Cereals Winter wheat harvest has begun throughout southwest Ontario but intermittent rainfall has caused delays. Some farmers in Essex County have finished harvest and initial word is that the quality and yield of the crop has been good. Harvest progress is likely 7-10 days behind what was observed in 2016 but comparable to the 2015 […]
Nutrient Deficiencies in Soybeans Leaf yellowing and slow growth is evident in many fields. Stressful growing conditions will amplify nutrient deficiency symptoms, insect feeding, and disease symptoms. When plants are already stressed it’s even more important to manage deficiencies wherever possible. Fortunately, weather conditions over the next four to six weeks are more crucial to […]
I’m seeing a lot of pics on Twitter of recent WBC moth catches in traps, which I think is great. The more people that are trapping, the more data we have to work with to determine when peak flight takes place and when scouting is required. But trap counts do not indicate if a spray […]
Western Bean Cutworm Western bean cutworm (WBC) traps have been set on corn and dry edible bean fields across southern Ontario, and low numbers of moths are being caught. Traps are used to monitor moth activity (Figure 1.) and indicate when scouting is required, and are not intended to determine when to spray insecticide. Up […]
Diagnosing Early Season Soybean Diseases In Ontario, soybean seedling diseases and root rots are the second most important yield limiting diseases (Figure 1.) and this year is no different. Cool soil temperatures along with early rains in parts of Essex and Niagara resulted in a large number of soybean fields needing to be replanted and […]
Despite the wet weather, potato leafhoppers (PLH) are thriving in many areas of the province. Hopperburn is evident in the second crop of alfalfa, though dry bean fields are also at risk, especially once insecticide seed treatments are no longer present in the plants. Unfortunately, once hopperburn is noticed, yield and quality has already been […]
Nitrogen Rate Decisions for Corn Split nitrogen applications in corn not only minimize risk of loss, but can also provide an opportunity to adjust rates based on rainfall, which is a key factor in corn response to nitrogen from year to year. Use decision support tools to help with your rate decision and don’t underestimate […]
2017 Mt Forest Ag Breakfast Meeting Notes 2017-jun-13 General While still dealing with some impacts of wet and cooler conditions, almost all the crops are planted. Some areas may not get planted as persistent rains prevent that heavier ground from drying out. Consensus was that things looked way better than the previous meeting two weeks […]
Weather Overnight rainfall ranged from 1 to 10 ml in the region. From the 1st of May, the area has accumulated about 825 Crop Heat Units (CHU), which is only about 25 CHU behind normal. Heat this last week has brought us closer to normal. Long range forecast is for cooler temperatures, so less CHU […]
It has been a few years since soybean aphids have been noticed in fields this early in the season. This is in part, because many fields were treated with insecticide seed treatments and were assumed to be protecting the crop early in the season. However, very recently published research across several US states has shown […]
Winter Wheat Winter wheat has headed, however some areas are behind in terms of growth stage. On the south shore of Lake Ontario where cool winds are more frequent, wheat is up to 2 weeks behind other areas of the region. A comment was made that while a lot of wheat is quite variable, tiled […]
Authored by: Tracey Baute, Meghan Moran, OMAFRA and Dr. Rebecca Hallett, University of Guelph Swede midge populations are high this year while the canola crop is still quite young. Despite trap captures already reaching the accumulated trap threshold of 20 midges total, there are a few things to consider before deciding to spraying this early: […]
Breakfast Sponsor: Thanks from the group to “Michigan Sugar – Wayne Martin” Quotes of the week – It was a stellar morning for great quotes. Here is a selection of some of the ones we can remember! “The coffee shop should only be drive-thru in the spring – Al McCallum “Good thing about mistakes is […]
Cereals A large majority of the winter wheat crop has progressed beyond the post-flowering stage, and spraying for Fusarium Head Blight protection has been completed in many regions. Stripe rust is reported to be advancing in some areas in fields that did not receive a fungicide application. Significant yield loss can occur in cases where […]
Planting canola early is the best way to beat swede midge. Canola was planted late across much of the province this spring, so the risk for damage by swede midge is very high. This year swede midge are present long before bolting, and in some regions even before planting was complete. It is important to […]