Simple Summary– about two days after pollination, or a day after fertilization, corn silks degrade and detach from ovules (potential corn kernels) and provide the earliest indication of successful pollination/fertilization– the “shake test” – peeling back ear husks, giving it a tap and observing how many silks remain attached – can quickly provide an indication […]
This article was written by Emma Peel, a summer research assistant with OMAFA assisting with corn research and extension projects during the summer of 2025. Emma is an agriculture student at the University of Guelph Background Provided we are always planting into moisture, there can be various acceptable depths to plant corn depending on your […]
A cooler than average start to the growing season has added some uncertainty to post-plant nitrogen fertilization strategies for Ontario corn producers. Soil supply of nitrogen to the corn crop is likely lower than normal due to reduced N mineralization from both soil organic matter and manure, and the Maximum Economic Rate of Nitrogen (MERN) […]
Have you been seeing increased corn rootworm pressure in your continuous corn fields over the last few years? Monitoring with sticky traps can help you determine if you have a Bt resistant corn rootworm problem and it helps us keep track of where these problem fields are. Thanks to GFO and ABSTC, we still have […]
This cooler, wet weather seems to have delayed plant growth but also has been ideal for pests to build in fields or do more feeding while the plant growth is slowed. Cereal aphids have been spotted in several fields from Harrow to Stratford. Though cereal aphids can often be found at low levels in cereals, […]
Black cutworm (BCW) and true armyworm (TAW) moths have been making their way into Ontario over the last few weeks. Black cutworm in particular have been arriving since mid April in southwestern Ontario, with trap counts increasing weekly. Shout out to our new northern Ontario trap participants at the New Liskeard, Thunder Bay and Emo […]
Introduction Gibberella ear rot concerns the industry because of DON concentrations. It is well known that DON concentrations are highly dependent on interactions among hybrids, pathogens, and the environment. Starting in 2019, the Ontario Corn Committee (OCC) refined protocols for testing hybrid sensitivity to DON accumulation with confidence based on an assessed risk. This inaugural […]
Since the first discovery of Bt resistant ECB populations to Cry1Fa in Nova Scotia in 2018, more populations of Bt resistant ECB have been found in a number of provinces and one US state (Connecticut). Not only is ECB developing resistance to Cry1Fa, but also to Cry1Ab, Cry1A.105 and Cry2b2. As they develop resistance to […]
Heavy rainfall can cause nitrates to move down through the soil and possibly below the corn crop’s root zone where it is less available for uptake. How much rainfall is needed to leach nitrogen (N)? Should we be applying extra N to corn to cover losses if a lot of rainfall has occurred in July […]
The 2024 Ontario Corn Committee (OCC) hybrid performance trials are now available at GoCrops.ca (Link HERE). Over past decades, Ontario’s average corn yields have increased around 2 bu/ac/yr. Staying current with new and competitive yielding hybrids is important. A key benefit of OCC trials is the ability to compare a large number of hybrids. These […]
Planting In March 2024, Statistics Canada estimated Ontario farmers intended to plant 2.3 million acres of grain corn, 5% higher than the 5-year (2019-2023) average seeded acres of 2.2 million acres (OMAFA Crop Statistics). Unsettled weather and highly variable planting progress dominated the spring of 2024. Frequent rains through April limited early corn planting. Frequent […]
Results from the 2024 Ontario corn rootworm (CRW) trap sites monitored through the Adult Corn Rootworm (CRW) Trap Monitoring Network have been summarized in the infographic below. Thank you to all the trap participants for monitoring their traps this year. These sites are helping us to identify fields and counties with potential resistant corn rootworm […]
OMAFA field crop specialists in collaboration with Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) and members of the Ontario Agri-Business Association (OABA) have completed the 2024 annual Ontario corn ear mould and DON mycotoxin survey. Corn ear moulds such as Gibberella and their corresponding mycotoxins occur every year in Ontario. These mycotoxins, particularly deoxynivalenol (DON, also referred […]
Tip Back in Corn What is Tip Back? “Tip back” in corn is simply the term used when corn kernels do not form all the way to the tip of the ear. Tip back made its way into corn discussions this August and September with many commenting that they saw it in more fields this […]
There are a few pests to keep an eye on over the next few weeks. Western Bean Cutworm We likely reached peak moth flight either last week for most of the southern counties or this week for the rest of the province, except Northern Ontario, based on the Degree Day Prediction Model and trap counts […]