Thank you to Joanna Wallace who chaired the meeting and to Houston De Brabandere (Nufarm) who sponsored breakfast. There was an excellent turnout and discussion. The next meeting will be on June 12 starting at 7:00 am for breakfast (meeting starts at 7:30). Frank Flanagan will be the chairman.
Synopsis: Huron County has received 40% of the average rainfall this spring compared to other regions of the province such as Essex and Chatham-Kent where they have received excess rainfall. A gentle rain would be welcome news in this area as things are quickly becoming very dry. Corn planting in the area is now completed and soybean planting is nearing completion with the exception of Bruce and Grey counties where approximately 60-70% of soybeans are planted. Edible bean planting has begun in the area with about 25% of acres planted to date. With the lack of rainfall in recent weeks growers are reminded to plant edible beans into moisture. Edible beans can be planted up to 3” if required to find moisture on good ground and the forecast in the coming days looks favourable. If rain is in the near forecast growers may want to wait for the moisture before planting rather than planting their edible beans too deep. First cut alfalfa is beginning especially where growers are looking to get four cuts this season.
Wheat: The winter wheat crop ranges from flag leaf to early boot stage. Some fields that received a blend of ammonium sulphate (AS) and urea are showing variable spread patterns as a result of the AS not spreading the same or as even as urea. Additionally, with the cool spring there was a delay in sulphur mineralization resulting in fields showing a deficiency. Correction of sulphur deficiency is still possible at this point with applications of Ammonium Thiosulphate (ATS). ATS can be applied at a rate of 2-3 gal/acre with streamer nozzles; however, ATS can burn so it should be diluted with 20 gal of water. Herbicide applications are wrapped up now and growers should be cautioned if considering the T2 fungicide timing as the wheat approaches the heading stage. Minimal disease has been reported to date; however, some powdery mildew has been found so growers should continue to scout to determine if a T2 fungicide is warranted. Questions were raised about the value of a T2 fungicide on a year with low disease pressure. Research conducted by Dr. Dave Hooker (U of G, Ridgetown Campus) showed that a single T3 fungicide application increased yield by 10% compared with a T2 and T3 fungicide application that showed an average 15% yield increase. Growers are encouraged to continue to scout their fields for signs of disease when making fungicide application decisions. DONcast is another tool growers can utilize when making T3 fungicide decisions for fusarium head blight. There have been just under 500 damage reports to date primarily in Essex, Chatham-Kent, Perth, Niagara and Bruce counties. This is on par with previous years. Continue to watch for cereal leaf beetle in all cereals. A hot pocket is being reported around Woodstock.
Corn: Overall corn stands are looking good with the early planted corn at the 4-5 leaf stage. If fields were planted into gummy conditions the corn is starting to suffer. In small plot research trials corn is showing signs of variability where it was planted near the root balls of cover crops. Nitrate samples are just beginning to come into the labs and anhydrous is starting to go on now. It is expected that side dress time will be later this year due to a delay in mineralization. Although the rate of mineralization doesn’t change year over year, the coldest April on record is expected to have delayed when mineralization began. Early planted fields are looking weedy with sow thistle coming back from burndowns. Sow thistle should be controlled after wheat harvest with glyphosate and dicamba. Growers dealing with Canada thistle can also be controlled with glyphosate in the fall after wheat harvest. Fall strip till/stale seed bed fields are looking good. Some growers are trying to freshen the strips in the spring; however, on heavy soils such as those in Lambton County, the soil is drying out on top and remaining wet and clumpy underneath. Agricorp reports there have been 59 corn damage reports to date primarily in the southwest due to excessive moisture. The corn planting deadline for Agricorp is June 15th.
Soybeans: Once soybeans have emerged there are limited options for fleabane control in conventional or glyphosate tolerant varieties. If the fleabane is not resistant to group 2 herbicides, First Rate is an option. As the dry weather continues, growers may want to consider deeper planting depths (2-2 ½ inches) to ensure soybeans are planted into moisture. There may be some emergence issues in areas that received spotty, hard rainfall. Reports of soybean emergence on heavy corn residue trash looking poor, while emergence on tilled ground looks good. Past Ontario research has shown that the difference in yield between no-till and tillage is 2 bu/ac on average. There is a shift to more tillage in soybeans because of emergence issues as well as the soil drying out sooner allowing growers to get into fields sooner.
There is some replanting under way on clay soils. Deciding whether it is worth replanting a poor stand can be difficult. Plant stand reductions are rarely uniform, which makes a decision to replant more challenging. Often it is best to treat parts of a field separately. Do not assess a poor soybean stand too quickly, since more seedlings may still emerge. Fields with a plant reduction of 50% do not need replanting if plant loss is uniform and the stand is healthy. Numerous studies and field experience have demonstrated that keeping an existing stand is often more profitable than replanting. Replanting gives no guarantee of a perfect stand. “Do not replant a plant stand of more than 222,000 plants/ha (90,000 plants/acre), in 19 cm (7.5 in.) row spacings on most soil types. Very heavy clay soils need a minimum of less than 250,000 plants/ha (110,000 plants/acre) before a replant is worthwhile.”
Weed control: Peter Sikkema reported that in his research trials the annual ryegrass was better controlled in 2018 compared to 2017 with glyphosate and assure. Glyphosate and group 2 herbicides are also showing promising control. Peter also reported that the University of Toronto confirmed a second mode of resistance to Group 14 in waterhemp. Waterhemp in Essex County was found to be genetically identical to waterhemp found in Missouri; however, the waterhemp found on Peele Island is found to be more genetically similar to historical waterhemp found in Ontario. There is a 30% reduction in the control of volunteer corn in soybean when Xtendimax and Engenia are tank mixed with Assure or Venture. Group 4 herbicides will antagonize group 1 herbicides when tankmixed. To overcome this the rate of Assure or Venture can be increased by 50%. A reminder that ammonium sulphate and older forms of glyphosate will also increase the volatility of dicamba when added to the tank so growers should avoid this practice. There are no good products registered for the control of buckwheat in IP soybeans. If buckwheat is a problem in IP soybeans growers can try herbicides such as Classic or Reflex.
Forages: First cut alfalfa is beginning in some areas where growers are looking to get four cuts this season. Growers should scout their fields after harvest for alfalfa weevil feeding. Fall rye is coming off with reports of lower volumes compared to other years. Quality is also being reported as going down as it was not cut soon enough.
Agri Corp Deadlines:
Unseeded Acres Reported: June 15th
Final Planted Acres: June 30th
Upcoming Event
Southwest Crop Diagnostic Days (Ridgetown Campus) July 4 or 5, 2018
FarmSmart Expo 2018 (Elora Research Station) – July 12, 2018
Eastern Ontario Crop Diagnostic Day (Winchester Research Farm) – July 19, 2018
Stratford Crop Technology Contacts:
Horst Bohner, horst.bohner@ontario.ca
Joanna Follings, joanna.follings@ontario.ca
Meghan Moran, meghan.moran@ontario.ca
Jake Munroe, jake.munroe@ontario.ca