By the time symptoms of fusarium head blight (FHB) show up in the crop, it is too late to halt disease development (though you may be able to manage fusarium kernels with the combine). This makes managing the disease a little more complicated, as spray applicators and producers have to assess the history of... Read More
Category: Crop Schools
It's mid-July and that means the canola is blooming! It also means you're trying to sneak in some down-time at the local fair or at the cabin. And that's a fantastic plan, says Angela Brackenreed, agronomist with the Canola Council of Canada, but before you go, there are a few things to scout for in... Read More
Soybean growers in Manitoba are — so far — rather lucky. While there are diseases in the province that infect soybeans, like downy mildew, white mold (sclerotinia) and brown spot, overall pressure is relatively low. That will change over time, however, as Vikram Bisht, plant pathologist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, points out,... Read More
Growing a bumper crop of corn requires a big meal of plant nutrients. But if you're going to feed a hulk of a plant, you've got to make sure you protect it too. Fungicides may not always be warranted, but if the yield potential is there and conditions are right for disease development, a fungicide... Read More
What's soybean stage R2 versus R4 and why does it matter? Turns out, it matters a whole lot, as does knowing how long you can anticipate the crop being in each stage. Soybeans move through three growth stages: vegetative, when weed control is the priority, to reproductive, when disease control is likely most timely, and... Read More
We're at a critical point in the growing season — some of Canada's pulse crops, specifically lentils, are struggling through excess moisture which could send prices higher. At the same time, those crops destined for markets accessed through the south or east shipping corridors are faced with slow movement, even if export demand is steady.... Read More
If you've been drooling over the neighbour's corn field and wondering how they managed to get such a nice looking crop, wonder no more! As Aaron Stevanus, market agronomist with PRIDE Seeds, shows us in this Corn School episode, the wins of this spring are a combination of timing, patience, homework and, yes, luck. From... Read More
There are few things as lovely on the Canadian Prairies as a blooming field of canola (flax comes to mind, but who wants to deal with the resulting residue? Egads.) Yes, canola's yellow flowers sure are pretty, but did you know they're also food? For the sclerotinia pathogen, that is. That means that as the... Read More
Wheat leaf diseases aren't always capable of overwintering in Canada. Besides often needing shelter from harsh winter conditions, the pathogens also suffer from a relative lack of alternate hosts. This year, however, stripe rust — a disease caused by the fungus Puccinia striiformis — took sanctuary in winter wheat fields in parts of the prairies,... Read More
OMAFRA Weed Management Lead Mike Cowbrough has been getting lots of calls from growers this year looking for tips on how to control tufted vetch in soybeans. The perennial legume is tough to control in an annual legume crop like soybeans, and there's virtually no way to control it once the crop is out of... Read More