Weather is one of the many, but main, factors that determines yield outcomes at harvest. It’s also a factor that is completely beyond a grower’s control. Or is it? While farmers can’t make the rain fall or the sun shine, there are plenty of things that can be done to mitigate the stress that a… Read More
Category: Wheat School West
With herbicide resistance on the rise, the need for more tools in the toolbox is higher than it has ever been, because as Dr. Breanne Tidemann of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada says, there are no magic bullets. While any single management strategy is unlikely to be the final solution to herbicide resistance and weeds generally,… Read More
Many farmers are excited to not have to worry about soil moisture this growing season, as recent drought conditions have broken for many areas of the Prairies. While rain truly is a good thing, it is also one of the things that is likely to trigger fungal diseases, such as fusarium head blight (FHB). Frequent… Read More
A large part of farming has always included trying new things to see what impact change can have on soil, crops yield, and ultimately profit margins. While traditional small plot research is imperative for testing new crop varieties, product efficacy, and evaluating individual management practices, there hasn’t always been an easy route to take small… Read More
When a detrimental fungus can travel as far and fast as stripe rust can, it is well worth being vigilant about. With susceptible varieties of wheat, this damaging crop disease can impact yields by anywhere between 50 to 90 per cent. Agronomists in southern Manitoba have identified the disease in wheat fields this week. In… Read More
Grasshoppers, both pest species and not, thrive in dry conditions. When back to back (to back) years end up in a dry cycle, grasshopper populations can explode and wipe out a crop. One year of higher moisture isn’t likely to undue that lifecycle bump, so farmers in Saskatchewan and Alberta need to stay vigilant on… Read More
So many decisions that influence yield need to be made throughout the growing season, and it begins with the optimal seeding rate. As discussed in this Wheat School episode, seeding rate is a factor in tillering, tiller timing, and head size. The ideal seeding rate can also help with a smoother harvest and to time… Read More
Why is kochia resistant to multiple herbicide groups? Turns out, it’s not any one thing, but a few different aspects of how the plant grows, reproduces, and spreads that make it a hard-to-control and prone to developing herbicide resistance. In this episode of the Wheat School, Dr. Charles Geddes, research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food… Read More
There’s a reason just about every agronomic question can be answered by, “It depends.” That’s because no single management decision is made alone: the genetics of the crop and the environmental conditions will always play a role in the success of any one management practice. To further explain the concept of GxExM, this Wheat School… Read More
Damage from wireworms can go unnoticed at low levels — sometimes the only symptom is a missing seedling. The trouble is, wireworms have a multi-year life cycle, so early detection is key to management. For this Wheat School episode, we’re back with Shad Milligan, seedcare specialist with Syngenta Canada, to talk about not just why… Read More