More growers are noticing northern corn leaf blight (NCLB) – the most common corn leaf disease in Ontario. A proactive and integrated approach to management will mitigate significant financial losses. The simple answer Regular scouting is the best way to identify increases in the severity of NCLB. Ontario research has shown that an effective fungicide […]
Tar spot, a corn leaf disease that can cause significant yield losses, was first found in Ontario in 2020. It has since been found over a wider geographic area. Here’s an overview of what is currently known about best management practices. The simple answer Tar spot is here to stay. In the U.S. corn belt, […]
Crop scouts and agronomists that walk multiple fields in a day should consider biosecurity and preventing the movement of soil, and soil borne pests, between fields. Risk of disease movement from one farm to the next is proportional to the amount of soil moved. While other aspects of farming represent a greater risk of soil […]
Co-authored with Albert Tenuta, Field Crop Pathologist, OMAFRA. 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. […]
This article was written by Horst Bohner, OMAFRA Soybean Specialist, and Albert Tenuta, OMAFRA FIeld Crop Pathologist Phytophthora root rot (PRR) is one of the most destructive soybean diseases in Ontario. PRR thrives in wet soils, so the incidence of this disease is more prevalent in fields that received excess rainfall in 2021. Clay soils, […]
The incidence and severity of white mould (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum) is highly dependent on favourable weather conditions for the disease during soybean flowering. White mould prefers temperatures below 28 degrees C, moist soils, and high humidity. Conditions over the last few weeks have been ideal for the disease in much of Ontario. It’s important to know […]
With warmer temperatures wheat has really progressed across the province. Fields in southern Ontario are beginning to head out while fields further east and north are at or approaching flag leaf emergence. That being said, all herbicide applications should be wrapped up in those fields that are at or approaching flag leaf. Disease should be […]
Co-authored with Albert Tenuta, Field Crop Pathologist, OMAFRA 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. […]
As 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. […]
The 2019 growing season has been a challenge for the winter wheat crop to say the least! While many winter wheat fields have been removed, a significant amount of stands remain and are being kept through to harvest. Given the wet conditions so far this spring and as we approach heading in many areas, it […]
In properly ensiled corn silage, research has not shown an increase in mycotoxins from levels in the crop at harvest. Fusarium species, the fungi that produce DON, do not like low oxygen, low pH environments, so if corn goes through the proper ensiling process fusarium should no longer be active and able to produce DON. […]
Laboratories Offering Mycotoxin Analysis in Ontario Lab & Address Toxins * Cost per sample **** Turn Around Time ***** A&L Canada Laboratories Inc. 2136 Jetstream Rd. London, Ontario N5V 3P5Tel: 519-457-2575 Elisa DON by LCMS/MS $25.65/toxin/sample; 2 days $76.90; 3-5 days 3 – 5 days Actlabs Agriculture 41 Bittern Street Ancaster, Ontario L9G 4V5 Tel: […]
Good Mycotoxin Test Begins With A “Representative” Sample! The importance of collecting a “representative” sample cannot be overestimated. The most significant variable associated with mycotoxin test results comes from incorrect sample collection or uneven distribution of infected kernels in load (Figure 1). Although taking a sample from the top of a storage bin, truck or […]
Co-authored with Albert Tenuta, Field Crop Pathologist, OMAFRA OMAFRA field crop staff in collaboration with the Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) and members of the Ontario Agri-Business Association (OABA) have completed the annual Provincial corn ear mould and mycotoxin survey. Corn ear moulds such as Gibberella and their corresponding mycotoxins occur every year in Ontario. […]
