White heads had popped up randomly throughout the durum field. The plants with the white heads were completely sterile and felt crispy, yet they were attached to a healthy, green plant.

Crop Advisor’s Casebook: What’s causing white heads in this durum crop?

A Crop Advisor's Solution from the October 17, 2017 issue of Grainews

Frank, who grows durum wheat, lentils, canola and soybeans south of Regina, Sask., called me mid-August in 2016 to discuss an issue with his wheat crop. He noticed white wheat heads popping up randomly throughout the field. “Could this be from heat blast, like in canola flowers?” he asked. “There are more of these heads […] Read more


Canola south of Ethelton, Sask. on Aug. 3, 2017. (Dave Bedard photo)

Year-ago Canadian canola crop revised higher

CNS Canada — Canada’s 2016 canola crop has been revised higher in Statistics Canada’s first production estimates for 2017, released Thursday. StatsCan raised the 2016-17 production number from 18.4 million tonnes to 19.6 million, and pegged the 2017 crop at 18.2 million tonnes, which was somewhere in the middle of trade estimates. “I think there’s […] Read more



The plants looked healthy. The crop was completely headed out and around the milky stage, with no signs of disease or abnormal growth on the plants’ leaves, stems or heads. What was attracting the beetles?

Crop Advisor’s Casebook: The secret of the swooping birds

A Crop Advisor's Solution from the April 11, 2017 issue of Grainews

Last July, Henry, a Saskatchewan farmer, watched as a throng of birds swooped in and out of his durum wheat field. When he scouted the field, he also found some “black bugs,” which prompted him to give me a call. “You need to look at my durum,” he said. “Birds are swooping, so there must […] Read more

After Don sprayed his durum, the crop seems to be 
set back and yellowing in patches.

Crop Advisor’s Casebook: Dealing with damaged durum

A Crop Advisor's Solution from the March 14, 2017 issue of Grainews

Don’s 3,000-acre mixed farm can be found south of Weyburn, Sask., near the U.S. border. He called me last June after he discovered patches of yellowing durum wheat plants in his field. Don had sprayed the crop at the three-leaf stage with a tank mix of Groups 1, 2 and 4 herbicides to control grasses […] Read more



If any fusarium is detected in seed, Bruce Carrier recommends using a seed treatment, regardless of the soil conditions.

Testing cereal seed before spring seeding

Test results show low quality in cereal seed submitted to labs for 2017 planting

Durum in Saskatchewan has been a “complete disaster” for the third year running. That was Bruce Carriere’s grim assessment at the Bayer SeedGrowth Solutions Expo in Saskatoon this spring. Carriere, president of Discovery Seed Labs in Saskatoon, said Saskatchewan durum growers usually have a year carry-over of seed. “They used that last year,” he said. […] Read more