In 1996, fusarium devastated the Ontario wheat crop. More than 90 percent of the crop was downgraded to feed, or sample, or simply dumped in the bush thanks to high deoxynivalenol (DON) levels. In 2024, fusarium was back in Ontario fields, but the crop, with help from improved genetic resistance and improved fungicides, was much… Read More

The beast is back! Ontario’s winter wheat crop has high yield potential but there are also high levels of yield robbing fusarium in fields in some regions of the province. Real Agriculture agronomist Peter ‘Wheat Pete’ Johnson says it’s not as bad as 1996 when fusarium decimated the provincial winter wheat crop, but growers will… Read More

Ontario winter wheat growers are crossing their fingers and holding their breath as a potential record crop heads into its final weeks of grain fill and approaches harvest. RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson says a key yield indicator he’s been watching is the number of seeds at each spikelet. He notes that growers have been sharing… Read More

Farmers across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba have access to a new risk mapping tool for assessing fusarium head blight (FHB), fusarium damaged kernels, and deoxynivalenol (DON) risk levels in spring wheat, winter wheat, barley and durum based on weather conditions. The weather-based risk is calculated using real-time weather data from more than 500 stations operated… Read More

Starting in May, Prairie farmers will have access to an up-to-the-day fusarium head blight forecasting tool for winter and spring wheat, durum, and barley. The new forecasting tool is based on over five years of research and field-level proof-of-concept work supported by Alberta Grains, SaskWheat, SaskBarley, the Manitoba Crop Alliance, the University of Manitoba and… Read More

There’s plenty of research data that shows applying a T3 fungicide to winter wheat will deliver a yield benefit, even in a dry growing season. RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson says dry growing conditions tend to drive down fusarium head blight and other disease pressure, resulting in less yield loss, but the fungicides also increase the… Read More

It’s been a dry spring in Ontario and many growers are asking whether it makes sense to invest in a T3 fungicide for winter wheat. On this episode of the RealAgriculture Wheat School, resident agronomist Peter Johnson notes that across the province, the crop has received below-average rainfall and the potential for yield-robbing fusarium head… Read More