There are constantly new technologies being discovered that can have a positive impact on agricultural production. It seems every week there is something to get excited about when it comes to scientific breakthroughs. One of the big topics of late has been nitrogen-fixing bacteria that isn’t host specific to leguminous plants. The implications of this... Read More
Category: Agronomy
A visual assessment of pulse crops isn't enough to know how well or poorly your inoculation program worked this year. What's more, it's important to track nodulation to ensure enough time to go in with a rescue nitrogen application, if warranted. So how do you know if your pulse crop is fixing enough N? Time... Read More
As the canola crop moves out of flower and into pod fill, farmers start to notice misshapen pods. Some curl from thrips damage, others may have insect feeding damage, but it's the tell-tale bladder-like pods of aster yellows that will make many farmers — hit hard by last year's infection — cringe when they see... Read More
Have you seen Goss's wilt in your corn fields? Chances are you haven't, unless you farm in Manitoba's Red River Valley. Even then, the bacteria is not widespread, and a few environmental conditions have to converge in order to create conditions for the disease to thrive. That said, the bacteria does lurk in Western Canada,... Read More
In the last Beef Research School episode, we took a virtual walk through a riparian area to assess its health. Healthy riparian areas, that transitional zone from pasture to waterway, are critical to decreasing riverbank erosion and nutrient migration to waterways. Once you've determined the general health of your riparian areas, it's time to put... Read More
Canadian corn growers will have access in 2014 to a novel source of corn rootworm protection as Syngenta Canada rolls out its Agrisure Duracade trait. The Duracade trait is the first corn rootworm trait launched with insect resistance management and the preservation of technology durability in mind, says Syngenta in a press release. It will... Read More
How often do you walk the waterways, riverbanks and marshy areas of your pastures? These transitional areas from pasture to waterway, called riparian zones, are vital to soil and water health and deserve attention now and again to ensure cattle haven't been too hard on them, or that invasive species or undesired species have moved... Read More
Dry atmospheric air contains about 20% oxygen and over 78% nitrogen. Nitrogen, in its molecular, gaseous form (N2(g)) is very stable, and does not react easily with other compounds. In order to be used, then, the coupled nitrogen atoms must first be split. Consider it similar to asking a new couple for help with harvest.... Read More
If you're relatively new to growing soybeans, you're likely checking on the crop more often than others. That's good, of course, as scouting is rarely a waste of time. What you may be seeing at this time of year is leaf damage — insect feeding on leaf margins or in a "shot" hole pattern. What's... Read More
If you've been talking to your neighbours about spraying, chances are you've heard that double nozzles are one way of increasing the number of droplets sprayed. Not necessarily, says spray application specialist Tom Wolf. "The unstated assumption behind that is that droplets are getting smaller when you have two nozzles instead of one," Wolf says.... Read More