huge this year. Less yield potential in variable corn crops, that’s just the way it is.
• Need to hit green silk timing for the fungicide — gives you about a five day window to make sure you can lower the DON levels
• Target when MOST of the field is in green silk
• Silage advantage is actually higher with fungicide because you protect the whole plant, so think on that
• Seeing silk clipping? Great article from Tracey Baute here.
• Time to look for egg masses on corn! Western bean cutworm levels are definitely sporatic, so scout, scout, scout
• Leafhoppers in edible bean fields!
• Emergency forage — sudangrass is likely not going to be worth it now. More here.
• Oats, oats, and more oats, and add the N. Yes, even with clover.

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