The painted lady caterpillar, also known as the thistle caterpillar, is typically something pulse growers in Western Canada have seen as a beneficial insect. This is because it feeds on Canada thistle. However, as seen in 2017, the painted lady caterpillar also likes to chew on soybeans, causing leaf damage and potential yield losses. In… Read more »
Category: Spraying
Soybean School: Getting fungicide timing right
A stretch of sunny, dry weather in Ontario has soybeans on the comeback trail. That also means that soybean fungicide timing is sneaking up on many growers as the crop picks up steam in mid July. In this edition of RealAgriculture Soybean School, BASF agronomist Ken Currah takes a closer look at the soybean fungicide… Read more »
Corn School: Managing western bean cutworm
It’s lining up to be a big corn pest year and the insect to watch for in the weeks ahead is western bean cutworm (WBC). In this edition of RealAgriculture Corn School, OMAFRA entomologist Tracey Baute explains that late planting across Ontario has left the young corn crop more susceptible to an increased number of… Read more »
Bayer alerting Proline customers on how to prevent plugging issue
With fungicide season in full swing in many areas, Bayer is alerting customers about how to prevent a potential plugging issue with its Proline fungicide. The company says some customers have observed plugging with Proline over the last few days. “Following Bayer’s investigation, it appears that the issues are associated with the use of 80… Read more »
No easy solution for dicamba drift problem
Despite the creation of new dicamba formulations that are much less volatile and an unprecedented education campaign on how to reduce spray drift, reports of dicamba drift injury are piling up in the U.S. The complaints coincide with the release of Monsanto’s Xtend soybeans, which contain the dicamba tolerance trait that many farmers have been… Read more »
Spray Tips Special Edition: Choosing the right water volume
Higher water volumes are always best when spraying crops. Right? Actually, that’s a myth. In this episode of Spray Tips Special Edition we find our Sprayers101.com dynamic duo – Tom Wolf of AgriMetrix, and Jason Deveau of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs – enjoying a well-deserved coffee break. Enjoying their java, the spray… Read more »
Canola School: The trouble with flea beetles…
Less than ideal conditions have slowed down canola development and left the crop vulnerable to tiny 2.5 millimetre beetles in some areas this spring. Flea beetles are the number one pest in canola on the Western Canadian Prairies. In this Canola School episode, we talk with Tyler Wist, entomologist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Saskatoon, about how… Read more »
Pulse School: What you need to know about the critical weed free period
Pulse crops tend to not be as competitive as other crops, such as cereals, which is why we refer to it as the critical weed free period early in the growing season. By definition, these are growth stages in the crop that must be kept weed free to prevent yield loss. In this Pulse School episode,… Read more »
Soybean School: Should you plant now and spray later?
With fields drying out and warming up soybean planting is moving full steam ahead in Ontario. In many cases the spring conditions are dictating that farmers take a ‘plant now, spray later’ approach. It’s an obvious choice, but the challenge for many is how to manage fast-growing, large weeds that can quickly take a bite out… Read more »
Wheat School: Should you spray for rust?
Both stripe rust and leaf rust have been identified in the Ontario wheat crop. Will it affect your crop? What steps should you take to keep your crop safe from these leaf diseases? In this episode of RealAgriculture Wheat School, resident agronomist Peter Johnson explains that stripe rust should be a concern for all growers… Read more »
Wheat School: Action item prioritizing in a difficult spring
Wet soil, cold nights, weeds, disease, and nitrogen needs are all converging at once – what’s a wheat grower to do? As Ontario’s cold, soggy spring continues, deciding what to do next with the winter wheat crop can be a challenge, especially as the need to plant corn and soybeans becomes more pressing. In this… Read more »
Soybean School: Management Tips for Plant 2017
As 2017 soybean planting gets rolling across Ontario, what management considerations should be top of mind for growers? In our planting edition of Real Agriculture Soybean School, we put that question to Pride Seeds market development agronomist Dan Foster. In this episode, Foster explains why he’s excited to see Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans going… Read more »
Wheat School: Weedy Wheat Requires Swift Action
Weeds are thriving in Ontario winter wheat fields and in many cases are beyond the size for optimum weed control. In this episode of Real Agriculture Wheat School, Deb Campbell from Agronomy Advantage explains that winter annuals are seven to 10 days ahead of normal and that means growers will have to shift their mindset… Read more »
Spray Tips Special Edition: Is Your Boom Too High?
High or low, the height of your sprayer boom doesn’t really matter. Right? Actually, that’s a myth. Welcome to a new season of Spray Tips Special Edition. In our first episode we find our dynamic duo of Sprayers101.com, Tom Wolf of AgriMetrix, and Jason Deveau of Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, bickering over… Read more »
Soybean School: Keeping Dicamba Application On Target
Growers and custom applicators will need to be vigilant this spring to ensure dicamba herbicide hits targeted, glyphosate-tolerant Xtend soybeans — and then stays put. In Part One of our series on dicamba stewardship, Real Agriculture’s Bernard Tobin and BASF Canada technical development manager Rob Miller discussed how a pre-plant application is the best strategy… Read more »