Tillers are a totally normal physiological process in corn — since it is a grass like wheat or barley — and they're nothing to be concerned about. They're also nothing to get excited about either, as unlike wheat or barley, tillers don't contribute to yield. In this episode of Corn School (this time in the... Read More
Category: Crop Schools
Usually when a farmer considers using a planter in Western Canada, it's to plant canola crops, not pulse crops. But there are those exploring that option in Alberta. Scott Gillespie, independent agronomist with Plants Dig Soil Consulting, has been working at scaling up plot trials he first saw at Farming Smarter. In this episode of... Read More
A certain caterpillar that blew in on the wind may be wreaking havoc in your cereal crops. John Gavloski, provincial entomologist for Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development, joined Kara Oosterhuis for this episode of Wheat School to talk all things armyworm. Armyworm is different from bertha armyworm in a few ways: their preferred food is... Read More
Grow great wheat! It's a catchy slogan, sure, but HOW do you grow great wheat? In this episode of the Wheat School, Peter "Wheat Pete" Johnson is fired up about the synergistic relationship between wheat inputs. "As we add all these fungicides, we add more nitrogen, we add these plant growth regulators, how does that... Read More
Kochia is a big concern for farmers across the Prairies, primarily because it's a tough weed to kill, and the population is rife with herbicide resistance. Most farmers are aware of Group 2 resistance — which is old news — but newer Group 9 resistance is cropping up, which further complicates control of this prolific... Read More
After a challenging spring that saw getting the crop planted take precedent over pre-seed weed control, soybean growers in Western Canada have had to be diligent in catching up with potentially yield-robbing kochia, lamb's quarters, volunteer canola, and other weeds in-crop. To keep yield losses down to less than five per cent, most soybean varieties... Read More
There are well over 100 species of grasshoppers across Canada, but there are four that like cereal crops in particular. Of those four, certain species can dominate a certain region. All of them can make short work of a crop in no time, left unchecked. John Gavloski, provincial entomologist for Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development,... Read More
While you're out scouting your peas, lentils, or faba beans for disease at early flowering, have a look for pea aphids too. "Flowering is a good time to be scouting for aphids in peas," says John Gavloski, provincial entomologist with Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development. "The most damage they can do is going to occur... Read More
"It is hot!" says Peter "Wheat Pete" Johnson in this episode of the Wheat School. And that heat is taking a bite out of wheat yields. Wheat is a cool season crop and does not like heat, so when temperatures start to climb yield can be impacted. The most critical stage is at filling. It... Read More
It has long been believed that soybean doesn't flower until after the summer solstice — June 21, the longest day of the year. Research from Dr. Shawn Conley and his team from the University of Wisconsin-Madison says otherwise, and in this episode of Soybean School, Conley joins Bernard Tobin to chat about early flowering in... Read More