Whack weeds when they are green and growing

You have two opportunities to apply a fall burndown herbicide: pre-harvest and post-harvest. A pre-harvest application is more often used as a harvest aid. A glyphosate treatment in early September can help dry down green annual weeds that can affect harvest operations, says Bill Hamman, a senior agri-coach with the Agri-Trend Agrology network, based in […] Read more

How to mix herbicides and fungicides

Follow label recommendations, do your own “jar test,” apply products at your own risk, and call the chemical companies for any advice they might have. Those are about the four main pieces of advice for farmers thinking about tank mixing herbicides and fungicides for a one pass application this year. Not a lot of research […] Read more


Think long-term with blackleg management

Current blackleg infection rates will not have most canola growers shaking in their boots. While blackleg was found in 65 per cent of Manitoba canola fields last year, average incidence within those fields was relatively low at 7.1 per cent of plants infected (Debbie McLaren, AAFC Brandon). That’s up only slightly from 61 per cent […] Read more

Tips to apply Headline on peas

Headline is registered on a long list of crops in Canada, including corn, cereals, potatoes and pulses. But BASF especially likes to talk about Headline’s performance on peas. The company claims an 11 per cent yield benefit for peas treated with Headline. If you are inclined to try the fungicide on your peas, here are […] Read more


7 tips for midge control

Owen Olfert, entomologist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Saskatoon, says the midge risk is elevated for much of Saskatchewan and into Alberta. “Conditions for ovipositioning — egg laying — have been ideal for the past two years,” he says. On top of that, parasitism by midge enemy No. 1 — our friend the mini […] Read more

Higher crop prices mean lower insect thresholds

With higher grain prices it takes fewer insects and lower levels of feeding to trigger an economic pay-off for spraying. Generally these economic thresholds are lower today than they were just a couple years ago, says Scott Hartley, insect management specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture in Regina. He points to lygus bug as an example. Existing […] Read more