From a distance, a nitrogen deficient canola plant and a sulphur deficient plant can actually look rather similar. It's only once you get up close and compare it to plants from other areas of the field, that you can better assess what's hampering growth of the crop. In this episode of the Canola School, Dan... Read More
Category: Crop Schools
No two farmers manage their corn crop the same way, yet can achieve top yields. This is great news, because it means that no matter what your goals are for the farm, from decreasing tillage, to using more cover crops, there's a way to produce more corn per acre. That's one of the take-home messages... Read More
The impact of a frost on the canola crop is not likely to impact a field the same way twice. There are just too many variables at play — the temperature of the frost, the duration, the topography of the field, the growth stage of the plant, the soil moisture, trash cover and, perhaps most... Read More
Should you stick with silage specific hybrids or include a few (or more) dual purpose lines for good measure? Both strategies can work, says Aaron Stevanus, market agronomist for PRIDE Seeds, it simply depends on your management system. Leafy, highly digestible silage-specific lines are a great choice, especially near the barn on highly fertile ground,... Read More
If you're somewhat tired of hearing the term "optimal fertility," raise your hand. Maybe that's not fair, because optimal fertility is really necessary for modern corn genetics to reach their full yield potential. But what does it really mean? As Dr. Fred Below, of the University of Illinois, explains in this Corn School episode, optimal... Read More
Let's say the planning stages go like this: crop rotation, variety selection, seed testing, determine seeding rate and so on. If you're a farmer who doesn't typically test seed or who may be thinking of skipping this step in an effort to save on costs, this episode of the Pulse School is for you. In... Read More
What is the yield response of a soybean crop to a fungicide application? (wait for it...) It depends. If you're not content with that answer, don't worry — neither are researchers. While there are several factors that work in to the decision to spray, questions surrounding the efficacy and the response of that application can... Read More
If you're decided on rates and types of inputs, which do you skip or scale back on if margins become tight? Fungicide? Seed? Fertilizer? Should you cut back at all? The concept of intensively managing corn is widely accepted and researched, but not so with soybeans, so Dr. Dave Hooker and colleagues set out to... Read More
While each and every wonder of the corn plant reaching maximum yields hinges on the weather, there are several other factors that have a measurable impact on yield. At the recent FarmSmart conference at Guelph, Ont., Bernard Tobin spoke with Dr. Fred Below, from the Universtiy of Illinois, to discuss the seven wonders of 300... Read More
There are some factors that influence soybean yield far more than others, for example a healthy crop rotation is going to do far more to help the crop reach full potential than any amount of tillage. In this Soybean School episode, Horst Bohner, soybean specialist with Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, recaps the top... Read More