Category: Crop Schools

If you haven't already applied a fungicide to your soybean acres, it may be time to consider it, as white mould and septoria are already surfacing in fields across the country. And proper timing is essential. "What we've seen for the most economical yield response is at that R2.5 stage, or at that early pin... Read More

Following frost and challenging weather conditions, it's not uncommon to find wide staging variability in Ontario corn fields this year. Uneven development will complicate timing of fungicide and insecticide applications, notes Dale Cowan, senior agronomist with AGRIS Cooperative, in this installment of the Corn School. "You have to get an idea of what percentage of... Read More

It should come as no surprise to insect geeks that the ash-grey insect above with a rather distracting snout is a weevil. More specifically, it's a cabbage seedpod weevil (Ceutorhynchus obstrictus), an insect pest that has been infecting canola crops (and other Brassicaceae species) in Alberta since the mid-1990s, and it has since moved across... Read More

Several factors converge to increase the threat of diseases on a corn crop, from the history of a disease in the field, to the amount of residue, to the weather. Unfortunately, several corn diseases are carried by wind and can end up in your field whether you practice good rotation practices or not. Related: How... Read More

With changes to the way wheat is marketed and the arrival of higher-yielding varieties, there's growing interest in boosting wheat protein content with in-season nitrogen applications in Western Canada. The basic recipe is 10 gallons per acre of 28-0-0 with 10 gallons of water applied with a flat fan nozzle shortly after anthesis or flowering,... Read More

As a diverse set of volunteers in the agriculture industry, it's hard to assign a worth to the work beneficial insects accomplish, but their absence can speak volumes, if you're listening. To showcase that, Jim Broatch, pest management specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, talks root maggots in this Canola School, and how an... Read More

You have several corn fields and only one of you — how do you prioritize which field gets fungicide first? 2015 is shaping up to likely be a high disease pressure year, says Albert Tenuta, field crop plant pathologist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), and a little planning now... Read More

You know the weeds are going to be there eventually, but a really dry start to the 2015 growing season means not just the crop is struggling to emerge and take off. While decreased weed pressure is a good thing, some pulse producers are having to navigate a tricky situation — the weeds are finally... Read More

Stripe rust was reported in early spring in Alberta, likely having over-wintered in the southern part of the province, and now there are reports in Manitoba of the fungus arriving on winds from the U.S. In this Wheat School episode, Holly Derksen, plant pathologist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, describes how stripe rust... Read More

Poor emergence or damping off of young soybean plants can be a sign of a seedling disease or root rot problem, especially following cool, wet weather as experienced in much of the soybean growing part of Western Canada this spring. As Holly Derksen, plant pathologist with Manitoba Agriculture, explains in this Soybean School West episode,... Read More