Interest in top-dressing nitrogen (N) is increasing across the prairies. Some producers use it to improve yield or protein content, while others use it as a risk management strategy to minimize losses. But when is top-dressing N economically advantageous? Does improving protein content ever pay? Read More: 3 Tips for Top-Dressing Nitrogen in Cereals and... Read More
Category: Agronomy
Understanding how different crop varieties may react to various management practices or situations is something that doesn’t seem to get enough attention. We often hear about the “best” varieties, but how are they performing in one situation compared to another or under a different product application? Here are a two reasons building an understanding of... Read More
Bees play an essential role as pollinators in food production, but did you know they're also an integral part of top canola yields? While bees aren't necessary for canola seed set, fields where bees have foraged will yield higher and benefit from a shorter flowering window. The importance of canola to bees is also significant;... Read More
After a few months of the Agronomy Geeks podcasts, I've learned a few things. Like how I still don't like the sound of my own voice, but that I really do love agronomy enough to push through that and continue. While I do enjoy exploring new topics, perhaps what I'm enjoying most are the people... Read More
Ever had a soil test come back with some surprising nitrogen levels? While it's typically lower than expected (don't we all wish N didn't just disappear?), every now and then a crop may have left some behind due to any number of factors, like water availability, timing of mineralization or some other something that maybe... Read More
Canola growers now have access to a new option to defend their crops against the long-time disease threat of sclerotinia. DuPont Crop Protection today announced that the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) has approved a label addition allowing the use of DuPont Acapela fungicide in canola for control of sclerotinia. Todd Friday, Saskatoon-based Pulse and... Read More
Each disease threat is unique. Some pathogens are carried on wind or insects, others live in the soil and some reside on crop residue. The expected pressure of a disease for next year is largely dependent on how a disease is spread — those that winter in the soil or on residue are the most... Read More
Let's face it, change is difficult. And change for the sake of avoiding a problem in the long-term can seem exceedingly cumbersome. If that sentence makes you think about managing for herbicide resistance, you're not alone. But no longer is this a "what if" for Canada — several types of weeds and several types of... Read More
Do you know the soybean cyst nematode levels in fields on your farm? If you're growing or plan on growing soybeans, you should be testing every field to determine the presence of this pest. After all, it's the number one pest of soybean in the world. Horst Bohner, soybean specialist with the Ontario Ministry of... Read More
Does bare, black earth harvest the sun? Nope. Unless there is a plant to intercept the sunlight, that beam of energy doesn't really do a thing for the soil and that needs to change, says Peter Johnson, cereal specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food. Johnson, and many others at OMAF, are on... Read More