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 »
Category: Fleabane
Wheat Pete’s Word, April 19: Big Wheat, Bigger Weeds, Sulphur on Corn, and Low-Lignin Alfalfa
The nitrogen is on, the wheat and weeds are growing, and field work and planting is beginning in earnest in Ontario’s south (other areas and much of Western Canada will just have to wait a tiny bit longer). As #plant17 gets rolling, Peter Johnson is back with another edition of Wheat Pete’s Word, and this… Read more »
Wheat Pete’s Word, Sept 2: Corn Suffers from Weather Whiplash, Velvetleaf Trouble, and Why You Must Stay Out of the Hay Field
Harvest season is well underway for the earlier crops, and this challenging 2015 growing season shows no signs of easing up as farmers are looking at their harvest management options in weedy or too-green crops. The oat crop is coming off boasting tremendous yields, but wow is it work to get this crop harvested, says… Read more »
Wheat School: Seize the Fall! Peter Johnson’s Top Winter Wheat Planting Tips
It’s been a tough few years for winter wheat in Ontario, not necessarily because of the summer season, but because of the late and wet falls farmers have struggled with for the last two seasons. The fallout from a rough harvest is two-fold when it comes to winter wheat — the crop gets put in… Read more »
Soybean School: Glyphosate-Resistant Weeds on the Rise
If you’ve noticed more than a few fleabane “escapes” in recent years, you’re not alone. Glyphosate resistant Canada fleabane has spread across more than 700 kilometers of Ontario crop land in just five years. Despite its incredible distribution, Canada fleabane wasn’t the first glyphosate resistant weed found in Ontario, says Dr. Peter Sikkema, field crop… Read more »
Wheat Pete’s Word, May 27 — A Severe Frost, Replant Decisions and a Strong Caution on Winter Wheat Apps
There’s no shortage of heartache or questions stemming from last week’s extreme frost event across much of Ontario’s growing region. Temps dropped as low as -8 degrees C, if you can believe it, and it wasn’t just corn and soybean crops hit hard by the cold weather — tender fruit, horticulture and vegetable crops have… Read more »
Getting Tough on Fleabane in the Fall is No Longer Optional
Glyphosate resistant fleabane is coming to a field near you, of that you can be sure. Truth is, you may already have it in your fields, and if you’re typically waiting until spring to control it, the problem is only going to get worse. But take heart! There are options for fall control that can… Read more »
New Xtend Trait Allows for Residual Weed Control for Soybeans
There are at least two reasons why having an added herbicide tolerance gene built-in to a soybean variety makes sense — one, to make up for early season non-competitiveness of the crop, and, two, because of the increasing risk of glyphosate-tolerant weeds. To that end, Monsanto recently rolled out its soybean XTend trait — dicamba… Read more »
Don’t Let 4 Weeks of Weed Growth Lead to 4 Years (or More!) of Weed Problems
Farmers do a great job of in-crop weed control, which is great, seeing as weeds competing with the crop for nutrients and sunlight steal from yield. That said, a recent survey suggests that farmers are missing a key window of time for weed control — the four-week window after winter wheat harvest — that could… Read more »
Get Down & Take a Closer Look at Fall Weed Pressure
A clean start at planting can mean a fall herbicide application, even well into October if conditions are right. Fall weed control is the equivalent of a pre-plant burn-off for winter wheat, for one, but it’s also the best time to get a hold of several weeds, including perennials like dandelion and constantly germinating Canada… Read more »
Soybean School: Relying on One Method of Control Won’t Work for Canada Fleabane
Ah, Canada fleabane. This nasty weed isn’t just an issue because of confirmed glyphosate resistance — its very nature of germinating whenever the heck it feels like it means that it’s one weed that can’t be well controlled by just one or even a few control methods. Canada fleabane control and resistance management requires a… Read more »