A good parasite doesn't kill its host, but a good parasitoid does. What's the difference and why? In this episode of the Pests & Predators podcast, host Shaun Haney is joined by Tyler Wist, research scientist and field crop entomologist with Agriculture Agri-food Canada at Saskatoon, Sask., to explore the role of parasitoids in field... Read More
Category: Crop Production
For a good portion of Ontario, rain has returned mid-summer. The trouble is that rain took a long time to show up, and where it has fallen, it's been spotty and selective. Plenty of hay and pasture fields are still in need of moisture and are only now showing any real re-growth from first or... Read More
A few of our pea fields looked a bit pale in comparison to the others earlier this season. The crop colour was off, and not just in low lying spots, as one might expect with all the moisture west central Saskatchewan has received. On further investigation, ruling out other reasons like fertility and plant stand,... Read More
Planters and seeders both have their strengths and weaknesses, but with the newest Clean Seed equipment release, the Smart Seeder MAX, you don't have to choose. Colin Rush, chief operating officer for Clean Seed Agricultural Technologies, joined Shaun Haney to talk about the customer-driven features this new unit has. For the first time, images and... Read More
Kochia is a big concern for farmers across the Prairies, primarily because it's a tough weed to kill, and the population is rife with herbicide resistance. Most farmers are aware of Group 2 resistance — which is old news — but newer Group 9 resistance is cropping up, which further complicates control of this prolific... Read More
After a challenging spring that saw getting the crop planted take precedent over pre-seed weed control, soybean growers in Western Canada have had to be diligent in catching up with potentially yield-robbing kochia, lamb's quarters, volunteer canola, and other weeds in-crop. To keep yield losses down to less than five per cent, most soybean varieties... Read More
A team of about 400 Corteva Agrisciences agronomists across North America are now well-equipped with a fleet of drones, developed with DJI, and proprietary Corteva Flight software. The technology is taking off in eastern Canada and will soon be available in the west. Bernard Tobin was recently joined by Chris Olbach, Ontario agronomist with Corteva... Read More
Any flax producer knows that the biggest challenge to growing the crop is the long, fibrous residue left behind. The following seeding season, these long-stem fibres — also known as shive — get wrapped around discs, wheels, or seeder-shanks. It's known as "the straw problem" according to the former Flax Council of Canada, and it... Read More
The annual Ontario field crop diagnostic days held at Ridgetown, Elora, and Winchester are going virtual! The organizing committees of these three highly successful in-field education and learning events are again partnering with crop researchers and extension, along with support from RealAgriculture and a host of sponsors in 2020. We would like to thank the... Read More
As mid-July hits, much of Ontario got a million dollar rain, but it also came with incredible wind and wild weather for some places. Western Canada also experienced some volatile weather and parts of Alberta that are typically dry are actually saturated (and not in a good way). This week's Wheat Pete's Word focuses on... Read More