28% has become the preferred nitrogen source on winter wheat in Ontario. Application is perfectly uniform, something that seems difficult to achieve with most urea applications. However, leaf burn is one of the main problems with 28% applications, particularly at later stages of growth. With more emphasis on split nitrogen applications, and renewed interest in even later N applications on…
Synopsis: The growing point is moving in advanced wheat, making weed control critical. N loss from early applications is not expected to be significant due to cool temperatures. Annual weeds have emerged and pressure is high in many fields. Early corn has barely sprouted, with little field activity to date. Corn under plastic is emerging. Early reports indicate deflectors on planters…
Synopsis: Wheat looks TOUGH. Forages, particularly alfalfa, is TOUGHER. 10 to 40% of the wheat will be replanted. Spray replant wheat fields with glyphosate BEFORE replanting! Majority of the N is on, with N applications just getting underway to the north. Very little planting progress, some spring grain and a few acres of corn. Oat and IP soybean seed are in…

Synopsis: It is National Soil Conservation Week! Wheat survival is extremely spotty. Estimate 10-15% will be replanted. Nitrogen applications are gearing up. Corn and sweet corn planting have started: excellent uptake of Fluency Agent by growers. Sugar beet and pea plantings are underway. Soils are drying nicely. Western bean cutworm is not expected to have survived the winter. Cover crop…
Note: New Location for Ridgetown AgBreakfast Meeting is the Campus Centre in the basement of Willson Hall, 7:15 am (U of Guelph Ridgetown Campus). A big thank-you to our Breakfast sponsor this week “St. Clair Region Soil and Crop Improvement Association” and Chad Anderson for their support. There are plenty of opportunities for others to sponsor over the next 5…
Wheat yields pushing 150 bu/ac are very possible with good management and increased nitrogen (N) rates. Recent research clearly shows an interaction between fungicides and nitrogen. But high nitrogen rates immediately raises questions about lodging, nitrogen source, and application timing. Wheat’s nitrogen demand is much earlier than corn, so nitrogen management needs to be different. What is the right rate,…
Synopsis: Using the provincial performance trials to pick the top variety for your farm. By now you should have looked at the wheat variety trials (www.gocereals.ca). What an AMAZING amount of information. With new information, and combined charts, which table should you actually use? Managed or normal? For the first time ever (2013), there are variety comparisons using fungicides, or “managed”(Tables 1A,…
Ontario wheat performance trials are the first to add fungicides as part of the evaluation package. Years ago, no one sprayed wheat, barely even with a herbicide. Today, if you don’t spray a fusarium fungicide on your wheat crop, you aren’t a real wheat farmer. And the fusarium issues with #Harvest13 have really driven this point home. Performance trials are…

According to Environment Canada, atmospheric sulphur dioxide emissions were reduced by over 50% from 1990 to 2010. Although this is a positive outcome for emissions reductions it does signal an inevitable need to ensure that field crops have an adequate supply of this essential nutrient. A study was initiated in 2011 to determine how varying rates of sulphur affected winter…
Harvest is in high gear as far north as Mitchell, and starting in Bruce County. Yields are average, mostly 75 to 95 bu/ac. Poor fields are 60, with best fields at 110. Quality is excellent, with very low fusarium. Protein in hard reds is inconsistent. Sprouting in white wheat is an issue southwest of London (the rain zone). Most growers…
Winter Cereals continue their rapid development pace. Most fusarium fungicides will have been applied by June 3. There will be some harvest in June. Shortest varieties are those that showed the most freeze injury earlier, indicating that the injury had impact. Straw is becoming increasingly sought after, with prices in the countryside reaching unprecedented levels. Armyworm has been found above…
Application of fusarium control fungicides requires specialized nozzles or nozzle combinations to achieve optimum results. Maximizing wheat head coverage requires both proper timing and the best nozzle configurations. Maximize Spray Coverage of Wheat Heads The key to applying fungicides to prevent fusarium head blight (FHB) is to spray all sides of all wheat heads with product. Heads that are missed…
Winter wheat is heading rapidly. Wheat west of London will be ready for fusarium sprays by the weekend, with the crop north and east following closely. Stripe rust and high aphid numbers have been found in Chatham-Kent. Scout! Threshold is 50 aphids/stem after heading. Barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) symptoms are showing at surprising levels in many fields, vectored by…
Winter cereals are far ahead of normal development. Rye and barley are in full head, advanced wheat fields are at head emergence. Combines need to be ready to harvest two weeks earlier than ever before. Dry weather and low fusarium risk has some growers questioning the need for fusarium control. Remember that the fusarium fungicides Caramba and Prosaro give foliar leaf…
Winter wheat is advancing rapidly with warmer temperatures. The window for herbicide applications is closing as fields reach flag leaf stage. Flag leaf herbicide applications run a high risk of crop injury. If weeds are a harvest issue, pre-harvest glyphosate is the best option on advanced fields. Early wheat at Harrow is just beginning to head (GS 50). The crop…