While it’s important to stay current on new and emerging diseases of the corn crop, it’s still important to keep tabs on the old standbys, such as northern corn leaf blight. “We know the weather’s been favourable for diseases, and we get lots of calls on that,” says Alberta Tenuta, plant pathologist at OMAFRA. There’s… Read More
It’s been dry, windy, and hot across most of the Prairies this year, and an insect pest that you don’t typically see attacking canola is thriving in these conditions. Lyle Jensen, agronomist at AgroPlus, joins Kara Oosterhuis for this Canola School episode where they discuss grasshopper pressures and options for control. “As we’ve basically been… Read More
Summer is generally a time when the pulse markets go through a bit of a lull, but it’s always good to know what might happen in the markets come harvest. Chuck Penner of LeftField Commodity Research says that both farmers and buyers are sitting on the sidelines at this time of year, especially with widespread… Read More
Spray drift happens, but every spray operators goal should be to create as little drift as possible. So how can we combat it? Tom Wolf, founder of AgriMetrix and co-founder of Sprayers 101, joins Kara Oosterhuis for this Wheat School episode for a technical breakdown of spray drift, and tips for how to prevent it…. Read More
When it comes to strip tilling, is it better to plant corn into fall strips or spring strips? Ben Rosser, corn lead with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, has been working on this question for a while now, and in this Corn School episode, Bernard Tobin catches up with him in… Read More
Grain growers are reporting that bluegrass is becoming a growing weedy issue in many Ontario field crops. There are three types of weedy bluegrass species that are being found: annual bluegrass, rough-stalk bluegrass, and Canada bluegrass. As Mike Cowbrough, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs weed specialist explains in this Wheat School episode,… Read More
Cabbage seedpod weevil can cause considerable yield loss to a canola and other brassica crops, such as mustard. As adults, the pest is three to four millimetres in length, is ash-grey in colour, and has a prominent curved snout, similar to other weevils. Meghan Vankosky, field crop entomologist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saskatoon, joins… Read More
What if corn, like soybeans, could fix its own nitrogen? It’s a question agronomist Dale Cowan and his team at AGRIS Co-operative are tackling this summer as they test a biological product that promises to help corn plants fix nitrogen, when applied directly on the seed, in pop-up fertilizer, and through foliar application between the… Read More
Nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization is an important step in seeding a wheat crop and getting it off to the right start. However, over time fertilizer placed at the same depth can cause soil acidification. Initially set up in 1967, with various rotations and fertility treatments, long-term research plots were the basis for interesting research results… Read More
It’s been dry in parts of Western Canada heading into canola flowering, but has it been dry enough to hold off on spraying for sclerotinia? That’s a question many growers and agronomists in drought-affected areas have been asking themselves over the last week or two. There are really two basic factors to consider in the… Read More
Pea leaf weevils are out and active, and if they’re present in your fields they’re doing foliar damage to pea and faba bean crops. Meghan Vankosky, field crop entomologist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon, Sask., joins Kara Oosterhuis for a discussion about pea leaf weevil scouting and thresholds in this Pulse School episode. “You… Read More
There is tremendous yield potential in Ontario corn fields right now. With recent rainfalls, subsoil moisture has been replenished and the crop has jumped in the last few days. Great looking acres and strong corn prices both weigh into the decision to apply fungicides. In this Corn School episode, Bernard Tobin is joined by BASF… Read More
It’s well-known that canola does not like heat during flowering. As soon as daytime highs rise beyond 30 degrees C — as we’re seeing through the current heat wave in Western Canada — the plant can become heat stressed, which leads to blasting and aborted pods. High temperatures can essentially cause a breakdown in communication… Read More
Recent weather events in parts of Ontario have really flattened some wheat crops. There’s an awesome crop out there, but harvesting it will now be much more difficult. In this episode of the Wheat School, Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson talks about combine set-ups, the possibility of applying a pre-harvest burndown, and is later joined by… Read More
We know that planting a soybean crop is half the battle in getting good yields, but once it’s growing and the potential is there, how can growers protect soybean yield potential? In this Soybean School episode, Ken Currah, agronomist at BASF, joins Bernard Tobin in the field at Oxford County, Ont., to talk white mould,… Read More