Although spiders can sometimes get a bad rap, when we are talking about beneficials and crop health, the eight-legged creatures actually can go a long way in protecting plants from hungry pests. For this episode of the Pests & Predators podcast, brought to you by Field Heroes powered by the Western Grains Research Foundation, host… Read More
Soybeans have been slow to emerge and establish across Ontario this spring as cooler weather has tempered the vigour of the heat-loving crop. Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) soybean specialist Horst Bohner notes that the crop tends to flourish early in the season when the daytime temperature reaches 28 degrees C… Read More
We’re back with another episode of The Agronomists, and as always, we’re excited to be here. Today’s show — hosted by Lyndsey Smith — features Greg Stewart of Maizex Seeds and Elizabeth Karpinchick of Tone Ag. The trio discusses in-crop N applications in the corn crop (and more). The Agronomists is brought to you by… Read More
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) will not be performing soil nitrate tests for public extension this growing season. Which begs the question: will it pay for farmers and agronomists to draw tests in corn fields anyway? The answer — if the field saw any manure or red clover the in… Read More
Validating economic thresholds for flea beetles can be tricky — especially when we know the damage the insect can do to the canola crop. Héctor Cárcamo, research scientist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) at Lethbridge, Alta., recently completed a study that confirms an economic threshold. The team at AAFC found that 25 per cent… Read More
The race is on for many corn growers as they hustle to apply post-emergent herbicides to control yield-robbing weeds. The duration of the post-emergence application window depends on the herbicide. A product like glyphosate can be applied all the way up to the 8-leaf stage. But other herbicides have tighter timing and need to be… Read More
If you’re the happiest farmer in the world right now, you might be in Alberta, or maybe Ontario, as both regions got some much needed and timely rain respectively. For southern Manitoba and eastern Ontario, however, conditions are either get-the-seeder-stuck wet or make-the-wheat-pink wet. Early heat this season is pushing some insect populations higher than… Read More
With some insects, we may be confused as to why they have the name they do. When it comes to cutworms — this isn’t the case. It’s pretty “cut” and dry…as the pest will feed on the stems of the plant. Cutworms unfortunately don’t have terrific forecast maps, as Jack Payne of South Country Co-op… Read More
When we think of a wet year, we think of disease. Throw in a cereal crop, and what’s the disease we think of? Fusarium head blight or FHB. Here to teach us all about FHB management including control timing on this episode of The Agronomists is Dr. Kelly Turkington, plant pathologist with Agriculture and Agri-Food… Read More
When it comes to corn, even emergence and uniform plant growth is a well-known recipe for a high-yielding crop. New research also shows that even emergence is a significant contributor in the fight against gibberella ear rot and deoxynivalenol (DON) accumulation and other mycotoxins associated with the disease. On this episode of RealAgriculture’s Corn School, University… Read More
Whether the corn crop is just being planted or is emerging in the field, it’s time to do some digging around. If the crop hasn’t emerged yet, you can still do some diagnostics to evaluate how everything is going and get a better understanding of the corn root, and how the corn plant is growing…. Read More
Should Ontario winter wheat growers apply a T3 fungicide to protect the crop from fusarium infection? That’s the question RealAgriculture’s Bernard Tobin and University of Guelph associate professor Dave Hooker tackle on this episode of the Wheat School. When it comes to yield response, extensive research conducted by Hooker and his colleagues indicate that, on average,… Read More
If you’re lucky, once in your farming career you’ll get the perfect spring season: warm, dry weather, fit soil, few breakdowns, and a gentle, warm soaking rain once the last seed is tucked in to its furrow. More likely, though, a farming career is a series of too wet, too dry, too late, too troubled… Read More
The Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (CAPI) recently released a report focusing on soil health, including soil carbon sequestration. The report takes a step past data collection and looks at how to effectively turn soil science data into usable policy across the nation. Lisa Ashton, CAPI doctoral fellow, is a part of the cohort who was… Read More
It’s June 1st, do you know how many heads per square foot the tile-run wheat has? This last week has been one of scouting for the host of Wheat Pete’s Word. Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson has more than a few alerts and observations for the week’s podcast. From head counts and rapidly approaching T3 timing… Read More
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