Picture this: You’re headed out to the sprayer and the wind starts to blow. The knee-jerk reaction is to cancel all spraying operations for that particular time, right? Not necessarily. There is definitely such thing as too much wind to spray; however, some wind turbulence is not all bad. So says Tom Wolf, founder of… Read More
Category: Wheat School – West
Whether you are a farmer, rancher, agronomist, researcher, or industry professional — you’ve likely encountered herbicide resistance. We know herbicide resistance is out there, and unfortunately, there’s no silver bullet to managing it. However, as Rob Klewchuk of Syngenta Canada explains in this Wheat School episode, there are some management things that can be done…. Read More
Resistance to glyphosate has not officially been confirmed in Canada fleabane populations in Western Canada, but the weed, sometimes called horseweed or marestail, should be on the radar when it comes to herbicide resistance on the Prairies, according to Manitoba Agriculture’s weed specialist. Canada fleabane that’s resistant to glyphosate and other chemistries is already established… Read More
When looking at any pesticide label there should be three words that make you stop, think, and mark the calendar: pre-harvest interval. The pre-harvest interval — PHI — is the minimum time necessary between application of a product and cutting the crop, either by swathing or straight-cutting. As Sheri Strydhorst explains in this RealAgriculture Wheat… Read More
Ground beetles are some of the most abundant natural enemies for crop insect pests, but their free services in the field often remain overlooked and under-appreciated, says an entomology professor from the University of Manitoba. “They’re far more abundant than most people realize, but many of our species are really restricted to the ground and… Read More
Is there a yield and quality advantage to using biological nitrogen fixation products? This is a question the Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission (Sask Wheat) is aiming to answer in a trial at Scott, Saskatchewan. Carmen Prang, agronomy research specialist with Sask Wheat, says there are different fertility treatments the trial is targeting: a low, medium,… Read More
True armyworms hungry for grassy plants, including wheat, have arrived in large numbers in parts of the Prairies this summer. The pest, which migrates north as a light brown moth, arrived in Manitoba during the last week of May, explains John Gavloski, entomologist with Manitoba Agriculture, in this armyworm-focused Wheat School episode filmed at the… Read More
There are a few different scenarios to look at when it comes to deciding whether or not to spray a fungicide on wheat. Jeremy Boychyn, agronomy research extension manager with the Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions, says there are four key times that producers are either already going over the field, or there is potential… Read More
Across Western Canada, the cereal crop is very quickly approaching the critical period to decide on whether or not to apply a plant growth regulator, or PGR. As Jeremy Boychyn, agronomy research extension manager with the Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions, explains in our latest Wheat School episode, there’s a few things we can think… Read More
A job worth doing is worth doing right — and seed treating is no different. This is the sentiment Brian Ellis of Graham Seed Treating Systems Ltd. at Olds, Alta., shares in our latest episode of the Wheat School. In order to do this, it means you have to plan ahead, says Ellis. A poor… Read More
Across the Prairies, there’s no doubt that you’ll see a few grasshoppers over the course of the summer — especially when it is hot and dry. However, if the conditions are right, you’ll see grasshoppers feeding early in the season and sometimes even find eggs in the field. Lyle Jensen, of AgroPlus Inc., says as… Read More
Inputs play an important role agronomically, but they can also be a significant cost to any operation. Getting the most out of each dollar is important. One of the first input costs after seed itself is spent on seed treatments. Shad Milligan of Syngenta Canada joined the latest episode of the Wheat School to discuss… Read More
For many areas of Western Canada, the soil is still quite cool, or only just beginning to warm up. However, just because there’s not a lot of biological activity going on in the soil, doesn’t mean the risk for soil-borne disease goes away. As Shad Milligan of Syngenta explains in our latest Wheat School episode,… Read More
What’s old is new again, or at least as relevant as ever when it comes to managing herbicide resistant weeds. Research led by Charles Geddes, weed scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at Lethbridge, shows cultural practices — tighter row spacing, higher seeding rates, and longer crop rotations — can be just as effective as… Read More
Often when looking at soil samples, our eyes tend to flick straight to the nitrogen section. Where are N levels? What do we need to apply? Nitrogen is very important in wheat production, but as Jeremy Boychyn, agronomy research extension manager with the Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions explains, we still need to be keeping… Read More