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Tag Archives plant nutrition

wheat plant waving hello
Crops, Features

FEED ME: Can well-fed plants fend off diseases and insects?

We examine an Idaho farmer’s program for crop self-defence

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Blake Matthews works with agronomist Jared Cook on an intensive cropping program that improves plant health and soil health, reduces pesticide use and somewhat increases profits. We check in with Prairie experts to see how that program’s principles could work in this region.
Fertilizer in storage at a phosphate plant in North Carolina.
Columns, Crops

Understanding soil phosphorus, part 1

Agronomy Management: Rotations and fertilizer management have dramatic effects on pools of organic and inorganic P

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Farmers and agronomists are very aware that phosphorus (P) is an essential element needed for optimum crop production in Western Canada. Most soils used for annual crops in Western Canada are very low, low or medium in plant-available soil P and are responsive to added P fertilizer. As a result, phosphate fertilizer use is second […] Read more
Lime improves alfalfa crop in Peace River Country. This photo was taken from Farming Acid Soils in Alberta and Northeast British Columbia by P.B. Hoyt, M. Nyborg and D.C. Penney.

Columns, Crops

Les Henry: Acid soils. A wake-up call

At the farm level, soil test, soil test, soil test

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This piece came about because of a technical session I attended at scientific meetings in Saskatoon in July 2019. Rick Engel of Montana State University presented a paper showing soils on the Highwood Bench near Fort Benton, Mont., that had become so acidic crops like lentils and sunflowers would barely grow. The soils were at […] Read more
Sulphur pollution has been greatly reduced in recent years, so much so that some croplands now require sulphur for specific high-demand crops.
Columns, Crops

Why is there no mention of sulphur?

The reasons behind this nutrient’s anonymity

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Sulphur (S) is one of the big four macronutrient fertilizers required by both plants and animals. Calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) could be added to this list but for reasons unknown they are given a lesser role in crop production in North America. When I was first involved in agriculture in the 1950s, nitrogen (N) […] Read more
The importance of molybdenum
Columns, Crops

The importance of molybdenum

Molybdenum (Mo) is important to the growth of all plants, including your canola

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Animals and plants require trace amounts of molybdenum. Its importance is vastly disproportionate with regard to the amount required for normal growth. In past years, most farmers and soil scientists were just getting to grips with sulphur and phosphate requirements of crop plants, let alone nitrogen and potash. It seemed as long as you had […] Read more
The 2019 harvest on the Prairies left little to be desired, with crops still left in fields for a good number of farmers.
Columns, Crops

Speeding up crop maturity

Consider these nine factors to make sure you have time to get your crop in the bin in 2020

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Last season, 2019, was a bad crop-growing season on the Canadian Prairies. There are various estimates of 10 to 25 per cent of all crops left unharvested in swaths or even still standing on cropland. Well, in that case, 75 to 90 per cent of the crop is in the bin, despite the weather. Lots […] Read more
The problems in Dwayne’s field were limited to a five-acre area, although soil tests showed a copper deficiency throughout the field.
Barley, Crops, Features

Crop advisor casebook: Pigtailing barley presents a problem

A Crop Advisor's Solution from the July 16, 2019 issue of Grainews

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Dwayne farms around 4,500 acres of red spring wheat, canola and malt barley near DeBolt, Alta. He gave me a call late last June because of a recurring problem in one of his barley fields. When visiting the field, I found some barley plants located in a concentrated area — around five acres — had […] Read more
Copper deficiencies can reduce wheat yields
Crops, Wheat & Chaff

Copper deficiencies can reduce wheat yields

Q & A with Nutrien Ag Solutions

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Q: How do I know if I have copper-deficient soils? A: Copper is the micronutrient most often found deficient in Western Canada. In a nutshell, copper deficiency is most often found in deep sandy soils and peat soils, and wheat is the most sensitive crop. Soil tests are a good tool to predict potential copper […] Read more
When you look at a partially lodged field why does the cereal crop lodge in the low spots but not on the higher, better drained spots?
Cereals, Columns

Why did my cereal crop lodge?

Practical Research: Was it disease? Too much nitrogen? Or was it a copper deficiency in your soil?

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This year, 2018, was the year of the lodged crop on the Canadian Prairies. Back in early September, the weather turned cold and much of the Prairies were covered repeatedly with heavy wet snow. In the northern half of the Prairies up to 80 per cent of the crops were yet to be harvested. Fortunately, […] Read more
Rape field, canola crops
Crops, Features

How’s your moly doing out there?

Molybdenum was once known as ‘poor man’s lime’ for a good reason

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Under the category “if it ain’t one thing it’s another” when it comes to crop nutrient requirements, the question is now being asked, “have you thought about the molybdenum levels in your canola and pulse crops?” Cereals need it too, but canola, peas, beans, lentils, faba beans, soybeans and others all have higher molybdenum requirements. Molybdenum, also often […] Read more

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