The field season is well underway with much of the nitrogen on winter wheat, spring cereals being seeded and herbicide, fungicide and plant growth regulator (PGR) applications planned for the coming weeks. And yes, it is only April 16th! The early spring brought a lot of excitement to the wheat crop with the recent rains being welcomed to help slow…
Winter wheat fields are experiencing snow mould in regions that had significant snow coverage and included but are not limited to Bruce, Grey, Huron, Perth and Wellington counties. Those fields effected were generally planted early and had lots of top growth. There are also varietal differences with more susceptible varieties showing more severe symptoms. When and where does it occur?…
Cereals can be used instead of corn as an energy source in livestock rations, and this substitution can help disrupt corn rootworm life cycles in the field. When growing cereals for feed the key areas to focus on include variety selection, establishment, fertility and disease management. Winter Cereals Growing a great cereal crop starts with selecting a variety that is…
There has been a reoccurring phenomenon in winter wheat the last few years known as physiological flecking. While not exactly predictable, physiological flecking tends to occur if it is cloudy for an extended period followed by sunny periods. The wheat leaf cuticles can be thin due to the cloudy conditions, and when conditions turn sunny free radicals (unstable atoms)…
It’s March, the snow is melting and the ground is frozen so we know what that means! Now is a good time to be considering or thinking about frost seeding some red clover into those winter wheat stands! While we can’t control all the factors that influence the success of our red clover stands in winter wheat, there are some…
Joanna Follings September 8, 2020 1616 Comments Off on Winter Barley is Making a Comeback in Ontario!While not a “new” crop to Ontario, winter barley is slowly making a come back! Known for its early maturity compared to winter wheat, this crop provides an opportunity to double crop soybeans for those in longer season areas, provides coverage of the soil during winter months, is a great feed source for livestock rations and straw, helps spread the…
This article was written by Tracey Baute, Entomologist- Field Crops and Joanna Follings, Cereals Specialist True armyworm (Figure 1) has been reported in a number of regions in the province including but not limited to Grey, Bruce, Simcoe, Haldimand, Niagara, Middlesex, Lambton, Elgin, Oxford, Perth, and Bruce counties. Armyworm has been found at low levels in some fields while others…
This article was written by Tracey Baute, Entomologist- Field Crops and Joanna Follings, Cereals Specialist As we continue to scout our cereal crops, reports of cereal leaf beetle and true armyworm in fields are coming in. While most fields are not being found at threshold yet, it is important to monitor your fields and be on the lookout. True Armyworm…
Joanna Follings June 4, 2020 761 Comments Off on Disease Management in Winter and Spring Cereal CropsAs I write this article the disease pressure in cereals has been quite minimal to date due to the cool conditions cereals have experienced so far. However, as temperatures begin to rise and canopies get thicker producers should be on the lookout for those important cereal diseases in both your winter and spring cereal crops. Here are a few key…
This article was written by Tracey Baute, Entomologist- Field Crops and Joanna Follings, Cereals Specialist Cereal Leaf Beetle (CLB) is an important pest in cereal crop production feeding on wheat, oats, barley, corn, forages and grassy weeds. CLB overwinters as an adult and then emerges early in the spring and females lay their eggs on leaves in wheat fields and…
Joanna Follings May 8, 2020 2336 Comments Off on How will the cold temperatures effect cereal crops?Updated: April 21, 2021 With temperatures dipping below zero in various parts of the province last night and continued cold temperatures forecasted into tomorrow, many are wondering what effect this will have on cereal crops. What temperatures will cause injury? Figure 1 shows the various wheat growth stages and when injury is likely to occur to the crop after experiencing…
Joanna Follings April 24, 2020 1149 Comments Off on Considerations for Nitrogen Applications in Spring CerealsAs the wheels have started turning and the spring cereals are going in the ground the question that continues to come up is how much nitrogen (N) should I apply? With spring cereals we know there is a balance between having enough nitrogen to maximize yield potential while avoiding lodging issues. However, OMAFRA’s current nitrogen guidelines for spring cereals are…
Joanna Follings April 2, 2020 1454 Comments Off on Managing Oats for Maximum Yield Potential and ProfitabilityOver the winter months there has been a quite a bit of discussion around spring cereal yields in Ontario and oat yields in particular. Trendlines for oat yields in Ontario compared to western Canada (Figure 1 and 2) show that while Ontario yields continue to increase, the increase is smaller than for our friends in western Canada. While there…
Joanna Follings November 20, 2019 1567 Comments Off on Considerations for Fungicide Applications in Oat ProductionWhen we think about fungicide applications we naturally think about protection from disease. However, there has been more discussion and reflection about the additional benefits that fungicides may provide including an improvement in overall plant health and harvestability of a crop. This was something that was discussed at the Ontario Cereal Crop Committee (OCCC) table this fall as we made…
Joanna Follings October 28, 2019 2801 Comments Off on Impact of Planting Date and Growing Degree Day Accumulations in Winter WheatEveryone is probably sick of me talking about the importance of winter wheat establishment and the need to seed winter wheat at the optimum time for improved success, yet we continue to push winter wheat seeding dates later and later each year. While there may be situations where we get away with seeding wheat into late October and November, it…