Field Crop News is a resource for Ontario field crop production. It is managed by the Field Crop Unit of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). Browse our library of information by:
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Frost Injury in Sorghum Species
Caution! Members of the sorghum family – sorghum, sudangrass, and hybrid sorghum-sudangrass – contain dhurrin, a glucoside that breaks down to release hydrocyanic acid, also known as prussic acid (hydrogen cyanide, HCN). A sudden disruption of growth such as frost, drought or cutting, causes prussic acid to be released inside the plant at a more…
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Crop Report – Week of September 18th, 2023
Three tips for weed management this fall. Reflecting on some of the weed control issues that came up this past spring, below are three key items where management activities this fall can significantly improve control and/or financial return next season. 1. Fall management provides better dandelion control. In the fall, resource allocation of perennial weeds…
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Crop Report – Week of September 11th, 2023
Bacterial infections in dry beans Growing conditions this season have been ideal for certain bacterial diseases. Adzuki beans in a few different regions are exhibiting symptoms of bacterial brown spot (BBS), and in some cases the injury is severe. Symptoms on leaves appear as small necrotic lesions with a yellow margin (Figure 1). As symptoms…
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Soil Management Day – August 23, 2023
Join the OMAFRA Soil Team and the Ontario Soil Network in London for a full day of collaborative learning. Dive deep into diagnosing and finding solutions for real soil health challenges in a real field! Share learnings and experiences with other soil health professionals, and pick up a great new ideas along the way. A…
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How to Make Annual Ryegrass Easier to Kill
Co-authored by Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA Weed Management Specialist – Field Crops An annual ryegrass cover crop is excellent at scavenging nitrogen, improving soil structure, and preventing erosion. It tolerates low light levels well enough to be inter-seeded into an established corn crop and grows quickly enough with adequate moisture to help suppress weeds. For ruminant…
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The Crop Protection Hub -How does it work?
All of OMAFRA’s pest management publications have been digitized into the Crop Protection Hub. While we have received positive feedback on this tool, we do understand that some prefer the print publications. We are working on a print solution from the Crop Protection Hub that we hope meets those needs. If you would like to…
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When do cover crops, with and without manure applied, release nitrogen that can be used for my corn crop?
Cover crops can produce nitrogen. We looked at when different species release nitrogen and the impact that adding manure has on the timing and release of nitrogen. The simple answer Predicting nitrogen (N) availability from cover crops is complicated. Cold and wet conditions in the spring negativelyimpact soil microbial activity and can result in significant…
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When should I spray my cereal rye cover crop before soybeans?
Cereal rye is a versatile cover crop that can be seeded late into the fall in Ontario. Not to be confused with annual ryegrass – a grass that can be challenging to control – it is a winter cereal that overwinters reliably and grows rapidly in the spring. Delayed termination of rye by herbicide prior…
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Is the yield potential of alfalfa increasing?
The relationship between alfalfa breeding efforts and yield potential is complicated. While most literature on annual grain crops shows yield improvements with the release of new varieties over time, a literature search on alfalfa yield will show improvement, stagnation, and declines, depending on the paper. One of the latest attempts to discern what is really…
