There are few things as lovely on the Canadian Prairies as a blooming field of canola (flax comes to mind, but who wants to deal with the resulting residue? Egads.) Yes, canola’s yellow flowers sure are pretty, but did you know they’re also food? For the sclerotinia pathogen, that is. That means that as the… Read More
Author: RealAgriculture Agronomy Team
A team effort of RealAgriculture videographers and editorial staff to make sure that you have the latest in agronomy information for your farm.
Wheat leaf diseases aren’t always capable of overwintering in Canada. Besides often needing shelter from harsh winter conditions, the pathogens also suffer from a relative lack of alternate hosts. This year, however, stripe rust — a disease caused by the fungus Puccinia striiformis — took sanctuary in winter wheat fields in parts of the prairies, safe… Read More
OMAFRA Weed Management Lead Mike Cowbrough has been getting lots of calls from growers this year looking for tips on how to control tufted vetch in soybeans. The perennial legume is tough to control in an annual legume crop like soybeans, and there’s virtually no way to control it once the crop is out of… Read More
Is all protein in wheat the same? Are there several kinds of protein? What happens to protein when wheat is in storage? Is gluten strength the same as protein quality? What is gluten, anyway? If you’ve asked yourself these questions (and more!) you’re most certainly not alone. Understanding the role protein plays in crop quality… Read More
A sound weed control program for IP soybeans takes planning. From pre-emerge options, to managing the weed spectrum, to proper follow up scouting and evaluation, a well-planned weed control strategy is effective at keeping fields as weed-free as possible. But things don’t always go exactly according to plan, do they? As Melody Robinson and Aaron… Read More
Perhaps we should go ahead and just call 2014 the year of variability. Manitoba farmers struggled with a late, wet spring, as did many parts of Saskatchewan. Alberta has largely fared far better, with the pendulum swinging the other way and into too-dry for the Peace region. Crops can grow their way out of the… Read More
Erysiphe pisi, the pathogen that causes powdery mildew in peas, first becomes visible in spots on the upper surface of leaves, particularly those in the lower canopy. Once the fungus infects its host, it is quick to spread, coating the surfaces of plant tissue with a fine, blue-white powder. Powdery mildew in peas is largely… Read More
Chlorosis, or yellowing of leaf tissue in plants, can be an indicator of a great number of issues from nutrient deficient soils to poor root systems or saturated soils. Manitoba farmers especially are dealing with excess moisture this year, even outside of the flood zones along the Assiniboine River, and while soybeans do take standing… Read More
Any of a number of factors can cause a pulse crop to become nitrogen deficient, particularly issues with inoculant. Using the wrong Rhizobium species, applying inadequate rates or storing bacteria improperly can decrease the likelihood of proper root nodulation. Less controllable factors, like extreme plant stress or inoculant/soil desiccation can also have a huge impact…. Read More
Growing Degree Days (GDD) are an indicator of expected crop development based on weather conditions. GDDs are calculated by taking the mean temperature over a day and subtracting a base temperature. For most cereal grains, the base temperature is considered 5 degrees C, as they require around 1200 GDD to reach maturity. GDD = (Tmax + Tmin)… Read More
Farmers from a wide swath of Saskatchewan and Manitoba are slogging through washed out roads, flooded homes and submerged fields after a weekend of rain that dumped from three to over seven inches of water over the southeast and west portions, respectively, of those provinces. For many crops, the water is simply too much —… Read More
The importance of good spray coverage is emphasized in all kinds of agricultural publications, including product labels. But, according to Tom Wolf, spray application specialist with AgriMetrix Research and Training in this episode of Spray Tips, “the labels are remarkably silent on what good coverage actually is and how you can actually measure it.” Wolf goes… Read More
As canola moves into flower, farmers are doing a great job scouting, scouting and doing more scouting. If you’re like most farmers, though, seeing insects immediately raises a red flag. While, yes, there are several pest species of note in the canola crop, not everything that moves or crawls on the crop is a pest…. Read More
This week, Winnipeg, Man., hosted the World Congress on Conservation Agriculture — a three day event that brought together research and extension staff with farmers and industry to discuss the state of conservation agriculture all over the world. Conservation agriculture, a combination of zero-tillage, cover crops, extensive crop rotation and more, looks very different from… Read More
The disease pressure landscape changes as the season progresses and from year to year, but there are always the endemic threats that farmers have to manage for. Part of the disease scouting process includes knowing what to look for, including some new or rare pests that could be making their way into your growing region…. Read More