The next meeting will be held at the Huron Research Station. Breakfast will be provided at 7 am. There will be a short tour (1 hour). Please bring any suggestions for future research that should be conducted.
Synopsis: Considerable field work was possible over the weekend and Monday, especially further south where they were further behind. A lot of field work has been completed in this area. Edible bean planting is largely finished around Exeter but some growers are waiting for a rain because conditions so dry. Hay harvest is well under way. Yields have been down.(20%) Rain is forecast for Wednesday and is very much needed especially further north. It has been too dry for soil applied herbicides to hold back the weeds. It was suggested that waiting to apply soil herbicides until it rains is not a good strategy. Soil applied herbicides that are applied in dry conditions will activate as soon as it rains. The chemistry is stable even if it is much later in the spring. Nightshade emerges later in the season so a soil applied herbicide that activates later can do a good job in controlling nightshade. Remember that if conditions stay dry even post emergent herbicides will need good coverage and water volumes to do the job. Considerable field work has been completed in the Niagara region but a lot more still needs to occur. Eastern Ontario is in good shape with earlier planting. Both the corn and soybeans are up and growing rapidly. There was enough moisture to activate herbicides in that part of the province. Canola acres are down by about 50% and there is a lot of concern over fleabeetle feeding and swede midge populations. Some fields are already being sprayed.
Wheat: There have been reports of Armyworm although levels are low at present. Scout fields to know what pests are present. Cereal leaf beetle are in high number in some fields especially in the Goderich area. They are now in the larval stage so they are easy to identify. Powdery mildew and septoria are starting on the wheat. Fungicide spray timing is a real challenge this year since wheat heading is so variable. Some growers do not want to spend any more money on poor looking wheat fields so the sprayed acreage could be down this year. Many fields south and west of London have already been sprayed. Further north sprayers are out now.
Soybeans: In this area (Exeter) all soybean are planted and considerable progress has been made with edible beans.Parts of the province have struggled to finish soybean seeding. Although most regions have essentially finished planting, parts of the Niagara region and areas south and west of London have not finished. A lot of work was completed over the weekend. Overall, about 90% of soybeans are seeded in the southwest and 100% further east. This will be the biggest soybean crop the province has ever had. Fields are so dry now that it’s hard to find moisture for those finishing up. Although, the general rule of thumb is to plant into moisture planting soybeans more than 2.25 inches deep is not recommended. It is also a mistake to plant seed into the transition zone, since the seed has enough moisture to start germination but runs out before it can emerge. If the radical emerges and the seed dries out it will dye. Seed that swells and is below 15% can survive for quite some time before it is rehydrated. If the seed is fully swollen and then drying out it can only survive about 5 days before it needs a rain. Tough soil conditions, crusting, and dry soils have caused plant stand issues and some re-seeding has taken place further south and around the Listowel area. Those fields planted in the May 9-11 window are struggling to achieve a full stand. When assessing a questionable plant stand it’s important to wait for all the seedlings to emerge. Some growers are rushing to make replant decisions. Soybeans have the ability to adapt to thin stands. If there are 90 000 – 100 000 plants per acre the field should be left alone (120 000 on heavy clay). If plant stands are very thin the best approach is to seed right on top of the existing stand. The final population should not exceed 225 000 plants per acre as a maximum so a supplemental seeding rate of 125 000 seeds per acre is usually adequate. Use the same variety if possible; this will reduce maturity differences in the fall. Contact your seed supplier as soon as possible if you want to reseed. Contact them before reseeding to ensure any rebates. Supply is tight.
Corn: Although the vast majority of corn in the province has been planted there are still some areas like Dufferin that are finishing today. Early planted corn stands are patchy but later planted corn stands are excellent. How much of a yield response can be expected by spraying a foliar fungicide at the V6 leaf stage? Company data from this area suggest yield responses in the 5 – 6 bu/ac. Dr. Dave Hooker (U of G) has shown much smaller yield benefits further south. (0-2 bu/ac) There are a number of factors influencing yield results including hybrids and perhaps there is more disease pressure in this geography. It was suggested that fungicide application south of the 402 shows less of a response on wheat than further north. Perhaps the same is true for corn. More research needed. Don’t spray too early. The corn should be at least at the V6-V7 stage. It must be noted that the biggest fungicide response is found from a VT application timing. The main problem with this later spraying is the hassle of trying to spray large corn.
Horsetail: There appears to be more horsetail in fields this year. Since glyphosate does a poor job of controlling horsetail perhaps there is more now because of the prevalence of glyphosate tolerant crops. There may also be other factors such as lower nutrient levels or perhaps there are different biotypes. In soybeans Glyphosate, Dual, and Broadstike RC pre is probably the best option. Post emergent control does not work well. MCPA does a reasonable job in wheat.
Crop Insurance deadlines:
June 15: Last day to report unseeded acreage.
June 30: Spring seeded final acreage reports due.
July 10: Premiums
CropLine – 1-888-449-0937
Stratford Crop Technology Contacts:
Horst Bohner, 519-271-5858 or horst.bohner@ontario.ca
Peter Johnson, 519-271-8180 or peter.johnson@ontario.ca