Ontario set a new record for average winter wheat yield this year at 99.7 bu/ac. And as winter finally settles in on the province, RealAgriculture agronomist Peter "Wheat Pete" Johnson says conditions are ripe for the fall-planted crop to break more records in 2023. But Mother Nature will have a lot to say about that... Read More
Category: Crop Schools
Winter is not always kind to fall-planted wheat. Sometimes thin stands and winter kill make for a poor economic outlook and growers need to take it out and plant another crop. What do growers need to think about if they decide to switch to soybeans? Are there implications if a cereal herbicide had been applied... Read More
The ground may freeze and the plants stop growing, but there's no "off season" for good agronomy. Just because the crop is in the bin, doesn't mean we should stop thinking about how to improve production. The way to do that, says Leighton Blashko of BASF, is to think of the 5 Ws of planning... Read More
What's the number one disease problem in edible beans in Ontario? That's a question University of Guelph associate professor Chris Gillard asked in a recent grower survey and the answer wasn't surprising, says the edible bean researcher. Sixty-seven percent of growers named white mould as their biggest disease problem, and an even higher 75 percent... Read More
This episode of Soil School is an interview with Jodi DeJong-Hughes, of the University of Minnesota, discussing how best to adopt strip tillage and avoid some of the common pitfalls farmers face when changing practices. DeJong-Hughes examines optimum season of application, controlled traffic farming, crop type, and trafficability when it comes to strip tillage. Listen... Read More
From moisture to nutrients, plant roots play a critical role in feeding corn throughout the growing season. On this episode of the RealAgriculture Corn School, Sullivan Agro agronomist Paul Sullivan looks at some of the problems growing plants can run into as they push down into the soil looking to feed the plant, fuel cob... Read More
It appears in 2022 that Ontario growers have little to worry about when it comes to corn ear moulds such as gibberella contributing to elevated levels of mycotoxins in the corn crop. In late October, the annual Ontario corn ear mould and deoxynivalenol (DON) mycotoxin survey found 98 percent of samples tested low — less... Read More
Two herbicides are better than one, right? That's the goal when products are tank-mixed together, but they don't always deliver better weed control when antagonism occurs. Antagonism takes place when two or more herbicides are combined and results in lower weed control than if they had been applied separately. This most often occurs when a... Read More
Higher yields are always a top priority for plant breeders developing new crop varieties, but yield itself is the result of a combination of different factors, including resistance to disease threats, maturity timing, and harvestability. These characteristics are all taken into consideration when screening and developing new edible bean varieties, explains Anfu Hou, bean breeder... Read More
Fall fertility is a small part of the entire agronomy plan, but an important one. As we begin to feel the cool nip of fall in the air, there are plenty of decisions to make when it comes to fertility plans, says Leighton Blashko of BASF. With these fertility considerations and planning comes the 4Rs:... Read More