Plenty of combines were rolling earlier this week before the wall of water that is the remnant of hurricane Beryl hit Ontario. Not only did this weather system bring sheets of rain, but it may also have brought more tar spot spores from the south. Tar spot has already been found in Ontario, says Peter… Read More
Category: Pests
Cool, wet conditions, as seen in much of Western Canada during the early part of the 2024 growing season, are favourable for ascochyta, also called mycosphaerella blight, in peas. The first step in taking action is to make sure that an infection is caused by mycosphaerella and not a bacterial blight, for which fungicide is… Read More
To pulse producers, grasshoppers represent both a significant challenge and a potential threat. With last year being hot and dry across the Prairies, growers are wondering what the current growing season will hold for these resilient crop consumers. Farmers and agronomists alike hope that the cool, wet spring might keep pulse crops safe from the… 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
When fungicides are effectively applied to protect soybean plants growers can expect to see more uniform and bigger seed size when the combine rolls through fields at harvest. On this episode of the RealAgriculture Soybean School, BASF Canada agronomist Ken Currah says growers can harvest heavier and denser seed, which produces extra bushels, when they… Read More
Grasshoppers devastated many fields last year over large parts of the Prairies. Of the over 80 species of grasshoppers found on the Prairies, only four are pests — but in sufficient numbers they are a huge concern. After several years of building populations, the pest is still likely to be an issue this year but… Read More
When a detrimental fungus can travel as far and fast as stripe rust can, it is well worth being vigilant about. With susceptible varieties of wheat, this damaging crop disease can impact yields by anywhere between 50 to 90 per cent. Agronomists in southern Manitoba have identified the disease in wheat fields this week. In… Read More
It’s been a tough spring for planting corn in Ontario. Planting season started in late April and some growers are now just getting their last acres in the ground during the final days of June. That seven-week planting season will present challenges for growers as they try to assess yield potential and apply fungicides to… Read More
After years of dry to extremely dry conditions in the pulse growing regions of Saskatchewan, it’s unlikely anyone is going to complain about a wet spring. The shift from dry to more average or even wet conditions creates some fantastic yield potential for growers, but it also creates a perfect environment for root rots, including… Read More
If you put your feet in the oven and your head in the freezer, on average, you’re at a perfect temperature. This week, Ontario is an oven and Western Canada is an icebox, and both extremes create challenges for farmers. There are plenty of questions about spraying in these hot conditions, and some winter crops… Read More