THE AMAZING APHID Aphids are tiny, soft-bodied sucking insects that feed on several host crops, such as pea, potato, flax, canola and soybean. Some species are carried north by wind, and usually begin appearing in June or early July. The pea aphid and potato aphid have been known to overwinter in the Prairies. If fields […] Read more
Aphids Suck Peas, Flax, Soy…
Seeding between rows of stubble gives your crop the benefits of zero-till and the warmer soils you’d get from tilled land. To do this, you need an accurate GPS signal and tools to keep the implement — not just the tractor — in line
Crops that sprout nestled in crop stubble enjoy a number of benefits. Stubble not only traps snow and returns organic matter back to the soil, but it can also create a microclimate at the soil level that is more beneficial to seedling growth. Just eight to 12 inches of stubble traps snow, slows wind speed […] Read more
Tips To Keep Ergot At Bay
QUICK TIPS Ergot lives in the soil, but its viability is drastically reduced after two years. Avoid planting a cereal on cereal stubble to sidestep an infection. If you’re planning to use infested grain as seed, have it cleaned using a gravity table or colour sorter, or avoid using it for a full two growing […] Read more
Get Serious About Clubroot Symptoms
Canola has its share of enemies. Several diseases, such as blackleg and sclerotinia, eat up yields and cause headaches for farmers. But canola’s newest foe is proving much tougher to fight than first thought. “Clubroot is a soil-borne disease, not air-borne like many other canola diseases,” explains Murray Hartman, oilseed specialist with Alberta Agriculture. Soilborne […] Read more
45S51 canola snubs sclerotinia
While there will be no getting around spraying for sclerotinia, Pioneer Hi-Bred’s sclerotinia tolerant Roundup Ready hybrid canola 45S51 proved in 2008 that it can at least make spraying more effective or buy you some wiggle room on the decision. The summer of 2008 marked the first full field-scale testing of 45S51 in anticipation of […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
