Wheat seed placed in a furrow across a field spells possibility to a farmer, but to diseases that lurk in the soil, wheat seed is food, not a potential crop. Using untreated wheat seed means that each seed could be vulnerable to seed- and/or soil-borne diseases, explains Shad Milligan, Seedcare technical lead for Syngenta Canada.... Read More
Category: Crop Schools
Once soybeans are up and out of the ground, the crop can be quite resilient. What's more, soybeans are proving hardier than first thought, and new research suggests that planting earlier — even before corn or canola — can yield good results. In this episode of the Soybean School, Laura Schmidt, production specialist with the... Read More
There's plenty of excitement for both economic and environmental reasons about the potential for biological nitrogen fixation for corn and other crops that don't fix their own nitrogen, but a soil scientist from North Dakota State University says farmers and agronomists should be asking several key questions before counting on added organisms to supply N... Read More
Edible bean breeders have a lot of boxes to check when developing new varieties. From yield and maturity to quality and end use market considerations, breeders need to develop varieties that flourish in the field and also please palates when they appear on dinner plates. On this episode of RealAgriculture's Edible Bean School, Hensall Co-op... Read More
When the weather is warm early in the season, everyone starts talking winter wheat. This spring in Ontario, the winter wheat crop is awake and no one is more excited than RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson. On this episode of the Wheat School, Johnson is walking a wheat field near Georgetown, Ont. The crop is greening... Read More
There's a long list of known ways in which wildfire smoke can negatively affect corn and other crops, but could the overall effect of the smoky haze in summer potentially be positive for yields? It's a complex question to answer, says Dan Quinn, extension corn specialist with Purdue University, in this Corn School episode recorded... Read More
Scientists and plant breeders have their sights set on root rots, given the risk that one in particular — aphanomyces — poses to pea and lentil production in Western Canada and the Northern Plains. Federal funding for a new five-year Pulse Crop Research Cluster, leveraged by funding from farmer check-off organizations, was announced earlier this... Read More
Crop scientists know a lot more about nutrient uptake in corn and soybean than winter wheat. That's something RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson and a host of researchers, technicians and industry stakeholders have been working to change. On this episode of the Wheat School, Johnson shares data from a new wheat study on nutrient uptake and... Read More
In recent years, many corn growers in Ontario have wrestled with gibberella ear rot in the crop and the high levels of deoxynivalenol (DON) levels it can produce in the grain. It's made for stressful harvest seasons, especially in 2018 when mycotoxins produced by the gibberella fungus in some fields climbed well above safe feeding... Read More
Every year soybean growers make seed choices based on a host of factors. One of the key decisions is whether to plant long-season varieties, full-season varieties or choose a shorter-season variety. Many growers target longer-season varieties and an early planting date to try to optimize yield potential and put more bushels in the bin, but... Read More