Across Western Canada, the cereal crop is very quickly approaching the critical period to decide on whether or not to apply a plant growth regulator, or PGR. As Jeremy Boychyn, agronomy research extension manager with the Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions, explains in our latest Wheat School episode, there's a few things we can think... Read More
Category: Crop Schools
It's been dry and cool across Ontario since soybean planting started rolling at top speed in mid-May and those conditions are causing replant headaches for many growers. Field scouting has revealed a host of soil, seed emergence, and vigour issues, including crusting and cold injury. On this episode of the RealAgriculture Soybean School, Clark Agri-Service... Read More
Verticillium stripe — a disease first discovered in Western Canada in 2014 — appears to be taking advantage of the stress to canola plants caused by an old, familiar disease pathogen. While research to understand Verticillium longisporum in the Prairies is still in its early stages, there's a hypothesis that its prevalence in a canola... Read More
As edible bean planting wraps up across Ontario, grower focus shifts to controlling post-emergent weeds and grasses. When seed is planted to moisture, in warm soils, growers and agronomists will need to get out and scout to determine what competition, including small and actively growing weeds, the emerging crop will encounter. On this episode of... Read More
Minimizing erosion, better crop inputs management and higher corn yields is what Port Rowan, Ont., farmer Dan Petker was looking for when he adopted strip tillage five years ago. Farming with his family on the shores of Lake Erie, Petker turned to strip till — the process of minimizing tillage by cultivating eight-inch wide strips... Read More
It's been a dry spring in Ontario and many growers are asking whether it makes sense to invest in a T3 fungicide for winter wheat. On this episode of the RealAgriculture Wheat School, resident agronomist Peter Johnson notes that across the province, the crop has received below-average rainfall and the potential for yield-robbing fusarium head... Read More
As the lentil crop begins to emerge, there are many lessons to learn from walking fields early and assessing stand establishment. How does this stand look? Was emergence even? What could be done different next year? These are just some of the many questions that likely need asked every season. Ken Wall of Federated Co-operatives... Read More
The growing season is busy. From before the crop goes into the ground, to after it's harvested, there are a million different things on the go. Although skipping any steps is frowned upon, one step that should never be skipped is a proper sprayer tank clean out, says Shawn Senko of the Canola Council of... Read More
A bag of seed corn checks in at 80,000 kernels and typically weighs between 35 and 65 pounds. One bag will plant roughly 2.5 acres. But the job of producing that seed is very different than growing a commercial corn crop. On this episode of RealAgriculture's Corn School, we kick off a three-part series on... Read More
When scouting for blackleg, many imagine clipping stems near swathing or harvest time. But did you know that infection actually occurs at the very beginning of the growing season? If you're in a high risk situation, such as a tight rotation, growing the same variety, or have background resistance in the field, the disease can... Read More