The Canadian “Bt” Corn Trait Tables for 2024 are now available: English: Canadian Bt Corn Trait Table for April 2024 French: Maïs exprimant des protéines insecticides disponibles au Canada (Avril 2024) Bt is in quotes because RNAi (RNA interference) technology, which is not a Bt trait, is now offered in some of the packages for […]
The Ontario Corn Committee (OCC), the Ontario Cereal Crops Committee (OCCC), the Ontario Pulse Crop Committee (OPCC), and the Ontario Soybean and Canola Committee (OSACC) launched their new website: GoCrops.ca. The new website brings together the four previous crop committee websites under one cohesive banner. Ontario growers rely on third-party variety performance trial information to […]
Planting corn directly into a living cover crop before it is killed by herbicide or tillage is not something that would have been considered 30 years ago. However, with advances in planter technology, herbicide options, and a greater awareness of cover crop benefits to soil health, more growers are doing it. According to the 2022-2023 […]
A warmer than normal winter coupled with dry weather through February has led to surprisingly good field conditions in much of southern Ontario. While it looks like it could be an early spring, we know that the weather can change rapidly this time of year. Some are questioning whether it makes sense to take advantage […]
The inaugural 2023 Ontario corn hybrid DON screening trial report is available on GoCorn.net at http://www.gocorn.net/OCC_DON_Report_2023_Final_20230212.pdf. Ontario corn hybrid DON screening trials were initiated by the Ontario Corn Committee in 2019 following high DON levels in the 2018 corn crop. Hybrid susceptibility is one of the greatest factors influencing Gibberella Ear Rot (Figure 1) and […]
The 2023 Ontario Corn Committee (OCC) hybrid performance trials are now available at GoCorn.net (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 […]
Results from the 2023 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 […]
OMAFRA field crop specialists in collaboration with Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) and members of the Ontario Agri-Business Association (OABA) have completed the 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 to […]
In case you missed it, we announced earlier this year that ECB populations were found in Nova Scotia in the fall of 2022 that are resistant to Cry1Ab Bt protein used to control ECB in Bt corn. Given the level of injury found, the resistance was developing over a number of years and went unnoticed. […]
Western bean cutworm (WBC) activity is trending higher this year than the previous three and could reach levels more similar to what we saw in 2018. WBC moth trap catches jumped this week by the 100s, with a few locations in Norfolk and east Elgin jumping into the 500 – 1000 moths per trap range. […]
Recent rainfalls have brought about an abrupt change to soil conditions in some Ontario fields in just a few short weeks ago. Localized heavy rainfalls have left some fields with standing water in low-lying areas, while many fields are wet or saturated. This has raised questions about the potential losses of nitrogen (N) for the […]
A few pests are starting to show up in fields. If you haven’t had a chance to take a look yet, plan to check those high risk fields that are prone to seeing soybean aphids (soybeans) or western bean cutworm (corn and dry beans) in the next week or so. Soybean aphids: Soybean aphids are […]
We should be seeing adult rootworm activity very soon so it is the perfect time to put up any CRW sticky traps. If you are new to the CRW Trap Network, Welcome! If you are returning from previous years, there are some new features you should be aware of. Trap Set Up in Field: Corn […]
True armyworm (TAW) has been spotted at near threshold levels in a winter wheat field near Niagara and has also caused significant damage in late planted seedling corn in Chatham Kent. Though most of our YEN wheat sites being scouted weekly have picked up only low levels of TAW in a few of the sites, […]
Summary Background Throughout the growing season, microbes within the soil break down organic nitrogen contained in soil organic matter and release it as plant-available ammonium. This process is known as nitrogen mineralization. Nitrogen mineralization is favoured by warm soil temperatures with adequate soil moisture and aeration. Excess moisture can slow mineralization or increase the potential […]