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In both wheat and barley, boron deficiency causes the unfertilized cereal grain flowers to open up just like open pollinated rye. The consequences of deficiencies are failure to set seed, as in canola and wheat, and, in barley, the open, exposed cereal flowers can have very high levels of ergot.
Columns, Crops

Bring on the boron

Boron deficiency can cause failure to set seed and ergot infection

By
Over the last few years in the Prairies, there has been something of a resurgence of interest in boron. This micronutrient is critical for normal plant growth, particularly crop maturity, and water balance — and is a key factor in seed set and crop yield. In man and animals, this micronutrient is essential for weight […] Read more
It was Yamily Zavala’s enthusiasm and commitment to the idea and the support of local farmers, businesses and other institutions that made the CARA Soil Health Lab a reality. Zavala studied and worked in Venezuela, where she was born and raised, and later earned a PhD in soil and plant nutrition from Cornell University. She has spent a good part of her working life studying the soil ecosystem.
Crops, Features

Soil studies just for the “health” of it

Alberta lab teaches farmers to be soil health investigators

By
[UPDATED: Oct. 6, 2021] Farmers spend a lot of time working in and on the soil. As the holder of crop nutrients and, hopefully, water, soil is literally the foundation for growing crops, although under extremely dry conditions, it may seem like just so much dirt. But aside from what a soil analysis might tell […] Read more
Soil variability changes nutrition requirements
Crops, Wheat & Chaff

Soil variability changes nutrition requirements

Q & A with an expert

By
Q: Can field performance be enhanced by a better understanding of the soil and nutrition placement? A: Soil nutrition in a field can be looked at like a blanket — not the boring, white, duvet-type of blanket, but a more unique quilt with diversity in patterns and colours. This soil variability in the field changes […] Read more
One agronomist says there are three questions that should be addressed when it comes to fall fertilization goals, especially in the dry year growers just experienced.
Crops, Features

The benefits of zone soil sampling after a dry season

Maximize the efficiency of your fall fertilizer applications

By
Prairie farmers have learned to temper their yield expectations after a dry growing season, especially in a year like this when many areas started with little to no soil moisture reserves. Reduced crop growth is a clear symptom of drought but what isn’t so obvious is what’s happening — or rather, what’s not happening — […] Read more
After a dry growing season
Crops, News

After a dry growing season

While it’s definitely a disappointing and, for some, disastrous year, it’s no time to forget about the soil — farmers are urged to think about soil and nutrient management practices this fall

By
With soil moisture conditions this August across virtually all of western Canadian farmland ranging from abnormally dry to beyond description, it might seem there isn’t much to be done to improve soil health and management until it rains. However, while it may seem counterintuitive, agronomists and soil specialists alike say don’t forget about soil testing […] Read more
A 3-D illustration of Bacillus anthracis bacteria. (Dr_Microbe/iStock/Getty Images)
Livestock, Pasture, Sheep/Goats, Weather

Anthrax kills southeastern Saskatchewan sheep

Spores forced up by changes in soil moisture

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Dramatic shifts in soil moisture are again bringing anthrax spores to the surface on the Prairies, this time in a southeastern Saskatchewan sheep pasture. Lab results on Wednesday confirmed anthrax as the cause of death of one animal in a flock of sheep in the R.M. of South Qu’Appelle, about 50 km east of Regina, […] Read more
(MyLand.ag)
Crops, Machinery

AGI to buy into soil microbe breeding firm

Machinery maker to take minority stake in MyLand

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A U.S. company ramping up a system to harvest, reproduce and restore beneficial microbes from a field’s own soils, as a way to restore peak fertility, expects to get backing soon from a Canadian farm equipment maker. Winnipeg-based Ag Growth International (AGI) said Monday it has signed a conditional letter of intent with Phoenix-based MyLand […] Read more
Flea beetle. (Photo courtesy Canola Council of Canada)
Canola, Crops, Weather

Forecast, flea beetles complicate canola timing

Dry conditions make ideal seeding time difficult to peg

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Drought conditions, and the odds of more to come, have some Prairie canola growers pondering when to roll the dice on seeding, if they want to do more than feed the flea beetles. Small-seeded crops, such as canola, have garnered particular concern from agronomists and producers worried about germination, given power dry topsoil across much […] Read more
An eight-inch-wide strip of tillage in a field with heavy corn residue.
Features

Several benefits come with an eight-inch-wide strip of tillage

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Western Canadian row crop farmers Dean Toews in southern Manitoba and John Kolk in southern Alberta have different levels of experience with strip tillage, but both see the value of working up these eight-inch-wide strips of soil in their fields with a range of production and conservation benefits. Toews, who is part of the family […] Read more

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