Stratford, Ont., wheat grower Andy Timmermans says anyone who is half serious about growing wheat in Ontario should enrol in the Great Lakes Yield Enhancement Network (YEN). Timmermans has been involved in the Great Lakes YEN since it started two years years ago. In 2022, he finished second in both the yield and per cent… Read More
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Bacterial leaf streak is not a particularly new disease to Canada but there are ongoing projects to increase identification and prevention of the disease. Dr. Constanza Fleitas, with the cereal and flax pathology group at the University of Saskatchewan, says that bacterial leaf streak is a growing issue in the U.S., and there are increasing… Read More
In 2022, the top 20 growers in the Great Lakes Yield Enhancement Network (YEN) harvested 50 bu/ac more wheat than the bottom 20 growers in overall yield rankings. What’s really surprising, says RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson, is that this gap exists despite there being only a five percent difference in yield potential between the two… Read More
Winter is a great time to recalibrate your approach to managing wheat diseases and applying fungicides. That’s the message Penn State University plant pathologist Alyssa Collins shared with agronomists attending the Ontario Certified Crop Advisors annual meeting earlier this month. It’s a dormant period for humans and also for fungi and plants, says Collins. “So… Read More
How can growers push wheat yields to new levels? That’s a question we asked many times on RealAgriculture Wheat School during 2022. Throughout the season wheat researchers, agronomists and growers weighed in offering insights from research sites and farms in eastern and western Canada. Here’s a look back at what we learned. On our first… Read More
What happens when you precision plant wheat? There’s a growing body of evidence indicating that better seed singulation, metering and depth control has the potential to improve uniformity of emergence, growth and crop canopy. That precise approach can also add up to higher yield potential and more grain in the bin. But many growers have… Read More
Ontario set a new record for average winter wheat yield this year at 99.7 bu/ac. And as winter finally settles in on the province, RealAgriculture agronomist Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson says conditions are ripe for the fall-planted crop to break more records in 2023. But Mother Nature will have a lot to say about that… Read More
Is it safe for winter wheat growers to tank mix a herbicide, fungicide, and plant growth regulator in a spring application? It’s a question Syngenta Canada agronomist Marijke Vanderlaan says she’s hearing more often from wheat growers as they look to make spring more efficient and actively manage the crop. And it’s likely a question… Read More
Planting winter wheat research plots at C&M Seeds near Palmerston, Ont. proved challenging during the difficult 2021 fall conditions. On this episode of the RealAgriculture Wheat School Peter Johnson and C&M research agronomist Mike Holzworth tour the plots and share what the challenging conditions revealed about winter wheat planting dates. The research plots were planted… Read More
Bacteria can’t have all the fun — it’s time for some very helpful fungi to get the respect they deserve. Kris Guenette, PhD candidate at the University of Alberta, is working on just that. He’s looking into whether or not incorporating a fungal inoculant on wheat could help with nitrogen uptake, yield, and protein development. Guenette… Read More
Growers who plant winter wheat early can expect higher yields, but growing conditions and the environment can impact plant physiology and how the growing crop should be managed. On this episode of the RealAgriculture Wheat School, we’re joined by University of Guelph graduate student Emma Dieleman who shares what she’s learning from her planting date… Read More
As the federal government has announced it’s desire for a 30 per cent reduction in fertilizer emissions, specifically from nitrogen, the name of the game now is, how? For this Wheat School episode, Dr. Sheri Strydhorst, agronomy research specialist with the Alberta Wheat and Barley Commission, talks about the nitrogen cycle and takes a scientific approach to… Read More
Work continues on training computer algorithms to unlock the potential of green-on-green spot spraying systems to identify and target the weeds found on Canadian farm fields. The goal of green-on-green spraying systems is to detect and apply herbicide to weeds that are growing within a green crop. Where green-on-brown spot spraying systems used for burnoff… Read More
How can growers set themselves up for high yields when planting winter wheat this fall? Typically, the conversation revolves around planting early, phosphorus, weed control, and planting depth, but RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson says growers need to add a new management consideration to the conversation — heads per square foot. On this episode of the… Read More
Living in a world where everything from entertainment and fixes to problems are seemingly instantaneous, wheat breeding remains outside of these parameters, taking upwards of 10 years to have a concept come to fruition. This balance between what we know now and what may be needed in the future is what wheat breeders, like Richard… Read More