Strip tillage in corn is growing in popularity in Ontario, but we don’t often see the tillage strategy employed in soybeans. On this episode of RealAgriculture’s Soybean School, AGRIS Co-operative agronomist Dale Cowan takes us to a strip-tilled field, which features twin row, 7.5-inch soybeans planted on 30-inch centres. In the field, Cowan’s bother, Larry… Read more »
Category: Crop Schools
Canola School: Here comes the next generation of sclerotinia resistance
Each July canola growers are faced with the difficult question, “Should I or shouldn’t I spray for sclerotinia?” In the more humid parts of Western Canada, sclerotinia is a huge yield robber. It usually strikes on the years when the canola crop has its greatest yield potential, but spraying is expensive and proper timing can… Read more »
Wheat School: Tips for fungicide decisions in a dry year
Dry conditions across much of Western Canada have some growers wrestling with the decision on whether or not to apply a fungicide — or to go with one application instead of two — to prevent leaf disease and fusarium head blight infection. There are several factors to consider, says Kelly Turkington, with Agriculture and Agri-Food… Read more »
Corn School: Learnings from a 10-year fight with western bean cutworm
It’s been 10 years since the presence of western bean cutworm (WBC) was confirmed in Ontario. Since then, the yield-robbing pest has moved beyond provincial hotspots such as Bothwell, Thamesville, and the sandy soils of Tillsonburg, and it continues to march eastward through to Quebec and into the Maritime provinces. Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food… Read more »
Wheat School: Assessing the impact of drought in winter wheat
Much of Ontario’s winter wheat has fallen victim to hot, dry, June growing conditions, and yields will likely suffer, reports RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson. On this episode of the Wheat School, Johnson describes how drought-like growing conditions that brought high temperatures (34 degree days, 24 degree nights) and high winds for the better part of a… Read more »
Soybean School: Assessing your plant stand as summer arrives
Summer has officially arrived, and it’s time to get out and assess soybean plant stands. In this episode of RealAgriculture’s Soybean School, we catch up with Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs soybean specialist Horst Bohner as he surveys plots at a research site in Bornholm, Ontario. As Bohner surveys a stand planted… Read more »
Corn School: Fungicide application timing on a variable corn crop
Ontario corn growers will have plenty of variables to consider as they plan fungicide applications in the weeks ahead. An extended five-week planting season has produced huge variability in the crop, with current maturity ranging from the two- to eight-leaf stage depending on where you farm in the province. In this episode of RealAgriculture’s Corn… Read more »
Wheat School: Breeders work to put winter wheat on the map in Western Canada
Winter wheat can yield up to 45 percent more than spring wheat, so why don’t more Western Canadian growers crank up the seeder and get more in the ground before the snow flies? Winter wheat is grown across the Prairies, but unless there is a large amount of a certain class grown, it’s difficult for… Read more »
Canola School: Clubroot monitoring key to protecting Saskatchewan industry
Relatively few cases of clubroot have been confirmed in Saskatchewan, but with many documented cases just to the west in Alberta an obvious question emerges – has Saskatchewan been good or has it been lucky? In this episode of Real Agriculture’s Canola School, Errin Willenborg, research director with SaskCanola, discusses the status of the clubroot… Read more »
Corn School: Time to trap western bean cutworm
Have you set your western bean cutworm (WBC) traps yet? Setting traps is the most effective means of determining whether the yield-robbing pest is setting up shop in your cornfields. In this episode of RealAgriculture Corn School, OMAFRA field entomologist Tracey Baute shows growers how to set traps and discusses the growing importance of the WBC Trap… Read more »
Soybean School: Bean leaf beetle making a comeback
Many Ontario farmers will remember when they routinely sprayed soybean crops to control bean leaf beetle. That changed 10 years ago with the introduction of neonicotinoid insecticide seed treatments, which helped suppress populations of the pest in Ontario and many U.S. states. But the pest is mounting a comeback as neonic use continues to decline and… Read more »
Corn School: Will drone sprayers fit your farm?
Is the clock ticking on the future of your ground sprayer? Could it eventually be replaced by a swarm of UAV sprayers that could better target weeds and deliver herbicide to exact locations in the field? These are questions we explore with AGRIS Co-operative agronomist Dale Cowan on this episode of RealAgriculture’s Corn School. Cowan recently… Read more »
Canola School: How much seed is enough and how much is too much?
Seeding rates are always a hot topic, and for good reason. The only thing more expensive than buying and planting too much canola seed is not having enough seed in the ground and losing yield potential. Canola Council of Canada agronomist Ian Epp is often asked, “Can I lower my seeding rate?” as farmers are… Read more »
Wheat School: Should you worry about head snag?
Hot days and warm nights have produced lots of head snag in Ontario winter wheat fields. RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson explains that a string of 30-degree days and 20-degree nights earlierthis spring promoted rapid growth in wheat fields just as the wheat crop was heading out. Those are perfect conditions for head snag. “Some of… Read more »
Wheat School: How to manage late-arriving stripe rust
Stripe rust is back again in Ontario wheat fields for the third consecutive year. The leaf disease first showed up in the province in 2016, and earlier this week Agromart agronomist Nicole Bloetjes reported 2018’s first stripe rust sighting in a field near St. Marys. Should wheat growers be concerned? What should you do? In… Read more »