Plenty of combines were rolling earlier this week before the wall of water that is the remnant of hurricane Beryl hit Ontario. Not only did this weather system bring sheets of rain, but it may also have brought more tar spot spores from the south.
Tar spot has already been found in Ontario, says Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson in this episode of Wheat Pete’s Word; however, big systems like this one are likely to move things further north and east, movement that was already happening with tar spot possibly being found north of London, Ont.
There are agronomy answers to offer this week, too, including the price of straw, the quality of the wheat crop, and what the heck is going on with yellow beans (hint: it’s probably not what you think). Oh, and why ryegrass should not be in your cover crop, for the love of Pete!
Have a question you’d like Wheat Pete to address or some field results to send in? Agree/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
- Clay Switzer passed away at the age of 95. He was an inspiration for many and a champion of agriculture. You can find his obituary here.
- So. Much. Rain. Most of the crop is in the ground, but there will be plenty of areas with unplanted acres
- Corn is using plenty of water per day, which is nice in the wet areas, but yes, there are pockets of drier areas
- Every inch of rain gives you about 4 days of growth for corn in its rapid growth stage
- Tassels spotted on July 8! Incredibly early
- The good corn is great
- Let’s talk wheat: management pays. Some good to great yields
- Too much water, or early lodging did eat some yield
- Quality is quite good, and yes, combines are rolling!
- 10 days ahead of normal for early wheat harvest. Wheat sample not looking great (vitreous kernels, black point) but falling number is holding OK, but some FDK (fusarium damaged kernels). Low DON levels so far
- Straw quantity and quality… lots of it, but it’s wet
- Second cut hay yields are as big as first cut, after a record first cut yield
- What do you do with it all? There’s plenty to go around
- Agronomy answers: tar spot, it is here (Elgin county) July 4. Thorndale and Essex county, too. Early pressure north of London has been rare, so it has moved north
- Tar spot will continue to move east, too
- This week’s weather will bring some spores. Check in 2 weeks from now. That means 2025 might be worse in new areas
- 7 hours of leaf wetness in a day creates a new spore infection cycle
- Check out the app Field Prophet
- Herbicide resistant weeds. Virginia in Oxford County found waterhemp. Make sure you’re identifiying weird pigweeds
- Ryegrass with glyphosate tolerance? 14 of 16 samples sent for testing were confirmed resistant
- Ryegrass is ryegrass, they are all prone to resistance. Keep ryegrass out of cover crop mixes
- K deficiency in soybeans? Dry soils can be a concern. You can broadcast potash
- Some yellowing is tile run, i.e. poor nodulation, poor root growth. Ammonium sulfate might be an option, but it could be economically a wash
- The carbon penalty in wet soil is higher! c/c/soybean rotation the beans are noticeably more yellow vs corn/sunflower/soy
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