With an average of over 20 million seeded acres, canola is one of Canada's most widely grown crops. Used for cooking oil, processing foods, biofuel and protein for both animal feed and human consumption, it's safe to say that it's important to keep this vital crop protected from diseases such as clubroot, a disease that... Read More
Category: Crop Schools
One of the most common sources of conversation among farmers is the weather. This makes sense, as growers' livelihoods often depend on the balance between too hot or cold, too wet or too dry. Monitoring environmental conditions throughout the growing season can help growers the necessary decisions that impact final yield. Weather stations are one... Read More
After a mild winter, many growers and agronomists had to tackle some very large dandelions during the 2024 growing season. On this episode of the RealAgriculture Corn School, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Farming and Agribusiness weed management specialist Mike Cowbrough shares best practices to control the pesky perennial broadleaf weed. "First of all, it's always... Read More
The list of herbicides that are losing their effectiveness against kochia is growing, leaving fewer tools to control the rapidly-evolving tumbleweed in soybeans. As of 2024, kochia populations in the Canadian Prairies/Northern U.S. Plains region have shown resistance to herbicides in Groups 2, 4, 5, 9, and 14, with some plants showing combined resistance to... Read More
In 1996, fusarium devastated the Ontario wheat crop. More than 90 percent of the crop was downgraded to feed, or sample, or simply dumped in the bush thanks to high deoxynivalenol (DON) levels. In 2024, fusarium was back in Ontario fields, but the crop, with help from improved genetic resistance and improved fungicides, was much... Read More
There's no denying when a spray clean out has gone wrong — the streaky start to a spray pass with injured plants never seems to happen at the back of the farm, either. There are a few things at play, says Tom Wolf, co-founder of AgriMetrix and Sprayers 101. There's the possibility of active ingredient... Read More
RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson says there's no better time to talk about soil health than during wheat harvest. Johnson says all things wheat, including the straw, give growers a tremendous opportunity to increase soil health. Ontario research shows that by adding wheat to the rotation, growers see a five percent increase in corn yield and... Read More
Scorching summer temperatures are great when you're at the lake, but for the reproductive phase of canola, temperatures above 27 degrees C can cause heat blast. When that happens, any seeds that would have been fertilized during the very hot temps fail to form, dragging down eventual yield. As Justin Nanninga, from Neeralandia, Alta., explains... Read More
A flowering canola crop looks pretty and smells great — to humans and insects alike. Canola has a laundry list of insect pest species, from ones that target stems and leaves, to super destructive pests that destroy pods and ruin seeds. A sweep net is a humble tool, but one that when wielded by a... Read More
New developments in testing are expected to provide soybean growers with valuable information to fend off yield-robbing root rot caused by the water mould known as Phytophthora sojae. Beyond crop rotation and drainage, selecting varieties with genetic resistance, via major genes and overall field tolerance, is the best management tool for mitigating phytophthora infection, but... Read More