Soybean cyst nematodes have been stealing yield in Ontario fields for more than 20 years. SCN-resistant varieties are a key tool to help defend against the invading pest, but growers need to ensure they’re not putting the effectiveness of these resistant varieties at risk.In this episode of RealAgriculture Soybean School, OMAFRA plant pathologist Albert Tenuta… Read More
Category: Crop Schools
The bushel is a critical unit in grain farming. It’s used to describe volume in many contexts, including a crop’s yield per acre, the amount of grain that fits in a truck or bin, and as a fundamental piece of information in grain sales contracts.But not all bushels are the same.More specifically, a bushel in… Read More
Which clubroot-resistant canola variety with herbicide tolerance trait X is the earliest maturing in your area? What about the highest-yielding blackleg resistant variety with herbicide trait Y?Every year the Canola Council of Canada administers the Canola Performance Trials — a third-party small plot and field scale evaluation of current canola varieties. The program is funded… Read More
Canada has a stellar grain safety record and reputation, but the president of Cereals Canada believes there needs to be more awareness of one specific mycotoxin that can show up after the crop is in the bin: ochratoxin A, or OTA.OTA is a potent toxin produced by fungus in storage. It’s considered to be carcinogenic… Read More
You’ve just finished combining a corn field and you want to know how much organic matter all that corn residue will contribute to your soil.RealAgriculture’s agronomist Peter Johnson tackles that question on our latest Corn School episode.Unfortunately, as Johnson explains, all those stalks and cobs won’t have much of an impact.When it comes to soil… Read More
With memories of combines getting stuck, high disease levels and all the problems that come with excess moisture fresh in many farmers’ minds, the dry conditions through much of Western Canada in 2017 were a sharp reminder of why moisture conservation is fundamental to farming on the prairies.“One of the key learnings from this year… Read More
Soybean cyst nematode (SCN) continues to spread across Ontario. The yield-robbing pest was first discovered in the southwest of the province in 1988 and continues to expand north and eastward.OMAFRA plant pathologist Albert Tenuta encourages all growers to take a close look at their soybean fields to determine whether the pest is present. SCN yield… Read More
Phosphorus is a critical nutrient in farming, but it has also received a lot of negative attention for the impact it can have on water quality.If we consider the path of a single phosphorus molecule, it probably originates in a rock formation in the U.S. or North Africa. From there it becomes fertilizer and nutrition… Read More
For OMAFRA weed specialist Mike Cowbrough there are three fundamentals when it comes to weed control in soybeans.The first thing growers need to remember is weeds that emerge before and with the crop have the greatest yield impact. Number two on his list is the need to keep the crop weed-free up to the 3rd… Read More
When it comes to integrated disease management, experts have always considered corn a non-host for diseases like sudden death syndrome (SDS) in soybeans.But that perception is changing says OMAFRA field pathologist Albert Tenuta. In this episode of RealAgriculture Soybean School, Tenuta says there is growing evidence that corn residue can harbour or allow the SDS… Read More