Dan Foster has seen a lot of agronomic head scratchers in his career, but he witnessed a first in a cornfield near Sarnia, Ontario this spring. On this episode of Real Agriculture Corn School, Foster, Pride Seeds market development agronomist based at Chatham, takes you to a field with rootless corn syndrome. Foster describes how… Read More
Search Results for: soil school
It’s been a rugged start for Ontario’s soybean crop. With cool, wet growing conditions, late planting, insect feeding and soil crusting, many growers find themselves squarely behind the eight ball. According to OMAFRA soybean specialist Horst Bohner, most soybeans have been planted but some growers are still struggling to get seed in the ground. What… Read More
Ontario’s cool, wet spring not only delayed planting, but also put the brakes on nitrogen mineralization, limiting the nutrient’s availability to the growing corn crop. According to OMAFRA pre-sidedress nitrate testing (PSNT) survey results released this week, corn growers are looking at the lowest rates of available nitrogen since the survey began in 2013. In… Read More
The N-P-K conversation – nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium – is the focus of most corn nutrient management discussions. But is it time for the letter S (sulphur) to be a routine part of that conversation? In this edition of RealAgriculture Corn School, AGRIS Co-operative agronomist Dale Cowan is joined by crop sales specialist Mike Veenema to… Read More
For parts of Western Canada, the rain keeps on pouring. Early wet conditions could be conducive to root rot problems in pulses. Fortunately, for three of the four main culprits —rhyzoctonia, fusarium and pythium, the plants will generally grow through the vulnerable early seedling stage if a seed treatment has been applied, notes Robyne Bowness-Davidson, pulse… Read More
What a difference a year makes. In 2016, Ontario’s cold and dry spring conditions produced plenty of available nitrogen for the emerging corn crop. But when you fast-forward to 2017, those cold soils are now waterlogged and the wet conditions mean there’s very little nitrogen available to the crop. The wet soil conditions have a… Read More
As peas and fababeans emerge, at least one potentially devastating pest already has made an appearance — the pea leaf weevil. In this Pulse School episode, we talk about how to deal with the weevils if you are seeing them now, economic thresholds for control, and how to avoid them in the future. Pulse research… Read More
It pays to steer clear of those corn rows when planting soybeans. In this episode of RealAgriculture Soybean School, Syngenta agronomist Eric Richter explains that planting directly on, or too close to, last year’s corn row produces seed mortality rates between 50% to 80%. He notes that it really doesn’t matter whether growers are pulling… Read More
For some farmers in some southern parts of Western Canada, seeding is starting to wrap up. But others are still have the challenge of getting last year’s crop off, all while trying to get this year’s crop in the ground. In this Canola School episode, we talk to Brittany Hennig, agronomy specialist for the Canola Council of… Read More
It’s been cold and it’s been raining… and raining. Does your wheat crop need more nitrogen? The answer is no, according to agronomist Peter Johnson. In this edition of RealAgriculture Wheat School, Johnson says despite the weather growers who have already applied 120 to 130 pounds of nitrogen to fields should be in good shape…. Read More
Wet soil, cold nights, weeds, disease, and nitrogen needs are all converging at once – what’s a wheat grower to do? As Ontario’s cold, soggy spring continues, deciding what to do next with the winter wheat crop can be a challenge, especially as the need to plant corn and soybeans becomes more pressing. In this… Read More
With the cooler soil temperatures we’ve been seeing across Western Canada, unwanted pests are beginning to show up in some fields. Alberta Agriculture and Forestry Insect Management Specialist Scott Meers says that early on in the season we should be keeping our eyes out for stand establishment insects such as cutworms and wireworms. There have been a… Read More
Horst Bohner estimates there are only several hundred acres of soybeans planted in Ontario and he’s OK with that. As rain continues to saturate soils across the province, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs soybean specialist is reminding growers that it’s early for planting soybeans. In this episode of RealAgriculture’s Soybean School,… Read More
Peter Johnson wishes farmers managed wheat more like corn. He admits that corn’s bigger yields and higher profitability creates more interest in intensively managing the crop, but that does not excuse growers from making good, basic wheat management decisions. One thing that drives Real Agriculture’s resident agronomist crazy is wheat growers who seed based on… Read More
Will you be splitting your wheat nitrogen application this spring? Agronomist Peter Johnson thinks you should. In this episode of Real Agriculture Wheat School, Johnson reviews the split N strategy and why growers should take a hard look at making it part of their management plan. “First of all, it simply buys you insurance against… Read More