Towering yellow-flowered plants in a soybean field don’t just look a bit out of place, these volunteer canola plants are actually competing with the crop and using valuable soil nutrients. Just how much of an impact this has on final soybean yield is important to know, as, just like with any pest, it’s important to… Read More
Category: Weed control
Does your farm have the cleavers? In this episode of the Pulse School, Ken Sapsford, research assistant at the University of Saskatchewan, explains issues surrounding the abundance of cleavers across the prairies. With the shift towards no-till farming practices, cleavers, which were once considered a summer annual, are now overwintering, particularly in the presence of… Read More
An nasty cold weekend has left many corn and wheat fields looking just a little sad over a huge area of southern Ontario. According to wheat specialist, Peter Johnson, wheat still in the boot should be fine, but fields with heads emerged could see some yield damage. Similarly, the staging of the corn crop at… Read More
Oftentimes after seeding is finished there is a push to move right into herbicide mode, but you should be getting into the habit of checking out plant stands as soon as possible. How a crop emerges and establishes tells the story of seeder settings, soil management or early insect pressure, so it is a great… Read More
While winter wheat is a darn hardy crop — just 15 plants per sq. foot growing in the spring can reach a very respectable yield potential — there are times when crops just don’t make it through. The southwest corner of Manitoba is reporting some winter wheat issues, and crop insurance adjusters are out evaluating… Read More
Darling Mother Nature can really be tricky at times. It’s bad enough that nutrient deficiency symptoms can be subtle at best, but there are some symptoms that look like several different things. Group 2 drift injury of young plants, for example, can look very much like sulphur deficiency. Soil residual Group 2 injury may be… Read More
Dow AgroSciences LLC has announced the full Canadian approval of Enlist Duo herbicide, with Colex-D technology, by Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA). Canada is the first country to approve the Enlist weed control system that offers built-in 2,4-D tolerance in corn and soybean varieties. Enlist Duo provides the weed control and peace of… Read More
There’s nothing quite like nasty perennial weeds going to seed in your winter wheat field to kill the buzz of the spring planting season. But heading out now to try and target these pests is a lesson in futility — the time to control perennial and winter annual weeds is in the fall. But, as… Read More
While seeding is in full swing in most of Manitoba this week, last week’s crop report (found here) doesn’t fully explain current conditions. The weather report, found here, contains more interesting information — specifically about growing degree day (GDD) accumulation. GDD accumulation is sitting somewhere in the 50th percentile for much of Manitoba. Some areas… Read More
With many growers across Western Canada experiencing a later than normal spring, seeding has been delayed for some. Once you being to get into the middle part of May and beyond, there is an increased likelihood of running into a fall frost. Here are some tips to help shorten the season as much as you… Read More
The advent of glyphosate resistant weeds has and will continue to complicate pre-plant weed removal. Farmers need to match herbicide resistance management and control options with targeted weed species to ensure not only an effective kill, but also to avoid limiting control options later. Glyphosate-resistant giant ragweed has been confirmed in Ontario, and farmers set… Read More
Canada Fleabane can be the menace of menaces in your soybean crop IF you don’t hammer it down early. The truth is that the weed is so hearty — between its resistant characteristics and its ability to firmly root itself down — if you don’t deal with it while it’s young, you’ve got a problem… Read More
Canola volunteers can be tricky to control in the most “average” of years. But we all remember last year when 100km/h winds came and blew around canola, leaving bushels laying in fields, ready to germinate this spring. But just how much canola is in one of your fields? Here is some math to get an… Read More
You may have heard once or twice the terms “C3” or “C4” plants. Generally speaking, most of our crops and plants in Western Canada are C3. C3 plants are usually what you see growing in our fields, including wheat, canola, lentils, peas and barley. These plants are known as cool season crops and will yield… Read More
The number one way to manage herbicide resistant weeds is to avoid them in the first place, says Mike Saxton with Syngenta US. That said, we’d be completely remiss to say that Canada or the U.S. was in a position to avoid herbicide resistant weeds. Several species are already resistant, some of those to more… Read More