Soybean growers will soon have a new tool in the fight against yield-robbing soybean aphids. BASF expects to launch Sefina, a new insecticide it says will deliver control of aphids and white flies in soybean and potatoes, in 2019. BASF Canada horticulture crop manager Scott Hodgins explains that the new insecticide will deliver a unique… Read more »
Category: Pests
Soybean School: Understanding iron deficiency chlorosis risk heading into planting
As planting decisions are finalized, the risk of iron deficiency chlorosis (IDC) is one of the factors soybean growers in Western Canada and the Northern Plains are keeping in mind after unprecedented yellowing due to IDC in many areas last year. A wet 2016 growing season followed by a dry start to 2017, left elevated… Read more »
Canola School: Research looking at liming to suppress clubroot
Although it’s been proven that high pH soil will not stop the spread of clubroot disease, liming has been used as a tool to curb the disease in other parts of the world. Early results from a research project underway in Alberta show raising the pH of acidic fields with lime could potentially aid in… Read more »
Canola School: The mysterious canola flower (not swede) midge
Seven years after swede midge was identified in Ontario, three adult midge were found in Saskatchewan, in 2007. It was then believed the insects were the same species (Contarinia nasturtii), but researchers have since discovered differences between the two. “We have now behavioural evidence — we know that what we thought was swede midge in… Read more »
Soybean School: Mind your fencerows to reduce weed resistance
Are we doing enough to reduce the herbicide-resistance weed seedbank on Ontario farms? That’s a question AGRIS Co-operative agronomist Dale Cowan wants farmers in the province to consider when they’re planning their weed control programs for this year. Cowan recently attended the Commodity Classic in Anaheim, California, where he talked with farmers from Mississippi who… Read more »
Controlling leafy spurge one flock at a time
While most pastures across Saskatchewan were blanketed with snow this past winter, the landscape will change quickly as warm weather arrives. Native prairie plants such as northern wheatgrass and needle-and-thread will soon spring to life, however their undesirable counterparts, such as leafy spurge, will too. Leafy spurge is a perennial invasive weed many farmers and… Read more »
Soybean School: Preparing to battle SCN when (not if) it is found in Western Canada
Soybean growers in Western Canada have not yet had to face a soil-borne pest that has hurt yields in other soybean growing regions, but it’s only a matter of time. Soybean cyst nematode (SCN) has steadily spread north along the Red River and has been found in soils on at least two farms near the… Read more »
Soybean School: New coalition tackles growing nematode resistance
Soybean cyst nematode (SCN) is the crop’s number one yield-robbing pest, and the problem is only going to get worse as the pest continues to breakdown the defence provided by SCN-resistant soybean varieties. It really is a case of the pest becoming “resistant to the resistance,” says Iowa State nematologist Greg Tylka. About 95 percent… Read more »
Bayer Digital Farming introduces prescription maps for fungicide in canola
Fungicide can be added to the list of crop inputs farmers can selectively apply using precision agriculture tools, targeting relevant areas within a field while avoiding patches where treatment isn’t justified. Bayer Digital Farming launched Zone Spray on Friday. It’s a program within the company’s Field Manager platform that creates prescription maps for fungicide in… Read more »
Canola School: Check seed labels to rotate blackleg resistance
You may notice some new information on canola seed bags this year — a label that lists what type of blackleg resistance the variety contains. We’ll spare you all the quirky names and numbers for the actual genetic resistance, but Dilantha Fernando, with the University of Manitoba, says farmers can use the alphabetical designation of… Read more »
Take a closer look – it may be waterhemp
Waterhemp has set down roots across Ontario, from Essex and Lambton County, and reports indicate it may have migrated as far east as Quebec. Controlling the invader poses several challenges for growers, says BASF agronomist Richard Anderson. The first problem is a high level of herbicide resistance. Some waterhemp is resistant to up to three… Read more »
If grass is green, soybean white mould is keen
Timing a white mould fungicide application in soybeans can be tricky business. The typical recommendation is to spray a first-pass fungicide at the R2 to R2.5 stage. Most Ontario soybean fields, however, are highly variable and can contain plants progressing at different growth rates within the stand. How can you tackle this challenge? BASF technical… Read more »
Canola School: Welcome to Clubroot Anonymous
Switch to longer rotations, reduce soil movement, grow resistant varieties — the list of keys to managing against clubroot disease has become familiar for many canola growers in Western Canada, but an Alberta farmer with years of experience farming with high clubroot concentrations has another piece of advice: don’t be afraid to talk about it…. Read more »
Fill the heads, protect the quality — the two-pass fungicide plan
Crop input decisions would be made so much easier if only one year’s weather would predict the next. But we know that one dry year doesn’t make a trend, so while 2018 is looking dry in Western Canada will it stay dry for the growing season? Will crop disease be less of a threat because… Read more »
Blackleg risks, management, and a yield loss calculator
There’s this thing about nature — it adapts. Many canola growers are getting a real taste of this in recent years by a slow but steady resurgence of blackleg showing up and stealing yield. For those who think, “hey, we have genetic resistance, didn’t we deal with this already?” read and listen on. Record canola… Read more »