If you've already completed your seed test, it's likely you have an idea of the level of disease present in your wheat seed. With that, and knowledge of pests from previous years, it's time to make a decision about seed treatment. "Treating wheat seed is an importance insurance step," says Mitchell Japp of the Saskatchewan... Read More
Category: Crop Production
The University of Guelph has received a $750,000 donation to help support and preserve pollinator health through sustainable pest management. The donation from Bayer CropScience Inc. was made to the BetterPlanet Project, the University’s $200-million fundraising campaign for teaching and research in food, environment, health and communities. Among other projects, the gift will support the... Read More
The 2014 planting season isn't exactly kicking off with a bang. A hard winter, a slow spring and continued rain has been hard on winter wheat fields and has got planting off to a very slow start. While soybeans aren't the first priority to get in the ground (they do require warm soil, after all),... Read More
Did you know that wheat seed that has been negatively impacted by glyphosate application will show no visible signs of damage? So though you may be able to see mechanical damage, there are many factors that hide beneath the surface, including disease presence and susceptibility. That's why it's important to send seed for a test... Read More
Patience wears thin as we head in to May and the ground is still wet and cold. The cost of going in too soon, based on soil conditions and not the calendar, can be mighty costly. If the ground is fit, but a little cool, that's one thing, but ground that is both wet and... Read More
A couple weeks ago there was a good discussion on Twitter discussing the varying thousand kernel weights (TKW) of canola coming from suppliers this season. I hear this discussion pop up every spring, it seems like, and no wonder. Average TKWs on seed fluctuate from year to year, yes, but there's been a trend to... Read More
"You shouldn't plant until your soil is fit." It's a great quote, but what does "fit" soil look like? Well, it's not just what it looks like, soil fit for planting corn also needs to be warm, though we use the term loosely here in Western Canada. The fact is, regardless of how dry or... Read More
If seeding early is the Robertson screw driver of the disease management tool box, genetic resistance is the giant sledge hammer — effective, reliable, easy to use. But unlike actual tools that do the same job over and over again, genetic resistance — that is, resistance to a disease or pest that's built in to... Read More
Deciding on rates of nitrogen application for any crop can be a daunting task, but with winter wheat's unique growing season, the choice is even further challenged by timing. Applying nitrogen in the fall can reduce the need to get in early in the spring, but could be a bit of a gamble dependent on... Read More
The Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC) announced today that Tom Steve has been named as the organizations new general manager, effective as of June, 2014. Steve was most recently the general manager of the newly formed Saskatchewan Wheat and Barley Commission. In the past, he's worked for the government of Saskatchewan and with United Grain Growers... Read More