Abiotic — or "nonliving" — stresses can cause significant yield loss in canola. And, unfortunately, symptoms like sterile and distorted pods, flower blast and pale petals are not unique to one stressor, making misdiagnosis very common. For example, extreme heat, nutrient deficiency and herbicide injury can all result in very similar damage in canola plants.…Read More

Versatile unveiled the ML series air drills in 2012. These drills features technology that incorporates: "Accurate seed placement with Level, Independent openers for uncompromised Vertical Emergence of crops," or, "ALIVE" technology. The drills focus on providing an accurate and consistent seed placement based on the angle of the parallel linkage on the gauge wheels compared…Read More

The benefits of growing winter wheat are vast. In addition to providing an efficient use of both early and late-season moisture, winter wheat also creates habitat for upland birds, decreases soil erosion, reduces the need for pesticides (and also the selection pressure for herbicide-resistance in weed populations) and increases the diversity of a crop rotation.…Read More

If you've been talking to your neighbours about spraying, chances are you've heard that double nozzles are one way of increasing the number of droplets sprayed. Not necessarily, says spray application specialist Tom Wolf. "The unstated assumption behind that is that droplets are getting smaller when you have two nozzles instead of one," Wolf says.…Read More

If you're putting off corral cleaning because it's painfully slow in a front-wheel assist tractor, and a little sketchy in smaller tractors (they're not actually designed to have only two wheels on the ground), the telehandlers at the Canadian Farm Progress Show might have caught your attention too. Buying a tractor or implement with only…Read More

With concerns around climate change, the availability of non-renewable resources, and increasing the sustainability of industries as a whole, it is not surprising that organizations like the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute (PAMI) are looking at ways to harness energy that is otherwise wasted. I recently spoke to Joy Agnew, project manager at PAMI, about their…Read More