Wet, humid weather across Ontario this summer has required many soybean growers to apply two fungicide applications to help control white mould. On this episode of RealAgriculture’s Soybean School, OMAFRA plant pathologist Albert Tenuta discusses best practices to help mange the yield-robbing disease, including canopy construction. Tenuta points out that waist-high, dense canopies can contribute… 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
Grasshoppers are a concern this year for many soybean growing areas. The decision process to spray, not to spray, when to do it, and how much of the field should get covered, requires scouting to get an average number. Brunel Sabourin of Antara Agronomy joins Kelvin Heppner in this episode of Soybean School to discuss… Read More
A spring of extremes — first cold, dry and windy, then hot, dry and windy — has resulted in weeds getting a head start in many soybean fields in the soybean-growing areas of Western Canada. While wind and cold temperatures delayed burnoff applications at the start of the season, questions about when to spray in… Read More
Scouting soybeans is a big part of any Ontario agronomist’s year. Emergence, a consistent plant stand, and seeding depth are the first few things to scout for in the field. Ryan Benjamins, who owns and operates Benjamins Agronomy Services, gives tips for scouting soybeans and what to consider further along in the growing season, in… Read More
We rely more and more on artificial intelligence and powerful computers to accumulate and process information. Can artificial intelligence help us grow a better soybean crop? In this Soybean School episode, Bernard Tobin is joined by Shawn Conley, University of Wisconsin-Madison soybean extension specialist, to talk about his research in artificial intelligence derived management systems for… Read More
Resistance to Group 2 herbicides has been common and assumed in many cases with kochia in Western Canada for years, but weed survey results show glyphosate (Group 9) resistance in the invasive tumbleweed species has exploded in recent years. In 2013, less than 1 per cent of kochia populations sampled by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada… Read More
For decades, soybean acreage has increased in Canada and has been internationally fuelled by growing world demand for the oilseed crop. Soybeans have also proven to be a friend to farmers, making a profitable contribution to the bottom line and adding another cropping option to diversify and extend rotations. But what happens when farmers plant… Read More
It wasn’t so long ago that growers wouldn’t plant soybeans in April, but times have changed as research continues to provide evidence of the yield benefits when planting early. Soybeans have also developed a reputation as pretty tough customers. And when growers add protection from a new generation of seed treatments they can expect strong emergence… Read More
As planters start rolling for the 2021 soybean season, growers will be managing many different planting environments — everything from conventional and minimum tillage to no-till and strip-till. Each management system will require different strategies but when properly executed (with a little cooperation from Mother Nature) they all have the potential to deliver high yields…. Read More
Glyphosate-resistant waterhemp was first identified in Ontario in 2014. Since that time the weed, which hails from the pigweed family, has spread across the province with confirmed sightings in 14 counties in 2019. To make matters more troubling, waterhemp resistance continues to grow beyond glyphosate, and now includes multiple resistance to Group 2, 5, 9… Read More
Do you need to manage herbicide-resistant weeds? Could you use more flexibility during the busy planting season? Does heavy weed pressure make it difficult to keep fields clean early in the season? These are all questions growers should be asking as they plan their 2021 soybean weed control programs, says BASF technical development manager Rob… Read More
When Ontario growers detect high levels of soybean cyst nematodes (SCN) in their soils, sudden death syndrome (SDS) is usually not too far behind. On this episode of the Soybean School, we take a closer look at the two yield robbers, and how growers can help control SDS with more effective nematode management. PRIDE Seeds… Read More
Rainfall during the growing season is often a major determinant in how severe phytophthora root rot is in soybeans, but there are several tools growers can deploy to build a strong defence against the underground yield robber, including genetic resistance. As soybean harvest winds up in Western Canada, and attention shifts to choosing varieties to… Read More
The number of soybean acres in Western Canada has declined to less than half of what it was when acreage peaked in 2017 — dropping every year since then — but there are expectations that acres have likely hit a floor in 2020. In this follow-up episode to our last Soybean School on soybean maturity… Read More