Wet, humid weather across Ontario this summer has required many soybean growers to apply two fungicide applications to help control white mould. On this episode of RealAgriculture’s Soybean School, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, plant pathologist Albert Tenuta discusses best practices to help mange the yield-robbing disease, including canopy construction. Tenuta points… Read More
A few key things are lining up for the corn crop — but they are not necessarily all good. The western bean cutworm flight and pollination are lining up nearly perfectly, and that means an increased risk of gibberella ear rot infection. For this episode of Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson discusses another hit… Read More
If ever there was a year for timely applications of fungicides on the Ontario edible bean crop, this year is it. The 2021 growing season is shaping up as an ideal year for white mould development, increasing the importance of at least two timely fungicide passes to protect the crop. In this episode of the… Read More
The annual Ontario field crop diagnostic days held at Ridgetown, Elora, and Winchester will again go virtual in 2021. The organizing committees of these three highly successful in-field education and learning events are again partnering with crop researchers and extension, along with support from RealAgriculture and a host of sponsors to bring you a series… Read More
It’s been dry, windy, and hot across most of the Prairies this year, and an insect pest that you don’t typically see attacking canola is thriving in these conditions. Lyle Jensen, agronomist at AgroPlus, joins Kara Oosterhuis for this Canola School episode where they discuss grasshopper pressures and options for control. “As we’ve basically been… Read More
Soybean aphid numbers are building quickly in several fields in Ontario, and farmers have already had to book an insecticide pass to get ahead of the pest. In this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson says reports have come in from the Milverton area and Eastern Ontario with aphids at or above threshold. It… Read More
What’s the weirdest colour you’ve ever seen a crop turn? This week in Ontario, at least one farmer is reporting very dark straw where the wheat crop was touched by frost in late May. An agronomist also reports purple stems in another area. What the heck is happening here? Never fear, as Peter “Wheat Pete”… Read More
Grain growers are reporting that bluegrass is becoming a growing weedy issue in many Ontario field crops. There are three types of weedy bluegrass species that are being found: annual bluegrass, rough-stalk bluegrass, and Canada bluegrass. As Mike Cowbrough, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs weed specialist explains in this Wheat School episode,… Read More
Cabbage seedpod weevil can cause considerable yield loss to a canola and other brassica crops, such as mustard. As adults, the pest is three to four millimetres in length, is ash-grey in colour, and has a prominent curved snout, similar to other weevils. Meghan Vankosky, field crop entomologist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saskatoon, joins… Read More
Normally a week or so behind the winter barley crop, Ontario farmers are nosing into the wheat harvest a little early as the two crops are ready at about the same time. From an aphid alert on soybeans, to sneaky root rots, and potash deficiency showing up in corn, Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson has the… Read More
It’s been dry in parts of Western Canada heading into canola flowering, but has it been dry enough to hold off on spraying for sclerotinia? That’s a question many growers and agronomists in drought-affected areas have been asking themselves over the last week or two. There are really two basic factors to consider in the… Read More
Environmental conditions this year are certainly conducive to grasshopper population growth, and some areas of the Prairies are finding this pest a major cause for concern. Dr. James Tansey, provincial entomologist for Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, joins host Shaun Haney in this episode of the Pests & Predators Podcast, to chat about the common species… Read More
Pea leaf weevils are out and active, and if they’re present in your fields they’re doing foliar damage to pea and faba bean crops. Meghan Vankosky, field crop entomologist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon, Sask., joins Kara Oosterhuis for a discussion about pea leaf weevil scouting and thresholds in this Pulse School episode. “You… Read More
There is tremendous yield potential in Ontario corn fields right now. With recent rainfalls, subsoil moisture has been replenished and the crop has jumped in the last few days. Great looking acres and strong corn prices both weigh into the decision to apply fungicides. In this Corn School episode, Bernard Tobin is joined by BASF… Read More
We know that planting a soybean crop is half the battle in getting good yields, but once it’s growing and the potential is there, how can growers protect soybean yield potential? In this Soybean School episode, Ken Currah, agronomist at BASF, joins Bernard Tobin in the field at Oxford County, Ont., to talk white mould,… Read More