Work for the growing season doesn't end with seeding. Soon after, it's important to be out doing early season scouting in order to mitigate potential issues. There are two main things that a producer is looking for when early season scouting: one is to measure the success of the seeding operation, including how many plants... Read More
Category: Agronomy
When fungicides are effectively applied to protect soybean plants growers can expect to see more uniform and bigger seed size when the combine rolls through fields at harvest. On this episode of the RealAgriculture Soybean School, BASF Canada agronomist Ken Currah says growers can harvest heavier and denser seed, which produces extra bushels, when they... Read More
Syngenta Seeds North America celebrated the grand re-opening of the Arva Research & Development (R&D) Innovation Centre this week, unveiling $2 million in renovations to the office and lab. The renovations mark the first significant update to the site in 30 years. The Arva R&D Innovation Centre is located on a 100-acre site just north... Read More
Last week's intense heat and humidity across much of Ontario had significant impacts on several crops, some of them good, some of them not so good. Heat-loving crops, such as corn, had a rip-roaring week, blasting through leaf stages, however any spring cereals in the flowering stage or crops with poor root growth suffered in... Read More
Grasshoppers devastated many fields last year over large parts of the Prairies. Of the over 80 species of grasshoppers found on the Prairies, only four are pests — but in sufficient numbers they are a huge concern. After several years of building populations, the pest is still likely to be an issue this year but... Read More
Rainy weather during the in-crop weed control season can make it difficult to give corn want it wants to maintain maximum yield potential: that long critical weed-free period. The difference between fields that received pre-emerge applications and those that did not is quite noticeable in southern Manitoba (and many other areas) this year, as regular... Read More
When a detrimental fungus can travel as far and fast as stripe rust can, it is well worth being vigilant about. With susceptible varieties of wheat, this damaging crop disease can impact yields by anywhere between 50 to 90 per cent. Agronomists in southern Manitoba have identified the disease in wheat fields this week. In... Read More
It's been a tough spring for planting corn in Ontario. Planting season started in late April and some growers are now just getting their last acres in the ground during the final days of June. That seven-week planting season will present challenges for growers as they try to assess yield potential and apply fungicides to... Read More
Grasshoppers, both pest species and not, thrive in dry conditions. When back to back (to back) years end up in a dry cycle, grasshopper populations can explode and wipe out a crop. One year of higher moisture isn't likely to undue that lifecycle bump, so farmers in Saskatchewan and Alberta need to stay vigilant on... Read More
Soil testing is a best management practice when planning fertilizer rates, but a soil test is perhaps most valuable following extreme situations — very wet or drought conditions. As Mike Palmier of Max Ag Consulting explains in this Canola School episode below, three years of dry or drought conditions for his area of west-central Saskatchewan... Read More