Not all wheat varieties are created equally when it comes to the amount of phosphorus they remove from the soil. Some varieties are efficient, while others are phosphorus hogs, explains Jay Goos, soil scientist at North Dakota State University, in this instalment of the Wheat School. So why does this matter? "The reasons I'm concerned... Read More
Category: Crop Production
Can you hear that? That’s the sound of corn growing fast. In fact, parts of Ontario are on track to break heat records this week. What does this mean for the corn and soybean crop yields? That depends. Peter Johnson kicks off this week’s Word with a full report on corn pollination pitfalls — could... Read More
Salford introduced two new vertical tillage units in June, just in time for Canada’s Farm Progress Show: the I-2200 and the I-4200, both part of the “independent” series. The latter of the two, the hybrid I-4200, was also on display at Ag in Motion last week. The I-4200 retains a lot of the same design... Read More
Preliminary research conducted in southern Manitoba is casting some doubt on the common belief that dark, tilled soil is best for planting soybeans in northern growing regions. Greg Bartley, a graduate student working together with Dr. Yvonne Lawley at the University of Manitoba, is in his second year of comparing how soybeans respond when planted... Read More
Canola fields with spotty emergence and heat-blasted pods have farmers in parts of the prairies grappling with the thought that their crops might not be worth combining. But that doesn't mean it's time to till it under. "There are some other uses for canola that we normally wouldn't consider," says Keith Gabert, agronomy specialist with... Read More
If you've wished for custom blended herbicide types or specific volumes of a tank-mix, DuPont's latest PrecisionPac offering may be of interest. DuPont Crop Protection recently rolled out its PrecisionPac 3.0 herbicide blending concept, a specially-designed delivery system that dispenses customized herbicide blends. "Most crop protection products are sold in packaged 40-acre increments, leaving leftover... Read More
It's a great problem to have, but gains of an average four to five bushels per acre per year is possible with today's corn crop if modern genetics are managed properly. Of course, "managed properly" is too general — if Ontario's average corn yield per acre is set to surpass the 200 bushel mark in... Read More
The grain markets continued to push lower this week as favourable weather and temperatures and a strong U.S. dollar did not help any bullish players. Wheat has had nine straight sessions of going lower, dropping over 7.5 per cent in last week, while corn had its worst week in the past year, down almost seven... Read More
Wind and rain have taken a toll on some of the best-looking cereal crop acres in Western Canada and the northern U.S. over the last few weeks. Large sections of wheat, barley and oat fields have been knocked flat (some several times) in parts of southern Manitoba and North Dakota. Yield losses from lodging can... Read More
Boron's complete role in plant health is not entirely understood, but the nutrient does play a key role in cell elongation, hormone response and membrane function. Boron is a micronutrient necessary for optimal yield and growth, but needed in only very small quantities. In Western Canada, trials surrounding boron have shown inconsistencies in yield response,... Read More