Organization: Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) Division/Branch: Economic Development Division / Agriculture Development Branch Position Title: Research Assistant in Canola and Edible Beans Job Term: Temporary for up to 16 weeks, beginning spring 2020 Salary: $14.85 / hour, based on a 36.25 hour work week Office Location: Stratford, Ontario Contact: Meghan Moran,…
Meghan Moran October 6, 2019 1057 Comments Off on Made-In-Ontario Yield Monitor Now Available for Dry Bean CombinesIn 2015 an Oxford County farm family, the Vollmershausen’s, were looking around for a yield monitor for their Pickett combine. The Vollmershausen’s grow kidney and cranberry beans which are harvested by pulling and windrowing, then picked up and threshed by a Pickett combine. Large seeded dry beans are somewhat delicate and must be handled gently so that the final product…
Meghan Moran October 4, 2019 776 Comments Off on Pre-Harvest Herbicide Options in Canola; Managing Re-GrowthSpring canola harvest is not yet complete, with a majority of the crop still standing in northern regions. Many fields were ready to harvest up to two weeks ago, but the weather has not cooperated. Producers are now reporting that canola is re-growing and quite green in the lower canopy. Pre-harvest herbicide application may improve harvest conditions; some details to…
Producers interested in growing winter canola should consider the herbicide history of their field, and the herbicide options open to them following winter wheat harvest. There are a number of restrictions, and some herbicide labels do not mention safety on canola. At this time there is only one winter canola variety that is registered in Ontario and readily available to…
Scouts and agronomists may put biosecurity measures in place with a certain disease or crop in mind, but should ensure protocols are in place each and every time you walk fields. Crops are grown in rotation, so the soil in corn fields may contain soybean cyst nematode and soil in wheat fields may contain clubroot disease that infects canola. What…
Ontario’s dry edible bean producers are top notch farmers. They invest a great deal of time and money in managing this high risk, high reward crop. To keep the scales tipped towards ‘high reward’, dry bean producers need to know the soybean cyst nematode (SCN) status of their fields. SCN is now present in 22 counties (Figure 1), including the…
The Ontario Pulse Crop Committee are very pleased to announce that GoBeans.ca has been updated! The home of our annual dry bean performance testing data has a fresh, new look. Head over to GoBeans.ca to find: Variety descriptions for many of the varieties grown in Ontario – *New Content!* The 2018 Ontario Dry Bean Variety Trials report in PDF format,…
Meghan Moran April 29, 2019 737 Comments Off on Biological Control for Swede Midge and its Parasitoid in OntarioThis article was written by Charles-Étienne Ferland, MSc Candidate, and Dr. Rebecca Hallett, University of Guelph A biological control agent is a beneficial insect that will help control populations of pest insects. Finding the right biological control agent is a bit like having guests over for dinner for the first time. If you’re not careful in selecting the candidate,…
Meghan Moran April 20, 2019 1329 Comments Off on Should I Always Apply Boron to Canola during Early Flower Stages?Boron application at flowering is a common practice for Ontario canola growers. Canola has a higher requirement for boron than crops like wheat and barley, so it make sense to give canola a shot of this micro nutrient. Timing the application during reproductive stages makes sense too, because boron deficient plants have been shown to express slow growth of pollen…
Meghan Moran April 9, 2019 1009 Comments Off on What are these Flies in my Canola? Understanding Delia SpeciesThis article was written by Meghan Moran (OMAFRA Canola & Edible Bean Specialist) , Travis Cranmer and Dennis Van Dyk (OMAFRA Vegetable Crop Specialists) There have been times growers and agronomists have asked, “What is this house fly-looking insect I am seeing in canola fields?” The flies were particularly abundant in some regions in 2017, and at the time it was…
Meghan Moran November 5, 2018 3257 Comments Off on Fall Review of Winter Canola Fields and Expectations for OverwinteringThis article was written by Meghan Moran (OMAFRA) and Sydney Meloche (AAFC Harrow) Winter canola fields across Essex, Chatham-Kent, Wellington, Hamilton-Wentworth, Haldimand and Niagara have been assessed in fall of 2018. Approximately 900 acres have been scouted in 20 fields. The goal is to take observations on plant populations and plant size in the fall, and assess winter survival in…
Meghan Moran June 22, 2018 2491 Comments Off on Monitoring Canola for Cabbage Seedpod Weevil and Tarnished Plant BugCabbage seedpod weevil (CSW) are being found in spring canola, particularly in earlier planted fields that are beginning to flower. CSW may begin to appear just prior to bolting and can primarily be found on flower buds until pods begin to form. They are approximately 3 to 4 mm in length and are fairly easy to identify by their dark…
Meghan Moran March 21, 2018 2077 Comments Off on Evaluation of Nitrogen and Planting Equipment in Spring CanolaSpring canola yields have been strong in Ontario in the past two years, but are we meeting our yield potential? Are there ways to profitably increase yields? In 2017 a trial was conducted by Deb Campbell of Agronomy Advantage Inc. and Darcy Martin on Darcy’s farm in Kenilworth, Ontario to test and demonstrate management practices that maximize canola yields. Profitability…
Meghan Moran March 15, 2018 2966 Comments Off on Edible Bean Yields can be Impacted by Soybean Cyst NematodeHave you ever had a dry bean crop that looked healthy but resulted in disappointing yields? Have you seen stunted or yellowing patches, but could not identify the cause? If so, you may want to look for soybean cyst nematode (SCN). Researchers in Ontario and the US have shown that SCN is not just a soybean pest, it also reproduces…
Meghan Moran March 1, 2018 2849 Comments Off on Can double cropping winter canola and soybean kill two birds with one stone?This article was written by Dr. Eric Page, Research Scientist in Weed Ecology, and Sydney Meloche, Weed Science Technician, AAFC Harrow Research and Development Center Soybean production in southwestern Ontario is increasingly challenging because of the presence of multiple glyphosate resistant weed species. Essex, Kent and Lambton counties have the unfortunate distinction of being home to 4 glyphosate resistant weeds:…