As mentioned yesterday, last week trap catches shot up significantly. I’ve included a graph to show just how big of a flight we are experiencing this year compared to previous years. Ontario 2009 2010 2011 Averages I’ve also included an updated graph showing the counties that have been catching the highest average number moths per […]
If you can believe it, we have not reached WBC peak moth flight yet! Trap counts continue to climb and some participants are having a hard time counting them all. During this intense period, I do recommend that our trap participants check their traps more than once a week, simply to keep on top of […]
Some scouts are starting to notice tiny WBC larvae that have hatched that crawling in the whorl or making their way down to the ear of the plants. To help you know whether they are WBC larvae, here are some photos. You can click on them to enlarge them. They start out with spots along […]
I’ve been getting asked this a lot over the last few weeks so I thought I had better finally write a quick blog on it. What is this insect? It’s a red-headed flea beetle. Very common in soybeans but even more abundant this year, showing up in other crops too. Defoliation in corn is not […]
There has been a great deal of debate about the need for boron on spring canola. It is well documented that boron plays a critical role in proper canola pollination and seed set. This has created quite a bit of interest from growers who have been experimenting with foliar boron applications at early-flowering. Also driving […]
There is a great deal of optimism out there amongst cash croppers, as markets flirt with $6 corn and $12 soybeans. Side effects of this bullish market are higher fertilizer prices, increased demand for corn and soybeans land, and higher land rental rates. How will this impact our ability to produce profitable forages? What production […]
Fields that usually get nitrogen applied prior to planting and incorporated may have been planted this year without any nitrogen in order to speed up the process. Post planting N application of UAN (28%) is a good option in these situations but there are a few things to consider. Nitrogen application using UAN will cause […]
May 2011 has been one of those wet starts to the growing season. Wet and warm weather provides good disease growing conditions. Disease pressure makes for poor spring cereal yields and grain quality. Is Fungicide Always Warranted? The question is, “when are fungicides warranted on spring cereals?” Timing application to the crop stage impacts the […]
The conditions this year have resulted in a number of soybean diseases starting early and northern stem canker is one such disease. In most years, stem canker symptoms become apparent later in the seasonafter flowering. This year stem canker started earlier with seedling damping off and early season wilting symptoms which is as stated above […]
The following harvest and storage management tips for dwarf bunt infected fields can help increase sample quality: Cut high with the combine Wheat infected with dwarf bunt will be substantially shorter than healthy plants. Raising the header will reduce the amount of bunt balls harvested. Harvest below 15% Bunt balls and spores that are dry […]
Rain! Rain! Go away and come back another day (preferably June, July and August)! At this time it would be premature to switch from adapted hybrids to shorter season hybrids. When field conditions delay planting and necessitate switching to less than full-season hybrids, factors to consider in this decision include yield potential of shorter-season hybrids, […]
Trap counts sent in to the network this week from last week’s moth catches indicate that moth flight increased dramatically. And from tweets on Twitter and emails coming in from participants, even higher numbers are being caught this week in some traps. So we haven’t quite reached peak moth flight yet here in Ontario. The […]
The official announcement came through today. Coragen Insecticide is now also approved for use in dry beans and other legumes (except soybeans) for WBC control in Canada through the URMULE system. Rate is 250 to 375 mL/ha. Use a minimum of 100L/ha of water for ground app. 1 day PHI. Click link to see revised […]
Despite the heat, western bean cutworm activity is increasing. Trap catches over the past week have climbed significantly, indicating that peak flight is here or soon to be here. The counties that have accumulated the most moth catches so far include Chatham-Kent (544), Lambton (256), Middlesex (244), Huron (206), Haldimand-Norfolk (138), Essex (155) and Elgin […]
I have been negligent in not mentioning the newest insecticide to be registered for WBC control in corn. I have no excuse except that I been conveying product information through links to Publication 812, Field Crop Protection Guide and the product didn’t get registered for WBC control in time to make the printing deadline. So […]