Cover crops have long been touted for their ability to help maintain soil health, control erosion, reduce nutrient loss and improve soil fertility. But could they put grain and oilseed crops at risk by playing host to disease and pests? That’s a question OMAFRA field pathologist Albert Tenuta is trying to answer. In this video,... Read More
Category: Crops
How much corn yield could Ontario’s hot, dry summer cost growers? In this episode of the Corn School, Ridgetown College, University of Guelph field crop agronomist Dave Hooker explains that drought stress can have a tremendous impact on yield, especially during the two-week period that “brackets” silking. Hooker says that the number of rows on... Read More
Winter wheat acres in Western Canada have fallen by half over the last five years. According to Statistics Canada, just over 1.3 million acres of winter wheat were seeded in the fall of 2011, while only 635 thousand acres were planted in the fall of 2015 (see the chart below). Canola harvest timing and weather... Read More
It's hard to imagine a time before, at least, threshing machines. But the evolution of wheat is long, and complex. "Not many people know about the origin of wheat," says Mazen Aljarrah, plant breeder at the Field Crop Development Centre in Lacombe, in the following video. "Actually, it started maybe 10,000 years ago through a... Read More
Have you tested your fields for soybean cyst nematode (SCN) lately? If not, it may be time to put a shovel in the ground and do a soil analysis. In this episode of the Soybean School, Huron Commodities agronomist Wayne Wheeler provides tips on how to quickly assess whether or not the tiny root pest... Read More
There's a new foliar fungicide on its way to western Canadian growers. "Trivapro will be available for use in cereals, soybeans and corn," explains Syngenta's Rob Klewchuk, in this following interview. "There's three active ingredients — three modes of action." The active ingredients include: propiconazole (Group 3), azoxystrobin (Group 11), and the new succinate dehydro-genase... Read More
If tansy ragwort is gaining a foothold in your pasture fields, it’s time to take action. The poisonous yellow-flowered plant has taken root in pastures and hayfields across North America and its liver-damaging alkaloids can kill livestock, explains Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs weed specialist Mike Cowbrough. In this video, Cowbrough offers tips... Read More
The Field Crop Development Centre (FCDC) and Lacombe Research and Development Centre hosted Lacombe Field Day on July 27 to showcase some of the work happening in central Alberta. And, for Flavio Capettini, head of research at FCDC, some of this year's excitement centres around a recently released barley variety. "We just released TR13609 —... Read More
Spraying wheat for fusarium head blight is simple. Right? You pick the correct product, target the middle of the application window and you’re ready to roll with the sprayer. What could go wrong? Plenty. In this episode of the Wheat School, OMAFRA application technology specialist Jason Deveau and Bayer CropScience market development specialist Troy Basaraba... Read More
Parsnip is great in soups or part of a roasted vegetable medley, but if you see it growing in a ditch it’s best to steer clear. Those volunteer plants are likely wild parsnip and they’re poisonous to the touch, explains Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs weed specialist Mike Cowbrough. The poisonous weed... Read More