Wheat Pete’s Word, Sept 30: Stink bugs, pink corn, early wheat, and broadcast P

It might be very dry in Ontario, but that means the crop can come off quickly and we can get the 2021 wheat crop locked and loaded.

In this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson has answers to seeding pinch points on meeting soil fertility needs, a few scouting tips on new and old pests alike, plus some yield reports to share from across Ontario.

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

• Reports of over 80 bushels per acre for beans. Wowzah.
• Beans out early equals wheat in early, so 2021 is off to a great start
• It’s not great everywhere, of course. Niagara was dry and it hurt yields
• Silage corn yield reports: dry area, 3/4 of tonnage from average. Where the rain fell, quite a good tonnage. But pretty average across the board. Quality? WHOA. The energy value is through the roof.
• Earlier grain corn yields are mediocre but not bad. The test weight is a little light. Grade 4s and Grade 3s coming in. A bit of a question as to why.
• Why are beans and corn going so slow? Corn isn’t drying over 10 days to two weeks. Sometimes we hit these windows where it seems like nothing is happening
• That frost has had a variable impact on edible beans and double crop beans. Canopy played a role, as did planting date
• Starting to see gibberella in the corn crop, associated with western bean cutworm damage
• Find clean corn, hog guys
• Tar spot. Pretty sure it’s here. Lambton Country, Essex, and Ridgetown. Walk your fields and send us the images if you think you have it (see below)
• Brown marmorated stink bugs are on the increase and are tough to control
• Dry soybeans? Quit whining! Wet beans are worse (especially because of mud)
• One farmer said they had all 1,000 acres of wheat planted in September which is great
• Some areas are 30 to 50 per cent planted for the wheat crop
• Adding water to crop on the way to the elevator? Up the auger, into the truck, and a long enough drive. But I guess you could, but it’s actually illegal!
• Rapid-fire! Drill pinch point — is there a benefit to broadcast phosphorus on a low or medium soil test? If you can’t put it with the seed, yes, you can, but remember you’re going to lose a percentage (to the environment)
• Max MAP with the wheat seed? You CAN put 200 lb per acre, but response drops after 100 lb per acre with seed, re: salt risk too
• Dry, hard ground, do I deep rip it? NO. Do the least amount of tillage that it will take to get the drill in the ground
• Residue questions: beans, grain corn stalks, etc. Chopping grain corn ahead of rain can be all bad.
• Seed on top of the residue. Do I worry about glyphosate/Eragon burndown?
• Sorghum-sudan cut the day before the frost? It will still have prussic acid build-up. Be careful.

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