Testing for DON in Ontario’s 2018 corn crop was an incredibly frustrating process for growers. With gibberella ear rot infecting a wide swath of corn in the province, many growers were exasperated when samples from the same load of corn taken from a field would show wide variation in DON levels — sometimes from 3… Read More
Did you know that soil helps to remove carbon dioxide from our atmosphere, helps to clean water as it percolates through, and is filled with living organisms? Our soil and its health isn’t just imperative to agriculture — but to many other aspects of our ever-growing population. Jim Tokarchuk, executive director with the Soil Conservation… Read More
There is great variability in corn on the prairies this year, with a dry start in many areas, then a noticeable lack of heat units later in the season. But, in the south, near Bow Island, irrigated corn is looking good. In this Corn School, Dan Foster of Pride Seeds joins RealAgriculture’s Kara Oosterhuis in… Read More
When it comes to corn production, is 2019 a year to forget or a year to remember? For RealAgriculture’s Peter Johnson, it’s a year to learn. On this episode of RealAgriculture Corn School we catch up with Johnson at Diagnostic Days at Ridgetown College, University of Guelph, where our resident agronomist is busy digging up… Read More
Every year, many canola producers seem to face the same challenge across the board — how do we manage all these flea beetles? The answer to this question is quite often pointed towards one main action — seed treatments. In this episode of the Canola School, Gregory Sekulic, agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of… Read More
There are several species of aphid that are a pest on several crop types, but on the bright side, there’s only one species of aphid canola farmers need to worry about. As Sean Prager, assistant professor of plant sciences at the University of Saskatchewan explains, it’s the green peach aphid, or Myzus persicae, that causes… Read More
Soil. The ever-interesting subject of what lives below our feet and helps our crops grow. It’s difficult to know what sort of layers are in your soil, however, and often it can be easy to assume what you are seeing for topsoil is what lays beneath. Naturally, Marla Rieckman and Curtis Cavers, being the soil… Read More
If you are considering spraying either a pre-harvest application of herbicide or a desiccant on your pulse crops, keeping maximum residue limits —MRLs — in mind is imperative. In order to do this, growers have to be very cognizant and aware of how mature the crop is and the crop’s moisture level. “If you aren’t… Read More
A hot, dry growing season has pulse crops charging towards maturity — is it time for a desiccant or pre-harvest pass of glyphosate? Nevin Rosaasen, policy and program specialist for Alberta Pulse Growers, says that accurately staging a pulse crop, in this case lentils, is incredibly important to ensure farmers aren’t losing yield, crop quality,… Read More
Grasshoppers have proven to love Manitoba soybeans this season, and producers are starting to get anxious. With harvest approaching, it’s important to know the difference between grasshoppers that are pests and which ones aren’t, and to keep an eye on the pre-harvest intervals on products if a grower decides it’s economical to spray. As John… Read More
Part of the attraction of strip till corn is the ability to cultivate strips in the fall and place fertilizer. It makes for less work in the spring when the field work window is compressed. Those fall strips in heavier soil also help warm the planting zone. But what about fertility — how does corn… Read More
One of the big questions surrounding the Ontario corn crop of 2019 is whether plant roots can push through tough planting conditions and continue to feed the plant throughout the growing season. On this episode of the RealAgriculture Corn School, agronomist Peter Johnson takes a look at the challenges root systems faced in one of… Read More
Across Ontario, a growing percentage of soil tests are testing lower for nutrients. It’s a trend growers need to be aware of, and there’s a role for wheat to play in addressing the decline. Jack Legg, SGS Agri-Food Laboratories agronomist based at Guelph, says his lab and the International Plant Nutrition Institute, which conducts sampling… Read More
Starter fertilizer can give a corn crop some early-season punch, but if you’re not careful with application rates those new plants could get knocked out by fertilizer burn. Banding fertilizer in a 2-by-2 band beside the seed promotes early growth and vigour but too much nutrient too close to the seed can injure roots and… Read More
What’s good for wheat growth is good for wheat midge, says research scientist Tyler Wist, of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, based at Saskatoon, Sask. What’s more, these tiny pests can cause big issues, even in very low numbers, so scouting is one key aspect of management. In this edition of RealAgriculture’s Wheat School, Wist also… Read More