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TOP CROP
40 | Assessing bloom stage in canola
Target 20 to 30 per cent bloom for sclerotinia control. By Bruce
Barker
Foliar fungicide and seed treatment
Donna Fleury
Ross H. McKenzie PhD, P. Ag.
Bruce Barker
44 | On-farm research trialing
Evaluate products and practices under your own farm conditions.
Ross H. McKenzie PhD, P. Ag.
24 | Economics of shorter canola rotations
Canola-wheat rotations show higher returns and better yields. By
Donna Fleury
More tools for your clubroot toolbox
Solid seeded dry bean research
Is too much always a good thing?
Janet Kanters
PHOTO BY BRUCE BARKER.
PHOTO BY BRUCE BARKER.
JANET KANTERS | EDITOR
Too much of a good thing can be wonderful.” This quote is attributed to Mae West, the late risqué American actress. But West can be forgiven for not knowing that too much of a good thing in the agriculture industry isn’t always “wonderful.”
For instance, in the agriculture industry, too much rain is not always “wonderful.” Too much heat can also be a bad thing. And we already know that too much of one Group of herbicide can be detrimental, with the potential development of herbicide resistance.
Much like herbicides, fungicide resistance is becoming more of a concern, as insidious plant diseases continue to thwart our best attempts at controlling and eradicating them. Although fungicide resistance in western Canadian cereal crops has not been identified as a problem so far, growers and industry should use best management practices and planning to keep it that way. Indeed, the trend toward short crop rotations and a dramatic increase in the use of foliar fungicides for disease management in cereal crops over the past few years certainly warrants caution.
In other cropping situations, the use of fungicides can sometimes be all encompassing. For example, for potato late blight, growers can make up to 10 fungicide applications during a growing season. This is the perfect example of a situation where growers have to manage resistance and not use the same product time after time, while, at the same time, use best practices the same way as they manage for herbicides.
Knowing when to apply fungicides is just as important as knowing when to stop applying them. In this issue of Top Crop Manager, we focus on several crop disease and fungicide stories, all aimed at ensuring fungicides are used in a timely and effective manner. A story on page 36 discusses the importance of assessing disease and label restrictions to ensure you aren’t applying fungicides after they would prove effective.
We also include a story on the effect of fungicide, seeding date and seedling age on clubroot in canola. While clubroot-resistant cultivars are the foundation of any clubroot management strategy, researchers are also looking at additional tools to assist growers, including the use of fungicidal seed treatments. Check out the story on page 30.
Finally, knowing what products are out there and how they work is important. To that end, we list new foliar fungicides and seed treatments, and product updates starting on page 8. And also in this issue is our annual Fungicide Guide, which lists all products available in Western Canada for various crops.
While fungicides play an important role in Western Canada cropping systems, they are just one tool. Resistant cultivars, crop and varietal rotations and knowledge of plant diseases round out a grower’s extensive knowledge requirements to ensure diseases don’t become too much to handle.
PRESIDENT Michael Fredericks mfredericks@annexweb.com
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Tighter canola rotations and increasingly common prairie wind events have lead to massive seed deposits across the Canadian Prairies. Avoid reaping what you didn’t sow.
Pardner® herbicide is now registered as a pre-season, tank-mix partner with Roundup WeatherMAX® herbicide and other glyphosate technologies for control of all volunteer canola, even if they’re resistant to other herbicide groups. For more information, please visit BayerCropScience.ca/Pardner
Going back to the future.
by Bruce Barker
Remember the old days of weed control in canola before herbicide-tolerant hybrids came along? Think Westar canola and herbicides like Treflan, Edge, Muster and Poast. For mustard growers, that is today’s reality, but through work done by weed scientist Eric Johnson at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) at Scott, Sask., under the Pest Management Regulatory Agency’s (PMRA) minor use program, the choices may be slowly expanding for mustard growers.
The research is being funded by AAFC’s Growing Forward 1 and 2 programs, the Western Grain Research Foundation, Saskatchewan Agriculture Development Fund, Mustard 21 Canada Inc., Agrisoma Biosciences Inc., and the Saskatchewan Mustard Development Commission. The goal is to expand the weed control options for mustard growers, whether they grow yellow (Sinapis alba), oriental and brown (Brassica juncea) or Ethiopian (Brassica carinata) mustard.
“There are a few things that mustard growers need to know, and [one of them] is not all herbicides registered on mustards can be used on all mustard types,” says Johnson. Part of his research is looking at expanding some of the registered herbicide and crop options.
Johnson says trifluralin can be used on all mustards including B. carinata, while Edge is only registered on S. alba. He explains that Edge can cause injury in brown or oriental mustards. PMRA has completed its re-review of Edge, opening the door for new crops to be registered. Johnson is looking at Edge on B. carinata with some promising results.
Assure II (quizalofop) and Muster Toss-N-Go are registered on B. juncea and B. carinata. However, the Assure/Muster tank-mix is only registered on B. juncea and Johnson cautions that there are some concerns with this tank-mix on B. carinata, which they are trying to sort out. The Muster label states application stage from the four leaf but prior to bolting, and Johnson says that needs to be followed fairly carefully.
“We have seen some crop injury in B. carinata with the Assure Muster tank-mix. We’ve been looking at herbicide rates in the tankmix along with adjuvants and at various leaf staging. You’ll need to follow the label fairly carefully as we’ve seen significant injury if you apply too early, especially with Muster,” says Johnson, who adds they are continuing to try to sort out the best application parameters.
Johnson is also investigating Authority herbicide. Authority is registered on chickpea, field pea, flax and sunflower as a pre-plant or pre-emerge application for control of kochia, lamb’s quarters, redroot pigweed and wild buckwheat. He is looking at its use in B.
carinata, B. juncea and S. alba Registration has been submitted only at the low rate of 43 acre per jug.
“We have seen some crop injury from Authority if there is heavy rainfall in May. It is something the crop seems to be able to get through but the risk is there. It isn’t perfect tolerance to the herbicide,” cautions Johnson. “If this does become registered, I would suggest growers try it on limited acres until they get a better handle on how it performs on their land.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF ERIC JOHNSON, AAFC.
Eric Johnson is working to develop new weed control options for mustard, including B. carinata.
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PESTS AND DISEASES
A review of new registrations and label updates for the 2014 growing season.
by Bruce Barker
Alook at the new seed treatments, foliar fungicides and label updates for 2014, with product information provided by the manufacturers.
Seed treatments
Cruiser Maxx Vibrance Pulses insecticide/fungicide seed treatment –Active ingredients: thiamethoxam, metalaxyl-M, fludioxonil and sedaxane (Group 4, 12, 7). Cruiser Maxx Vibrance Pulses from Syngenta is a great option for growers who require control of insect pests such as pea leaf weevil and wireworms. Available as a co-pack of Vibrance Maxx fungicide seed treatment and Cruiser 5FS insecticide seed treatment, Cruiser Maxx Vibrance Pulses can be mixed and applied on-farm using a closed system treater. This seed treatment also offers the added benefit of Vigor Trigger, resulting in even greater rates and speed of emergence.
Rancona Pinnacle fungicide seed treatment – Active ingredients: ipconazole and metalaxyl (fungicide Groups 3 and 4). Rancona Pinnacle from Chemtura AgroSolutions is powered by Rancona Technology, a fungicide seed treatment that provides both systemic and contact properties, along with the fungicide metalaxyl for Pythium protection. Rancona Pinnacle is registered on wheat, barley, oats, rye and triticale, providing broad-spectrum protection against yield-robbing cereal diseases including both seed- and soil-borne Fusarium, Cochliobolus sativus
(common root rot), common bunt, loose smut and general seed rots such as Penicillium and Aspergillus, as well as seed rot, damping off and seedling blight caused by Pythium. Rancona Pinnacle is a ready-to-use (RTU) product that utilizes microdispersion formulation technology, making seed treatment application more convenient and effective.
Lumiderm insecticide seed treatment – Active ingredient: cyantraniliprole (insecticide Group 28). DuPont Lumiderm is the first ever seed-applied product that controls cutworm and provides better consistency of flea beetle control across a broad range of environmental conditions. With its powerful residual control, Lumiderm is the next big leap in early season crop protection that you’ll want on your canola seed to get your seedlings off to a strong start. It has excellent seed safety and fits well with integrated pest management (IPM) programs.
Vibrance Maxx fungicide seed treatment – Active ingredients: fludioxonil, metalaxyl-M and sedaxane (fungicide Groups 4, 12, and 7). Get the rooting power you need in pulse and soybean crops to enhance your stand with this fungicide-only solution from Syngenta. Vibrance Maxx is a co-pack that provides early-season control of soil-borne diseases, including Rhizoctonia control.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 12
ABOVE: New fungicides will help combat powdery mildew.
PHOTO BY BRUCE BARKER.
RELENTLESS ON WEEDS. SAFE ON WHEAT.
FLUSHAFTERFLUSH™ CONTROL.
It’s rare to find a herbicide you can count on for long-lasting stopping power that’s also safe on wheat. The advanced safener technology in EVEREST® 2.0 makes it super selective for best-in-class crop safety. Safe on wheat, it’s also relentless on weeds, giving you Flush-after-flush ™ control of green foxtail, wild oats and other resistant weeds. And a wide window for application means you can apply at your earliest convenience. It’s time you upgraded your weed control program to the next generation: EVEREST 2.0. To learn more, visit everest2-0.ca.
WHAT MATTERS MOST?
Keller Farms is the largest irrigated farm in Canada. Globally, our products feed millions; locally, our business helps employ thousands. Syngenta is a huge part of my operation. The research they do around the world helps us to keep growing here.
Visit SyngentaFarm.ca or contact our Customer Resource Centre at 1- 87- SYNGENTA (1- 877- 964-
Mark Keller, owner/farmer, Keller & Sons Farming Ltd., Carberry, MB
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8
Foliar fungicides
Priaxor DS foliar fungicide – Active ingredients: pyraclostrobin and fluxapyroxad (fungicide Groups 11 and 7). Priaxor DS from BASF is registered on lentils, field peas and chickpeas. It controls Mycosphaerella blight (Mycosphaerella pinodes), powdery mildew (Erysiphe pisi), white mould (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum) (suppression), ascochyta blight (Ascochyta lentis) and anthracnose (Colletotrichum truncatum). Priaxor DS also offers AgCelence benefits of stronger stems, greener leaves and improved seed quality.
ProPulse foliar fungicide – Active ingredients: fluopyram and prothioconazole (fungicide Group 7 and 3). From Bayer CropScience, ProPulse is registered for control of white mould in dry and edible beans. ProPulse is a multi-mode of action fungicide with systemic activity, which provides long-lasting preventative activity and some curative activity.
Label updates
Acapela foliar fungicide - Active ingredient: picoxystrobin (fungicide Group 11). DuPont’s Acapela fungicide is an advanced strobilurin fungicide for disease control in cereals, corn, pulse crops (peas, lentils, chickpeas, dry beans), soybeans and now registered for canola. Acapela provides broad-spectrum disease control for key diseases like sclerotinia in canola, leaf rust, powdery mildew, septoria leaf blotch, tan spot, mycosphaerella pinodes (peas), mycosphaerella blight and Asian soybean rust, and suppression of sclerotinia rot (white mould) in pulses and soybeans.
Allegro 500F foliar fungicide – Active ingredient: fluazinam (fungicide Group 29). Allegro fungicide from Syngenta inhibits the formation and movement of spores, thereby stopping disease before it takes over. Allegro provides white mould control in dry and edible beans, and is now registered for use on soybeans.
Belmont 2.7 FS fungicide seed treatment – Active ingredient: Metalaxyl (fungicide Group 4). Belmont 2.7 FS from Chemtura AgroSolutions is a fungicide seed treatment that can now be applied at a lower rate of 6.3 mL per 100 kilograms on small grains when tank mixed with the label rate of Rancona Apex on wheat, barley, oats, rye and triticale for domestic use in Canada. Belmont 2.7 FS is effective in controlling seed rot, pre-emergence damping off and seedling blight caused by Pythium, along with the disease claims of Rancona Apex. Belmont 2.7 FS is approved at a higher rate for use in alfalfa, trefoil, beans, canola, corn, chickpeas, grasses, sugar beets, lentils, sainfoin, sorghum, soybeans and sunflowers.
Rampart fungicide – Active ingredient: mono- and dipotassium salts of phosphorous acid (fungicide Group 33). Rampart fungicide is now registered for control of late blight and pink rot on stored potatoes. Rampart is a systemic fungicide that contains 53 per cent mono- and dipotassium salts of phosphorous acid, which makes it effective in controlling blights and rots. In addition to post-harvest potatoes, Rampart is now fully registered for the suppression of downy mildew in grapes and in brassica leafy vegetables such as broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage and cauliflower.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6
Non-GMO herbicide tolerance development
Another weed control initiative that Johnson is working on is the development of herbicide-tolerant mustards. This program is using non-GMO techniques using chemical mutagenesis or gamma radiation to try to get Group 2 and 4 tolerances into mustards.
“We are going the non-GMO route because the European Union market is very important to mustard exports, and a GMO mustard would likely be a non-starter there,” says Johnson.
The goal of the program is to develop B. carinata and B. juncea varieties with Group 2 imidazolinones and sulfonylureas tolerance and Group 4 tolerance. In S. alba, they are looking for Group 2 imidazolinones and sulfonylureas tolerance along with Group 4 tolerance to dicamba. Johnson is screening the germplasm for tolerance. The research is still in early stages.
While growers wait, weed control challenges remain, especially with wild mustard control. Johnson says if Authority is registered, it will help with other weed problems like kochia, but good wild mustard control remains an issue – and in S. alba, there are no options for wild mustard control at all.
Still, Johnson says growers do not need to strive to achieve the same weed control performance in mustards as they achieve with Liberty Link or Roundup Ready canola. Johnson and researcher Hugh Beckie with AAFC at Saskatoon, Sask., looked at the competitiveness of mustards in comparison to hybrid canola. He says mustard grows faster and is much more competitive than hybrid canola. Yellow mustard was best able to suppress weed growth, followed in decreasing order of weed competitiveness by oriental mustard and hybrid canola, open-pollinated canola, and canola-quality mustard.
“When growers ask for weed control options as good as herbicide-tolerant canola, I suggest to them that shouldn’t be the goal. Mustard is extremely competitive and doesn’t suffer the same yield loss as canola under weed competition. If you are able to set the weeds back in mustard, the crop does a good job of suppressing the weeds further and you won’t suffer the same yield loss,” says Johnson.
Once in the soil, differences in formulation quickly become insignificant.
by Bruce Barker
Monoammonium phosphate (MAP), ammonium polyphosphate (APF) and orthophosphate (OP). These commonly used inorganic phosphate fertilizers are used to meet nutrient demand for crop growth, but are there differences in soil solubility and plant availability? Not according to research from the University of Manitoba (U of M).
“In the experiment, what we saw was that within a few days, differences in solubility and plant available P became insignificant,” says soil scientist Rigas Karamanos at Calgary who collaborated on the research with Tee Boon Goh with the department of soil science at the U of M, and John Lee with Agvise Laboratories at Northwood, N.D.
Phosphorus (P) is absorbed by plants largely as the primary and secondary orthophosphate ions, H2PO4- and HPO42-, which are present in soil solution. The orthophosphate forms are soluble in the pH range found in agricultural soils from pH 5.0 to pH 9. The concentration of these ions in soil solution, and the ongoing concentration in soil solution are of the greatest importance for plant uptake of P.
Granular phosphate fertilizer dissolves slowly in soil solution and converts to orthophosphate forms, but the latter react quickly in soils to form secondary phosphate compounds with calcium (Ca), iron (Fe)
and aluminum (Al), becoming insoluble over time. Liquid P fertilizer formulations that combine sparingly soluble orthophosphates and more soluble phosphates such as P2O74-, were theorized to be more available because they do not require dissolving in soil solution. However, P2O74- must still convert to orthophosphate for plant uptake. To address this theory, the researchers investigated the impact of fertilizer formulation on short-term solubility and plant availability.
Three soils, four fertilizers and one unfertilized control
Three soils of similar texture, organic matter and “available” P level were selected for use in the greenhouse trial. One was acidic and two were alkaline (one non-calcareous and one calcareous). Four fertilizer formulations were applied; a MAP (11-52-0), an ammonium polyphosphate (10-34-0) and two ammonium orthophosphates (6-24-6 and 9-18-9), at a rate of 100 ppm. All treatments were replicated four times. The fertilizer was physically injected into the soils. The soil water was kept at nearly field capacity throughout the experiment.
ABOVE: Liquid or granular, the type of P fertilizer applied does not affect plant availability of P.
PHOTO BY BRUCE BARKER.
Samples were assayed for water soluble (orthophosphate) and “available” P (Olsen method) immediately after application (zero days) and at one, two, four, eight, 16 and 32 days after application.
No differences after two to four days Karamanos says that the trends for all three soils were similar. Water soluble and available P levels were significantly different immediately following application of the fertilizer products. However, the differences were not significant after two to four days.
Specifically, the three liquid fertilizers had significantly higher (P<0.05) water solubility than the granular 11-52-0 fertilizer in the acid soil until day 2; the 9-19-9 liquid fertilizer had significantly higher water solubility than all the other fertilizers until day 2.
In alkaline soils, Karamanos explains that the P converted to less soluble Ca and Mg compounds producing the same trends, except that the 9-18-9 maintained higher water soluble P values until day 4 in the non-calcareous soils.
Looking at plant available P using the bicarbonate extractable P method, the trends were the same, with higher plant available P from the liquid fertilizers in the first two to four days, and then non-significant differences after that. Differences in the first few days were widest in the non-calcareous soils and narrower for the slightly acidic soil, reflecting the limitation of the bicarbonate extractable P method in acidic soils.
When phosphate fertilizer is applied at time of seeding, either side-banded or seedplaced, the differences in short term P availability observed by the researchers would not make a difference to P uptake by a crop. Plants would not start to take up P from the soil until well after the two to four day period after planting when the fertilizer formula-
tions differences become insignificant. Time of emergence after seeding depends on the crop and soil temperatures. Generally, research in Western Canada has shown that even under optimum conditions, the earliest a crop typically emerges is in four days, but for most crops under cool soil conditions, emergence is typically more in the six- to 10-day range.
Additionally, research has shown that P uptake by plant roots does not start until approximately 10 days after seeding. Other research in Western Canada has confirmed that P uptake and accumulation in cereals happens at the tillering to stem elongation stage between approximately 22 and 36 days after seeding. In canola, Karamanos did a study monitoring nutrient uptake in hybrid canola and found that measurable biomass and nutrient accumulation did not start until the third week after seeding. He says the biomass accumulation in the third week averaged one pound per acre per day, and the P uptake was 0.0 to 0.1 pounds P per acre per day.
“What the research is telling us is that the type of phosphate fertilizer formulation applied does not have any impact on long term solubility or plant availability and uptake of P. The soil-P interactions control P uptake and not the formulation of fertilizer applied,” says Karamanos.
Further, Karamanos cautions that no matter the formulation applied, phosphate fertilizer needs to be applied at rates that will ensure the long-term sustainability of P fertility in the soil. Cutting P fertilizer rates because a fertilizer is thought to have better solubility and plant availability will lead to nutrient deficiencies over the long term.
“Soil test using a recognized and calibrated soil test for your area, and apply adequate amounts of phosphate to maintain soil fertility,” he advises.
Chemical properties of the three soils used in the study
1 Calcium Carbonate Equivalent as outlined in Soil Survey Investigations Report No. 42, Soil Survey Laboratory Methods Manual, Version 4.0, November 2004, USDA, NRCS.
2 Olsen et al. (1954)
Source: Goh, T.B. et al. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 44:136–144, 2013.
PESTS AND DISEASES
A new tool for managing hard to control and resistant weeds.
by Donna Fleury
Hard-to-control and herbicide-resistant weeds are increasingly becoming a challenge for growers in cropping systems. A new weed control system that helps growers address these challenges will be available in Canada for corn and soybean growers. Enlist Weed Control System includes a new herbicide-tolerant trait technology and herbicide for corn and soybeans that builds on the established glyphosate system.
“The new Enlist technology system maintains the flexibility and utility for growers, but it adds a second mode of action into the system to combat hard to control and resistant weeds,” explains Jeff Loessin, portfolio marketing leader – crop protection, Dow AgroSciences Canada Inc. “Adding this multiple mode of action in soybean or corn cropping systems adds another level of weed control management. It helps from a resistance management point of view to make sure growers are getting the extra mode of action alongside glyphosate to help delay the onset or chances of developing resistance, while achieving high yields.”
Dow AgroSciences has received registration for the Enlist corn and soybean traits in Canada, but waiting for final approvals in other growing locations such as the U.S., Brazil and Argentina, and import markets before full commercialization. “The first trait is Enlist corn, which is stacked with Roundup Ready Corn 2 and SmartStax, and will be made available in leading hybrids,” says Loessin. “The traits registered in soybeans include the Enlist Soybean trait stacked with Roundup Ready 2 Yield, and Enlist E3, which is our Enlist trait combined with our own glyphosate tolerance trait. Hyland Seeds and Mycogen Seeds, the seed brands of Dow AgroSciences, will offer corn and soybeans with the Enlist trait to Canadian growers. We have also licensed the corn trait to Monsanto for use in their hybrids and the soybean trait to DuPont Pioneer for
photo,
in June 2013, illustrates RR soybeans injured by Enlist Duo (four rows on the left). The rows on the right have the Enlist trait.
INSET: This photo, taken in September 2013, shows the same field later in the season.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF PAUL FORAN, DOW
TOP: This
taken
use in their varieties.”
No other crops are in the plans for Canada, although in the U.S., the Enlist portfolio also includes traits for cotton.
Enlist Duo, a new herbicide designed to go specifically with the system, is a blend of glyphosate and the new 2,4-D choline with Colex-D Technology. Enlist Duo is the first formulation that combines glyphosate and 2,4-D in a co-formulated convenient package. Loessin explains that Enlist Duo with Colex-D Technology combines the choline form of 2,4-D, which has much lower volatility than other forms of 2,4-D, with Dow’s drift reduction technology. Enlist Duo helps reduce off-target movement or risk of injury to adjacent sensitive crops. Growers are required to use low drift nozzles for application and the product use guide includes a wind guideline. Enlist Duo provides a significant reduction in drift and combined with the low drift nozzles, research trials have shown a 90 per cent reduction in potential drift.
“One of the things learned from the Roundup Ready cropping system is that too much of a good thing can result in the development of resistant weeds,” says Loessin. “We are promoting a responsible program approach to the Enlist system to encourage stewardship and integrated weed management practices to minimize the potential of further development of resistant weeds.”
Growers should not only rely on Enlist Duo herbicide for weed control, but also include a base or setup treatment of a soil-applied herbicide ahead of an Enlist crop to incorporate more modes of action, particularly in fields with glyphosate-tolerant Canada fleabane, ragweed or other hard to control weeds.
“We have been working with researchers at the University of
Guelph, University of Laval and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Eastern Canada, as well as at our own research locations, to evaluate the Enlist system under Canadian conditions,” explains Loessin. “We’ve worked closely with researchers like Dr. Peter Sikkema at the University of Guelph and others to conduct research under local conditions to validate the results from a weed standpoint. We looked at the performance of the Enlist technology in corn and soybeans under Canadian growing conditions, particularly on glyphosate-tolerant weeds such as Canada fleabane, common ragweed and giant ragweed in Eastern Canada. We also have research underway at our sites in Manitoba to validate the results under western Canadian conditions for hard to control and glyphosate-tolerant weeds such as kochia, volunteer canola, wild buckwheat, Canada thistle and dandelion.”
Once final approvals in other cultivation and import countries are complete, commercialization of the Enlist system in Canada will move forward. For 2014, some farmer experience plots will be established in Ontario and Quebec for Enlist corn, which allows growers to trial the crop with protocols in place to retain and use the harvested crop on farm.
“We expect to have commercial hybrids available in Eastern Canada in 2015 and it will likely be 2016 before we see corn and soybean materials available that will fit western Canadian growing zones,” adds Loessin. “We certainly see the need and opportunity for the Enlist system to play an important role in improving weed control for corn and soybean growers in both Eastern and Western Canada. Enlist adds another tool in the toolbox for managing weed control on the farm.”
PESTS AND DISEASES
Fill up the soil profile with water, then stop irrigation during flowering.
by Ross H. McKenzie PhD, P.
Ag.
Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a fungal disease that affects wheat, barley, oats, rye, triticale, corn and a range of grasses. From an irrigation standpoint, wheat, barley and corn are the three crops of greatest concern.
In southern Alberta, Fusarium graminearum is frequently the species found in greatest abundance and is of greatest concern on irrigated land. Although F. Graminearum is only one of many species of Fusarium, it is considered the most important in irrigated crop production in southern Alberta due to the effects on grain yield, grain quality and ability to produce several different toxins.
Pathogens that cause FHB can overwinter in plant residue, in soil and on seed. Fungal spores form on infested crop residue and can spread short distances from one field to another by wind. When cereal crops are in the flowering growth stage, open florets are susceptible to infection by spores being distributed by wind. If rain or irrigation occurs during the flowering stage, the humid conditions in the copy canopy can result in even higher levels of infection and crop damage.
Farmers with increasing concerns of FHB with irrigated cereals
should consider a two-year break between cereal crops on the same land. Oilseed, pulse, special crops (potatoes and sugar beets) or alfalfa are all good crop options for a good irrigated crop rotation.
Management practices can reduce FHB risk
When a cereal crop is grown on irrigated land, the newest and most FHB tolerant variety should be selected. Seed should be tested for FHB and must be completely free of FHB. Seeding rates for cereal crops should be at the high end of optimum to increase the number of main stems and reduce tiller formation. Higher seeding rates tend to result in more uniform flowering and shorten the period of flowering (see Alberta Agriculture Agdex 100/561-2 for more information on seeding rates of irrigated cereals). Application of a registered fungicide for FHB suppression should also be considered.
Irrigation management is a very important strategy for FHB
ABOVE: Stopping irrigation from eight to 10 days during cereal flowering can help manage Fusarium.
PHOTO BY ROSS MCKENZIE.
As a farmer, I expect…
10-section automatic overlap control that saves money by eliminating double seed and fertilizer application.
Gentle metering and distribution that lets me reduce seeding rates while maintaining target plant populations.
Hydraulic, ground-following openers that give me uniform seed and fertilizer placement, excellent emergence, strong growth and even maturity.
Stress-free, in-cab automatic calibration that’s based on actual product usage thanks to weigh cells on each tank and a user-friendly monitor.
Knowledgeable support staff who can trouble-shoot remotely via my in-cab monitor while I am in the field.
To apply granular fertilizer at rates of up to 400 lbs/acre on my 100’ drill with no plugging.
Variable rate capability for up to five products at one time.
A ruggedly reliable system that can seed thousands of acres with no breakdowns and minimal maintenance.
A light-pulling drill with a lift-kit that seeds through muddy fields without getting stuck.
“
With precise seed and fertilizer placement, 10 zones of overlap control and real-time input weights SeedMaster gives us the tools we need to get our crops off to an excellent start while saving us time and money.”
SeedMaster gives me all of this in one seeding system with advanced technologies that make money for my farm –like Auto Zone Command™, Auto Calibration™, the UltraPro Canola Meter™, the Nova Smart Cart™, and SafeSeed Individual Row Metering™
SeedMaster’s cost savings and efficiencies are the new normal on my farm.
Darryl MacKay Irma, AB
Table 1. Total plant available water for five different soil textures assuming effective rooting depths of 0 to 50 and 0 to 100 cm; and the amount of water needed to raise soil to field capacity when 40 per cent of water is used.
Source: AARD.
control. Pivot irrigation is used on more than 76 per cent of the irrigated land in Alberta, which allows light frequent water application. Wheel move and gravity irrigation make up the remaining amount. Pivot irrigation is excellent for optimizing irrigated crop production, but irrigating during flowering of cereal crops will increase the potential infection of FHB by increasing humidity in the crop canopy. For this reason, irrigation should be avoided during the period of flowering to reduce humid conditions in the crop canopy.
It is important to know when flowering begins and ends for wheat and barley as each flowers at slightly different stages. For barley, flowering usually starts when the head is still in the boot and about two to three centimetres of the awn have emerged from the boot. Flowering is completed when heads have fully emerged from the boot (heads have cleared the flag leaf collar). Irrigation of barley should stop when awns have emerged from the boot on the main stem and not be started again until heads are fully emerged on tillers. Ideally, this will be about eight to 10 days, but careful field observation is essential.
Wheat typically begins to flower about three days after the head has fully emerged (heads have cleared the flag leaf collar) and lasts for about three to five days. Heads on tillers will emerge a few days after the main stem and will also flower for three to five days. Therefore, irrigation of wheat needs to be terminated for eight to 10 days depending on field conditions, and the timing of main stem and tiller head emergence.
Assessing water availability
Wheat and barley are at peak water use at the flowering growth stage, using between six and eight millimetres per day of water, depending on evapotranspiration conditions including maximum air temperature and wind speed. Termination of irrigation at peak water use means irrigation must be carefully managed leading up to and after flowering.
Over 10 days, a cereal crop will use 60 to 80 millimetres (2.4 to 3.1 inches) of water. Therefore, it is important to know the water holding capacities of the soils on your land. Table 1 provides the amounts of total available soil water for five major soil texture classes and the amount of readily available water at field capacity in the zero- to 50-centimetre and zero- to 100-centimetre depths. Wheat and barley typically will root down to 100 centimetres and effectively draw moisture down to 100 centimetres by the time of heading. Under ideal conditions at heading, cereal crops will take
up 70 per cent of their water requirements between zero and 50 centimetres and take up 30 per cent of their water requirements between the 50- to 100-centimetre depth. To prevent yield loss, only 40 per cent of available water should be used, and then irrigation is required to raise soil moisture back to field capacity.
A cereal crop grown on a loamy sand or sandy loam textured soil would likely run out of readily available water over 10 days before irrigation is re-started, if only 40 per cent of water is used as the safe depletion. On sandy soils, it is difficult to go 10 days without irrigation and not suffer some loss in yield. Normally, wheat and barley grown on loam or clay loam soils can go 10 days without significantly impacting yield.
The other factor to know is how much water your pivot systems apply. For example, a pivot irrigating 133 acre circle with a 900 US gallon per minute (gpm) output will apply 12.5 millimetres of net water if a full circle is made in 48 hours, and will apply 25 millimetres net water if a full circle is made in 96 hours, assuming an application efficiency of 85 per cent. If a cereal crop is using six millimetres per day, then 24 millimetres of water is used over four days, and a 900 US gpm pivot can just keep up with crop water use. If weather conditions are hot and crop use is seven to eight millimetres per day, then 28 to 32 millimetres of water is used over four days, and a 900 US gpm pivot cannot keep up with daily crop water use.
For best management, soil moisture should be maintained between 60 and 100 per cent of field capacity in the top 50 centimetres of soil from crop emergence to the start of flowering, applying light frequent water applications. Ensure that the 50- to 100-centimetre soil depth is brought up to field capacity before the flag leaf stage and maintained at field capacity up to the start of flowering. Stop irrigating at the start of flowering. Restart irrigating as soon as flowering has ended. Irrigation will need to be continuous until water is replenished to near field capacity in the top zero to 50 centimetres.
In summary, manage irrigation to maintain soil moisture between 60 and 100 per cent of field capacity throughout the growing season. Ensure the root zone in the top 100 cm soil depth is irrigated to field capacity prior to flowering to ensure enough water is available to the crop during flowering. Make sure you know when flowering starts and finishes for wheat and barley. Resume irrigation after flowering to bring soil moisture back to near field capacity and ensure adequate water is available for grain filling to optimize
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Canola-wheat rotations show higher returns and better yields.
by Donna Fleury
Over the past few years, shorter-duration canola rotations have become more common than the recommended once every four years. Researchers at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) conducted a long-term field study of canola and pea interval in rotations to determine the most profitable canola production systems. Producers could be reducing their long-term profitability if the short-duration canola rotation results in increased disease and lower yield.
“As part of this long-term rotation study looking at the impact of intensifying rotations, we compared the economics and profitability of the various rotations,” explains Elwin Smith, bioeconomist with AAFC in Lethbridge, Alta. “The returns above variable costs for the production systems were determined over the last four years of the study when rotation impacts were expected to be most evident.”
The long-term rotation study was conducted over 16 site years at Scott and Melfort, Sask., starting in 1998 at Scott and 1999 in Melfort. The study compared a blackleg-resistant canola hybrid and a blackleg-susceptible cultivar grown continuously or every two, three or four years in rotation with pea, wheat and flax. Re-
searchers were also looking at the impact of shorter rotations on diseases such as blackleg and sclerotinia stem rot, with and without fungicide treatments.
“The study showed that the frequency of canola in crop rotations impacted returns,” says Smith. “During the time period of the study with the high prices for canola, the short-duration rotation was more profitable than the longer rotations. The two-year canola-wheat rotation or the three-year wheat-pea-canola rotation was more profitable than the four-year rotations or continuous canola. This was partly due to the profitability of canola compared to other crops, and over the time period of the study there was very little yield depression from diseases.”
The profitability of canola relative to wheat depended on the relative price of the two crops. A four-year average (2007/2008 to 2010/2011) of farm-gate crop prices was used for the study and per tonne were $455 for canola, $241 for wheat, $234 for pea and $494 for flax. A sensitivity analysis of crop price was used to deter-
ABOVE: Canola-wheat was the most profitable rotation when canola prices were high relative to other crops.
mine how canola price changes impacted the relative profitability of canola and of canola in various rotations. A price ratio of 1.9 times was used in the main analyses and the price of canola was altered to be 1.7 times ($410/tonne), 2.1 times ($506/ tonne) and 2.3 times ($554/tonne) that of wheat.
“The price of canola relative to wheat impacted the relative profitability of canola rotations with hybrid canola,” explains Smith (see Fig. 1). “On average, the twoyear canola-wheat rotation had the higher returns and better yields, while the continuous canola had the lowest yields.” At both Melfort and Scott with the low price ratio (C:W 1.7), the rotation return from canola-wheat was the same as for the fouryear rotations, but greater than continuous canola. The continuous canola and pea rotations were the least profitable. As the price ratio increased, the returns increased. The higher canola price relative to other crops in rotation, as was experienced for most of 2009 through 2012, would be an incentive for producers to grow canola more frequently, even though yield could be depressed by disease. Therefore, there was a strong economic incentive for producers to use a two-year canola rotation.
Disease increase did not impact yield
Over the time of the study, disease impacts on yield from greater blackleg incidence and severity resulting from a short canola rotation did not cause enough yield reduction to have producers lengthen their rotation. However, the study showed that the disease incidence and severity increased for rotations shorter than canola once in four years, with the number of infested plants more than double in the two-year rotation and more than triple in continuous canola compared with the four-year rotation. Therefore, over the longer term, even with resistant cultivars, the higher the frequency of canola in rotation the greater the increase in the pathogen population and the higher the risk of resistance breakdown of current canola cultivars. The potential loss of genetic resistance to blackleg, due to changes in the pathogen population would result in greater yield reduction, which would require canola growers to lengthen the canola rotation to reduce the impact of new virulent races of blackleg.
Randy Kutcher, now with the University of Saskatchewan, discusses the canola rotation study at a Melfort crop tour.
Fig. 1. Contribution margin for five hybrid canola rotations without fungicide control, and for four ratios of canola to wheat prices (C:W) at Scott and Melfort, Sask.
In this study, the use of fungicides to control disease was not profitable for canola production because there was little impact of sclerotinia stem rot or blackleg. Fungicides did show a beneficial effect for pea production, but not for the other crops. Smith adds that with the trend to shortening canola rotations, fungicide application to control blackleg in short-duration canola rotations should be further investigated to determine the economic benefit.
Maximizing profitability includes other best practices such as adequate fertility. “Canola is a crop that requires a good nutrient package, and high amounts of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus are removed at harvest,” says Smith. “Results from some of our other research shows that fertility is another factor that can have an impact on profitability.”
Weed management including early weed control is also important, especially for crops like canola that are not very competitive early in the season. Selecting the right hybrid variety that fits best in a particular area and cropping system is also important.
“Overall, growers need to determine the profitability of their cropping systems, assess the risks of diseases and other pests, and decide what works best for them,” says Smith. “They need to look at their yields, margins and net price for canola compared to the net price of wheat or other crops. In some areas, where transportation costs are higher, then shorter canola rotations may be more profitable. However in some areas such as the Brown Soil zone where canola may not be much more productive than wheat, then longer rotations with alternative crops may be more appropriate for their operation.”
Letters above the bars indicate significant differences among the five crop rotations by each of the four wheat:canola price ratios.
Source: Smith, E.G., Kutcher, H.R., Brandt, S.A., Ulrich, D., Malhi, S.S. and Johnston, A.M. 2013. The profitability of short-duration canola and pea rotations in Western Canada. Can. J. Plant Sci. 93: 933-940
From this study, on average the shorter-duration rotations became more profitable when canola prices were high relative to wheat prices, providing a strong economic incentive for producers to use a two-year canola rotation. If there is a time when other crops are more profitable than canola, then producers will have the opportunity to lengthen their rotation, which will help to alleviate disease concerns.
SCOTT
Optimum bean production requires specific fertilizer management.
by Ross H. McKenzie PhD, P. Ag.
Dry beans yield very well under irrigation, providing excellent economic returns when grown in the Brown soil zone of southern Alberta. Benefits to including beans in a crop rotation include reduced nitrogen fertilizer requirements compared to cereal and oilseed crops, greater residual soil nitrogen levels for subsequent crops and more diverse crop rotations. To achieve optimum bean production specific fertilizer management is required.
Soil sampling and testing: This gives a good inventory of soil nutrient levels and provides the basis for recommending additional nutrients on an individual field basis. Ideally, samples should be taken at zero- to six- and six- to 12-inch depths from at least 20 locations within a uniform field and then bulked into composite samples.
Inoculant: Beans are a legume crop but only fix about 30 to 50 per cent of their total nitrogen (N) requirements. The remaining N comes from mineralization of soil N and from N fertilizer. When beans are properly inoculated with Rhizobium phaseoli bacteria, the
bacteria infect bean roots and form nodules on the roots which fix N from the air. Inoculants come in powdered, granular or liquid form.
It takes three to five weeks after seeding for the bacteria to infect plant roots, form nodules and start fixing N. Nodules that are reddish or pink inside indicate the bacteria are functioning and fixing N. Nodules are likely not fixing N when they appear white, grey or greenish when cut in half.
Alberta research has shown that response to inoculant is not consistent in increasing bean yield. Generally, yield benefit of inoculation will range from two to 12 per cent. The benefit of inoculation tends to be reduced when fields that have had a history of inoculant use from past bean production results in a build-up of rhizobia bacteria in the soil.
TOP: Solid seeded bean trial at Bow Island, Alta., comparing nitrogen fertilizer application with and without rhizobium inoculation.
INSET: Solid seeded bean trial at Vauxhall, Alta., comparing urea and ESN nitrogen forms and rates.
PHOTOS BY ROSS MCKENZIE.
Source: AARD.
Table 2. Banded phosphate fertilizer recommendations for beans at various soil test levels based on the modified Kelowna P soil test method.
Table 4. General sulphate sulphur fertilizer recommendations for irrigated dry beans.
Source: AARD.
Table 3. General potassium fertilizer recommendations for irrigated dry beans.
Source: AARD.
Nitrogen (N): When growing beans in soil testing less than 80 to 100 lbs. of N/ac in the zero- to 12-inch depth, additional N fertilizer is often beneficial to achieve optimum yield. In a cool spring, when nodules are slow to develop, plants may not be able to obtain sufficient N from the soil, resulting in deficiency and delayed crop growth. Therefore, in soils deficient in soil N, a modest application of N fertilizer can be a good investment.
Alberta research shows that optimum bean production is generally achieved when the soil N in the zero- to 12-inch depth plus fertilizer N total is between 80 to 100 lbs. N/ac, when beans are grown as a row crop. There has recently been increased interest in growing beans as a solid seeded crop. When beans are solid seeded, the yield potential is generally slightly higher. For solid seeded beans, it is recommended that soil N in the zero- to 12-inch depth plus fertilizer N, should total between 100 to 120 lbs. N/ac (Table 1). It should be noted the N fertilizer recommendations for solid seeded beans is preliminary and field research by Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development (AARD) is ongoing to finalize these recommendations.
Excess N fertilizer may reduce the amount of N fixed by beans and could delay crop maturity. To date, ARD research has not shown a benefit of in-crop N fertilizer application. However, ESN (polymer coated slow release nitrogen) fertilizer has sometimes shown benefit over using only 46-0-0 urea fertilizer. Farmers growing beans, particularly on sandy soils, may find benefit of using a portion of N fertilizer as ESN.
Phosphate (P2O5): Table 2 provides recommendations for phosphate fertilizer based on soil test analysis using the modified Kelowna method. The recommendations are based on banded phosphate fertilizer near the seed. Broadcast incorporated rates should be increased by 1.5 to two times to be equally effective on low P soils.
Potassium (K): Beans tend to have a higher requirement for K and often require almost as much potassium as nitrogen. Only 20 to 25 per cent of K taken up by a bean plant is contained in the seed at harvest. The remaining K is in the leaves and stems, which is returned to the soil after harvest.
Source: AARD.
Many southern Alberta soils are medium to high in exchangeable potassium, often ranging from 400 to 1000 lbs of K/ac in the zero- to six-inch depth of soil. Generally, K deficiencies are most likely to occur on intensively cropped sandy soils. Table 3
Table 1. Nitrogen fertilizer recommendations for row cropped and solid seeded irrigated dry beans in southern Alberta.
provides general recommendations for potassium fertilizer requirements when soils are less than 300 lbs. K/ac. It is best to either band K before seeding or sideband at the time of seeding. Broadcast incorporated K should be increased by 1.5 times to be as effective as banded K application on deficient soils.
Sulphur (S): Deficiencies of S are normally not a problem on irrigated soils in southern Alberta. Irrigation water generally contains enough sulphate-sulphur (SO4-S) to meet crop requirements. If soil S levels are less than 20 lbs/ac in the top 12 inches (30 cm), Table 4 can be used as a guide to decide if S fertilizer is required and what rates to use. If sulphur is required, apply a sulphate containing fertilizer such as ammonium sulphate (21-0-0-24) to correct the deficiency.
There are times when S deficient areas are found on sandy soils or in a small percentage of a field in the surface soil. Sulphur deficiency may occur on sandy soil after heavy precipitation events leach the sulphate from the surface soil into the subsoil. This can result in the surface soil being deficient in sulphate, yet there may be adequate sulphate in the subsoil.
Micronutrients: Beans require all the essential micronutrients. Micronutrient research with beans in Alberta has only identified zinc (Zn) as occasionally being deficient and usually only on sandy soils.
From limited Zn response research data, Zn fertilizer recommendations have been developed (Table 5). Recommendations are based on soil texture and soil Zn analysis of a 0 to 6 inch soil sample depth using the DTPA extractable zinc method.
Banding zinc before or at the time of seeding is the preferred method of application. However, soil applied zinc sulphate could be substituted with one or two early foliar applications in June.
Zinc deficiency can be induced by cool, wet soil conditions in spring, which may reduce soil zinc availability to the crop. Beans grown in soils that have soil test Zn levels above the critical level may still show visual symptoms of Zn deficiency during wet, cool conditions in June. Beans will often grow out of the deficiency as the weather warms up. However, if cool weather conditions are prolonged, a foliar application may result in some benefit.
Table 5. Zinc fertilizer recommendations for irrigated dry beans based on soil texture and DTPA extractable zinc.
Soil texture Zinc soil test level in ppm (0-6 inches) Zinc recommended
Medium to fine (loamclay loam)
For more on fertilizer management, visit www.topcropmanager.com.
>1.5 No zinc recommended*
1.0 - 1.5 3 lb Zn/ac soil applied or one foliar application
<1.0 5 lb Zn/ac soil applied or 1-2 foliar applications
Coarse (sandy loam to loamy sand) >2.0 No zinc recommended*
1.0 - 2.0 3 lb Zn/ac soil applied or one foliar application
<1.0 5 lb Zn/ac soil applied or 1-2 foliar applications
* Foliar zinc application may be necessary at soil test levels above the critical level when soil conditions are very cool and wet, reducing Zn availability to the plant.
Source: AARD.
Researchers investigate options for integrated management.
by Carolyn King
Within a few years of clubroot’s discovery in a canola field near Edmonton in 2003, the disease became a serious problem for Alberta canola production. The emergence of this devastating disease on the Prairies has triggered intensive research, including investigation of possible tools for integrated management of clubroot.
“Ideally for most diseases we want to use integrated management. That means integrating chemical controls, such as fungicides, and cultural controls, like planting practices and using resistant cultivars, and biological controls, like a microbe that kills a pathogen,” notes Dr. Sheau-Fang Hwang, a plant pathologist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development (AARD).
Even though a single control measure may work well in the short term, integrated management is a better approach in the long run. “For example, if you rely on a fungicide too much, you might cause issues like fungicide resistance or environmental
pollution,” explains Hwang.
Clubroot is caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae, a soil-borne organism. The pathogen requires moist conditions to infect a plant, and it flourishes in warm soils around 25 C (temperatures below about 15 C inhibit its development). The pathogen attacks canola and other cruciferous plants, causing irregular swellings, or galls, to form on the roots. Those galls prevent water and nutrients from moving up into the rest of the plant, so the plant withers and dies.
Fortunately, several clubroot-resistant canola cultivars are now available. They are the foundation of any clubroot management strategy. But resistant cultivars aren’t a magic bullet.
TOP: Comparison of clubroot-resistant (left) and clubroot-susceptible (right) cultivars at flowering stage in clubroot-infested field.
INSET: Hwang and her colleagues conducted a series of experiments to look for tools for integrated management of clubroot in canola.
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In a greenhouse experiment, the researchers inoculated canola seedlings at different ages with clubroot. The plants that were infected at later growth stages did better.
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Hwang’s research has shown that a small percentage of the plants from a resistant cultivar’s seed will develop galls when exposed to the pathogen. As well, the pathogen could potentially evolve to overcome the resistance genes if a resistant cultivar is grown in the same field year after year.
To find ways to further strengthen the fight against clubroot, Hwang and her colleagues at AARD, the University of Alberta, and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) conducted several trials to assess the effects of fungicides, seeding date and seedling age for suppressing clubroot.
Fungicides to control seed-borne transmission
Some of the initial questions from producers about clubroot related to seed-borne transmission of the disease. “So the objective of one of our trials was to see whether or not a seed treatment might reduce the risk of clubroot if you have contaminated canola seed,” says Hwang.
In this greenhouse trial, the researchers artificially infested seeds of a clubroot-susceptible canola cultivar, using infestation levels much higher than would occur in naturally infested seeds. Then they compared five fungicidal seed treatments: Helix Xtra, Dynasty 100 FS, Prosper FX, Nebijin 5SC, and Vitavax RS; for the control treatment, they applied water instead of a fungicide. The researchers planted the seeds in pots of clubroot-free growing materials, and allowed the seedlings to grow. Then they evaluated the disease level in the roots.
All of the fungicides were able to significantly reduce the disease levels in the seedlings, in comparison to the control. So, this trial confirmed that contaminated seed can transmit the disease and that fungicidal seed treatments will likely prevent the problem. “Given the relatively low levels of clubroot infestation found in naturally infested seeds, any of the seed treatments used in this study would likely eliminate the risk of seed-borne transmission,” says Hwang.
Fungicides for reducing disease in infested soil
In another trial, the researchers assessed the effects of fungicide seed treatments on a resistant and a susceptible canola cultivar grown in clubroot-infested soil.
The sites for this field trial were at St. Albert and Leduc, Alta. The researchers applied various seed treatments: Helix Xtra (fungicide plus insecticide), Dynasty 100 FS (fungicide), Prosper FX (fungicide plus insecticide), and Sedaxane (fungicide). They applied Cruiser 5 FS, an insecticide seed treatment, as the control treatment.
For the susceptible cultivar, none of the treatments reduced clubroot severity or improved seedling emergence or crop yield in comparison to the control. Similarly, for the resistant cultivar, none of the treatments improved emergence or yield compared to the control.
“When you treat seeds with a fungicide, the protection lasts for perhaps two to four weeks, so the treatments work well for controlling seedling blights. But clubroot spores in the soil can affect the plant at any growth stage, as long as the moisture and temperature conditions are favourable,” explains Hwang.
“None of the existing seed treatments can protect canola plants for the entire growing season. It may be a possibility for the future, but so far the chemical companies have not developed formulations that would allow the fungicide to slowly release
into the soil, so it could protect against clubroot for the whole growing season.”
Adjusting seeding date and seedling age
In another field trial, the researchers evaluated the effect of seeding date on clubroot impacts. The field sites were at St. Albert and Leduc in 2008, and at Edmonton and Leduc in 2010. At each site, they planted several canola varieties at three seeding dates, ranging from mid-May to early or mid-June.
With earlier seeding, clubroot severity tended to be lower and canola yield tended to be higher.
“The results were no surprise to us,” notes Hwang. “Early seeding is always good for canola yields. In addition, early seeded crops usually are planted into cool soils, which clubroot does not like.”
In a greenhouse experiment in 2009, the researchers examined the effect of inoculating canola seedlings at different ages with clubroot. At zero, one, two, three, or four weeks after seeding, they inoculated the plant’s potting mix with clubroot resting spores. When the plants reached maturity, the researchers evaluated the seed yields and the level of disease in the roots.
For both the resistant and susceptible cultivars, the plants that were infected at the later growth stages did better – the disease was less severe and the plants had better seed yields.
This finding supports the value of early seeding as part of a clubroot management strategy. Hwang says, “If you seed early, then the soil temperature is cooler so the resting spores germi-
nate later. So the plant has a chance to grow bigger before infection occurs and when it is bigger it has a greater ability to defend itself from pathogen.”
She adds, “In the future, perhaps we’ll have a chemical treatment or a biological agent that will delay the infection and reduce the impact on seed yield.”
Practical implications
The results from these studies highlight two practices that help suppress clubroot: seeding early, and using disease-free seed. “It’s always a good idea to buy certified seed to make sure the seed is not externally contaminated. If you don’t buy certified seed, then you should use fungicide-treated seed to reduce the risk of getting clubroot,” says Hwang.
However, she emphasizes the two seeding practices by themselves are not enough to manage clubroot. They must be part of an integrated strategy, with clubroot-resistant cultivars as the major weapon against the pathogen.
“Resistant cultivars are the most economically feasible and environmentally friendly approach to clubroot management. And you need to do everything you can to stop the pathogen from breaking down the plant’s resistance. That includes rotating your crops and rotating your resistant cultivars.”
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PESTS AND DISEASES
Assess disease and consider label restrictions.
by Bruce Barker
Awetter-than-normal growing season produced a bumper crop of yield and disease in 2013. While fungicide application provided an economic return for many growers, there are limitations on when to stop fungicide application. Part of the decision is timing, and part is related to label restrictions.
Faye Dokken-Bouchard, provincial specialist – plant disease with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, says the spray decision needs to be carefully considered, and many factors go into whether to spray or not.
“The decision whether to spray or not continues to raise more questions than answers,” says Dokken-Bouchard. “What if disease wasn’t noticed until after the proper application period passed? How late is too late to spray? When are multiple fungicide applications warranted? Will the resulting yield benefit cover the application costs?”
Crop considerations
When assessing fungicide application, several crop factors influence the decision. Crop variety and disease rating are important considerations, says Dokken-Bouchard. The disease resistance rating and the realistic expectations for the type of crop or specific variety under current conditions are important factors to consider.
Chickpea varieties currently grown commercially in Saskatchewan have fair ascochyta blight ratings, but resistance weakens as plant development nears the flowering stage, so adequate scouting at this stage is important. Cool, moist environmental conditions favour the disease, and if these conditions persist early in the growing season, the disease symptoms can occur much earlier than the flowering stage. This is especially true on chickpea grown outside the Brown Soil zone (the area of best adaptation) or on heavy textured soils such as clay and clay loam, so early fungicide application may be required. Subsequent monitoring of crop and disease will help guide the spray decision later in the season.
Blackleg may appear on otherwise resistant canola varieties if they have been damaged (by hail, for instance). In addition, new races of blackleg are evolving, and varieties that were previously rated as resistant are showing evidence of disease. In this case, little research exists on whether a fungicide application on a R-rated variety would provide an economic return, so growers and crop scouts must consider the risks/rewards carefully.
Stripe rust in wheat has become more of a concern in recent years. Randy Kutcher at the University of Saskatchewan initiated a large project assessing a combination of varietal research and
fungicide timing options in 2012. Currently, there are good options in most wheat classes for growers to select varieties with good to very good resistance to stripe rust. If stripe rust is present, protecting the flag leaf and penultimate leaf (the upper two leaves) and the upper part of the stem is important because those essentially provide nearly all of the green area needed to fill the head. So far, Kutcher’s results have found that early flowering is an effective fungicide time for wheat varieties with no stripe rust resistance.
Crop staging
For cereals, Dokken-Bouchard says to spray at flag-leaf emergence
Ascochyta resistance weakens as plant development nears the flowering stage.
for leaf spots and rusts, as photosynthesis by the last two leaves on the plant contribute the most to yield. For Fusarium head blight (FHB), spray when the main head is 75 to 100 per cent emerged and no later than 50 per cent flowering. Wheat is susceptible to FHB during flowering. By the time you see FHB symptoms, it is too late to spray. Stripe rust can also spread to the glumes, so a fungicide application at FHB timing may provide added benefit if stripe rust is observed after the flag leaf stage.
Most pulse crop pathogens need moisture and green, living tissues to infect and spread. Generally, the recommendation is to spray during flowering to protect the crop yield; applying fungicides later in the season to protect new growth may delay crop maturity says Dokken-Bouchard.
“Applications after canopy closure are generally ineffective in controlling sclerotinia white mould and botrytis grey mould in lentils because these diseases develop in plant canopies too dense to allow penetration of a fungicide. Later fungicide applications can protect the developing seeds from infection so seed growers may benefit. However, once the crop starts to visibly ripen it will likely not make a difference,” she explains.
For sclerotinia in canola, the recommendation is to spray at 20 to 50 per cent bloom as the fungicide needs to cover the petals in order to protect against the disease. By the time you see symptoms of sclerotinia, it is too late to spray. The earlier the infection takes place, the greater the potential damage; therefore spray to protect the most blossoms at the earliest stage. Petals infected after 50 per cent bloom may still lead to disease, but the impact will be less intense as the petals are likely to drop into the upper canopy and later infections have less time for the disease to progress.
Other considerations
Fungicide application isn’t a black and white decision. Many other questions must be asked, says Dokken-Bouchard. Is disease present? Fungicides cannot cure disease. If effective control has not been achieved during the season and symptoms are already widespread, it is usually too late to apply a fungicide.
Has the crop been damaged by other factors? Are there other reasons it may not be worth saving? Do you expect the crop to recover? Crops often recover from damage such as hail if it occurs early in the season. However, if significant injury occurs during podding/seed development, crops are less likely worth saving.
Will flowers developing in mid to late summer have time to mature before fall frosts? For example, pulse crops require about one month to form mature seeds from flowers. Protecting late-season growth in August is rarely economical in regions where fall frosts are common in the first two weeks of September.
Weather conditions will also guide the spray decision, and are an important consideration in many fungicide decision support systems. Cool, wet weather will favour disease and potentially delay maturity. Warm, dry weather will naturally control diseases as well as help crops mature.
Will it pay?
While predicting crop yield response to fungicide application is difficult, it can help guide a spray decision. Ask what disease impact you are expecting and to what degree you anticipate that a fungicide will improve the crop yield/quality. A fungicide application is only warranted if it will make you enough money after harvest to
pay for the application(s), and provide a return on both fungicide and application costs.
Expected Gross Return ($/acre) = Estimated yield (unit/acre) X Estimated yield savings (%) X Selling Price ($/unit)
Expected Net Return ($/acre)
Expected Gross Return ($/acre) minus Fungicide application costs (fungicide and application; $/acre)
Check the label
Product label requirements are also important, as they guide scientifically proven and acceptable uses of the products, and govern maximum residue limits in seed, which also impact export standards. Fungicides have a maximum number of applications per year that can be applied to a crop, and established pre-harvest intervals (see Table 1, page 38). Also consider whether you are using a proper fungicide rotation to help manage fungicide insensitivity.
In the end, Dokken-Bouchard provides one final thought that will guide growers: “When deciding whether to stop spraying fungicides, keep the disease triangle in mind: the stage of the host crop; the potential of the pathogen to cause further damage and the environmental conditions expected for the remainder of the season.”
For more on fungicide management, visit www.topcropmanager.com.
Grain Bag & Twine Collection Sites
Unity
Chelsea Fawell (306) 228-2893 cesa55@hotmail.com
Moose Jaw
Tammy Myers (306) 691-3399 (306) 630-6534
tammy.myers@mjriver.ca
Rush Lake
Prince Albert
Barry Swanson (306) 960-5299 barry.swanson@sasktel.net
Viscount, Humbolt & Cudworth
Patrick Clavelle (306) 944-2044 patrm341@sasktel.net
Christina Patoine (306) 784-3121 rm166@sasktel.net
additional application of Bumper 418 EC fungicide can be made, if required
Do not exceed 2 applications of this product per season, and 1 sequential application of this product per season
subsequent applications of this product must be in combination with a fungicide that contains a different mode of action
make sequential applications of this product before alternating to at least one application of a fungicide with a different mode of action
With Fuse fungicide, it doesn’t stand a chance.
And let’s face it, Fusarium head blight (FHB) is nothing to take chances on. If you grow spring, winter or durum wheat you know that protection during head emergence – before the disease takes hold –is crucial. Don’t let FHB affect your yield, grade, quality or rotations. Light the Fuse® before it starts.
Target 20 to 30 per cent bloom for sclerotinia control.
by Bruce Barker
If you plan to use a fungicide for sclerotinia control, being able to assess the correct application stage is critical. Go too early and the disease may develop on petals that developed after the fungicide spray. Go too late and you may allow the disease to develop on early petal drop. Research has shown that 20 to 30 per cent blossom is the Goldilocks stage for fungicide application.
“It is important to get in with a fungicide at early flowering to protect the plant from sclerotinia infection. The petals are the primary food source, so covering the majority of the petals with a preventative fungicide spray application will help to prevent the disease from developing. Once you see the disease developing, it is too late to spray,” says Harold Brown, market development specialist with Bayer CropScience in Winnipeg. “Targeting that 20 to 30 per cent stage will usually give you the best fungicide response.”
When a blossom drops and lands on a leaf or stem, the sclerotinia spores use the spent blossom for food and produce the hyphae that grow and eventually penetrate the plant – unless that blossom has been treated with a fungicide. Generally, at 20 per cent blossom, no petals have dropped, while at 30 per cent blossom, petal drop has just begun.
“I encourage growers to get out and start scouting as soon as the
Source: Canola Council of Canada.
crop starts to flower, so they can assess how uniform the field is, and to help keep close watch on how fast the crop is developing,” says Brown. “I usually get right in there and pull out plants so I can assess which flowers are on the main stem, and can better assess the flowering stage. It doesn’t take long to move from 10 per cent flower
TOP: When considering fungicide use for control of sclerotinia, being able to assess the correct application stage is critical.
PHOTO
Table 1. Identification of flowering stages of canola –Number of flowers on main stem
Flowering
Thirty per cent bloom: At 30 per cent bloom, a field of canola is said to be in full bloom when the maximum number of flowers are open at one time. The crop is at its most yellow at this stage. Look for 20 open flowers on the main stem. This stage occurs approximately six to eight days after the start of flowering. Targeting 20 and 30 per cent bloom is the optimum stage for fungicide application. After 30 per cent bloom, petal drop and pod set begin.
to 30 per cent flower, so you have to be ready to scout your fields.”
To target 20 to 30 per cent bloom, field scouting is critical, as blossoming can progress rapidly. Flowering is considered to have started with the opening of the lower bud on the main stem. Flowering continues upward on the main stem with three to five flowers opening per day. Depending on weather conditions, canola will move from first flower to 20 per cent bloom in three to six days. The challenge is to be able to assess when 20 to 30 per cent blossom happens.
The Canola Council of Canada has guidelines on determining
Fifty per cent bloom: There are more than 20 open flowers on the main stem including aborted flowers and newly formed pods. This is past the stage for optimum sclerotinia control and infection of the plant may have already begun. Spraying past this stage may also compromise pre-harvest intervals of some fungicides.
bloom stage in canola (see Table 1). Sample several plants over the field and assess the number of open flowers. One way to check for bloom stage is to find the main stem, pull off the secondary branches, and count only the open flowers on the main stem.
Use the Canola Council of Canada’s Sclerotinia Stem Rot Checklist to assess your disease risk. And then it will be time to walk the walk. With a short time period (four to eight days from first flower to 20 to 30 per cent bloom), growers need to be scouting and prepared for a fungicide application if conditions for sclerotinia infection are favourable.
Ten per cent bloom: Generally, it takes a crop from two to four days to move from first flower to 10 per cent bloom.
Twenty per cent bloom: Minimal petal drop has occurred at this stage. Look for 14 to 16 open flowers on the main stem.
Stand up for healthy yields with Quilt. By applying Quilt ® fungicide at the flag-leaf stage, you protect your cereal crop from leaf diseases that reduce your yield and quality. Cereal crops treated with Quilt are protected against rusts, tan spot, powdery mildew and Septoria. Registered on all wheat, barley and oats, Quilt safeguards your investment and your profitability.
CROP MANAGEMENT
Evaluate products and practices under your own farm conditions.
by Ross H. McKenzie PhD, P. Ag.
Farmers are constantly being bombarded with recommendations and advertisements for new inputs or practices that claim to increase crop production and farm profits. Examples include various speciality fertilizers or crop protection products that claim to increase crop production. In some cases, excellent information from replicated trials at agricultural research centers or applied research associations may be available.
But some new products are promoted based only on testimonials with little scientific testing to show yield benefits. On-farm research trialing can be very useful to farmers for answering crop production questions and solving production problems. On-farm research allows a farmer to examine a new product or practice in test strips to verify potential benefits and examine how local factors, such as differences in soil types and environmental conditions, may affect the performance of a new practice or input.
On-farm trialing can provide very good information that is specific to your farm and local conditions. From an economic
standpoint, if a new product costs $10 per acre and you plan to use it on 2,000 acres, the annual cost is $20,000. Spending a bit of time to test the product on your farm would help determine if it would be financially beneficial to use in future years. If the product works, that’s great information; but if it doesn’t work as claimed, that is equally good information, as it will save you the extra expense in future years. Regardless of the result, on-farm trialing provides excellent information for managing your farm.
Doing it right
On-farm research must be done right. Splitting a 160-acre field in half, to compare 80 acres conducted with a normal farming practices versus the other 80 acres conducted with a new practice, is not on-farm research. Any yield differences between the two sides of the field could be due to natural field variation, which is not taken into account in this type of demonstration. Statistical
ABOVE: On-farm trials use the same principles as small plot trials.
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analysis cannot be done with this type of demonstration and, therefore, you have no confidence that any yield difference is due to the new treatment or simply the result of natural field variability.
The greatest challenge for farmers when conducting on-farm trials is that it is time consuming to design, set up and manage the trial plots. For many farmers, the busy day-to-day farm activities during the hectic growing season take priority over conducting and monitoring field research trials. One alternative to dedicating the time required is to collaborate with a private agronomist who has the knowledge and time to make the necessary in-field observations, work with the farmer to collect yield data, statistically analyze the data and assist with interpreting the results.
When conducting on-farm research, be sure any differences measured are the result of treatment differences and not soil, topography or other variability within your field. Set the trial up so you can statistically analyze and evaluate the results. Statistics are simply used to calculate the odds that any yield difference measured has a very good probability of being repeatable. Speak to a government crop specialist/research scientist or applied research association in your area for advice on setting up an on-farm research trial that would be statistically sound.
The first step in conducting an on-farm trial to develop a testable statement or question that you want to answer with your field trial –this is called the hypothesis. For example, you are interested in claims about a new foliar-applied fertilizer being promoted that will increase crop yield. You want to test the product with several crops on your farm. Develop a good, detailed plan and protocol for conducting the on-farm experiment. This includes the treatments to be used, how you will lay out the trial in the field, what needs to be measured, how to determine crop yield and how to analyze and interpret the data collected.
Factors to keep in mind
Keep treatments simple: Two or three treatments is often best – one treatment is the control, which is your normal practice, and the second and/or third treatments are the new products/practice you want to test.
Decide on field location: Select a field with the most uniform soil and topography to minimize field variation. Make sure to document crops, fertilizers and pesticides applied in the previous three years to ensure there won’t be interaction factors that might negatively affect the on-farm field trial.
Decide on size: Treatments should run the length of the field and be long, narrow and parallel to each other. In terms of treatment width, make each treatment the width of your seeder or width of your sprayer, depending on the product you are applying and testing. Long, narrow treatments that are parallel to each other help to overcome field variability.
Replicate: Replicate each set of treatments at least four times within the field and do not have the order of the treatments the same in each replicate.
Control: Ensure a control, which is your normal practice, is in each replicate as this is essential for comparison.
Carefully draw the field layout of the on-farm test strips and treatments so you know exactly what you are going to do and where the strips will be in the field. Make sure you write down the protocols you will follow to conduct the experiment. It is a good idea to have one field book for all your notes and document everything you do from seeding to harvest.
Prior to establishing the on-farm trial, take a set of soil samples in each strip where the proposed trials will be laid out. Ensure good seed quality by testing for per cent germination, vigour
and seed-borne disease.
When establishing the strips, ensure that each treatment is carefully and uniformly laid out. Seed all strips the same day. In each treatment strip, make regular observations and notes about seedling emergence, plant counts after emergence (e.g. number of plants in two parallel rows for one metre), weekly growth stages, weed pressure, crop height, disease levels and lodging. Always make observations at paired locations across treatment strips, and repeat the observation at multiple locations across each set of treatments to account for field variability. Put up a good rain gauge and record rainfall throughout the growing season.
Manage the field and the treatment strips as uniformly and consistently as possible. For example, when applying a herbicide or fungicide that is not part of the experiment, treat the entire field with the same product, at the same rate in one day, ideally applying the product at a 90 degree angle to the test strips, so the strips are treated as equally as possible.
At harvest, combine and weigh each treatment strip separately. Also, take two to four grain samples per treatment to determine the test weight, grain protein and grain moisture content. For oilseed crops you may want to check oil content.
The final critical step is to work with a specialist to statistically analyze the yield results from the research trial. This will tell whether or not there were statistically significant differences among the treatments in your trial. Having a minimum of four replicates for each treatment is important to determine statistical probability. Probability is an estimation of likelihood of an occurrence. Probability ranges between zero and 100 per cent. A zero per cent chance will not happen and 100 per cent chance will happen. The higher the degree of probability, the more likely the input or practice has of giving positive results. Typically in agricultural research, a 95 per cent confidence level in statistical analysis is used, which simply means that 19 times out of 20 the difference in crop yield is due to treatment differences.
Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development has some good information on how to set up and conduct on-farm research trials. Visit http:// www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/sag3023 for more information. Another good place to start is to chat with a crop specialist/ research scientist in your region to assist you in developing your on-farm research plan.
For more on crop management, visit www.topcropmanager.com.
Properly executed on-farm trials will evaluate the value of new products.
PULSES
Solid seeded bean production provides alternative option for growers.
by Donna Fleury
Since the early 1980s, dry beans have been grown under irrigation in southern Alberta. Dry beans are currently the second highest valued irrigated crop on a per acre basis in Alberta, and average 45,000 to 50,000 acres annually. Until recently, dry beans have been traditionally grown under wide-row cropping systems, but some growers are moving to narrow-row solid seeded bean production.
“One advantage solid seeded beans offer – and why some new growers have started growing them – is they are able to use conventional seeding equipment instead of having to use specialized row cropping planters,” explains Pat Pfiffner, agronomy technologist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD) in Lethbridge. “With solid seeded beans, growers can use seed drills that they would normally use to seed cereal and oilseed crops. For growers who are currently growing row crops, they will likely stay with their current wide-row system.”
Solid seeded bean production uses a narrower row spacing, which results in greater seedbed utilization. Better seedbed utilization can increase nitrogen (N) use efficiency, water use efficiency and reduce irrigation run-off. However, several agronomic questions were raised around this type of system including optimal seeding rates, row spacing and the impact on fertilizer management.
Researchers at ARD initiated a four-year project in 2010 to try to answer some of the questions around agronomic factors affecting solid seeded bean production. The first experiment included three row spacings, four seeding rates and two bean varieties. Row spacings were at seven, 14 and 28 inches (18, 36 and 70 centimetres), and the seeding rates at each row spacing were 10, 25, 40 and 55 seeds per square metre. Varieties included Winchester (Pinto variety) and AC Resolute (Great Northern variety). Blanket fertilizer rates of pre-banded N at 100 kg/ha and P2O5 at 20 kg/ha were applied for all treatments. In a second experiment, four N fertilizer
rates of zero, 30, 60 and 90 kg N/ha (zero, 27, 53 and 80 lbs. N/ac) with and without inoculant were compared.
In the third experiment, two fertilizer forms were compared: urea and ESN (a slow release polymer-coated product), and were side banded at six different fertilizer rates, zero, 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 kg N/ac (zero, 27, 53, 81, 107 and 134 lbs./ac). This experiment also compared split application treatments, receiving 60 and 90 kg N/ha (urea and ESN) applied at seeding, plus an additional 30 kg N/ha in-crop urea applied before flowering. For all plots, a pre-banded application of 30 kg/ha P2O5 was applied. A total of 14 nutrient management treatments were compared.
“The results of the four-year research project showed that narrow rows significantly increased seed yield in six of 12 site years.” explains Pfiffner. “On average, the yield increase at the seven-inch row spacing was 445 kg/ha (400 lbs./ac), and 355 kg/ha (320 lbs./ ac) at the 14-inch row spacing. Seeding rate recommendations developed from the project for true narrow row seven-inch spacing is 40 to 45 seeds per square metre; for 14-inch row spacing at 30 to 35 seeds per square metre; and the wide row of 28-inch spacing remained consistent with current recommendations at 25 seeds per square metre. Research showed that increasing the seeding rate above 25 seeds per square metre for wide rows did not significantly increase yield.”
Inoculant provided a yield benefit
The results from the second experiment comparing four fertilizer N rates with and without inoculant showed that using an inoculant
ABOVE: Emerging bean seedlings, comparing 28-inch spacing on the left, seven-inch spacing in the centre (at 25 plants/m2), and 14-inch spacing on the right. In the background is a farmer-co-operator field in wide-row cropping seeded at 55 plants/ m2
Seeding rate yield difference in seven out of nine site years.
Source: AARD.
significantly increased yields in six of 12 site years. Results indicate an average yield increase of 175 kg/ha (160 lbs./ac) over the term of the project. “Dry beans are the least efficient N fixers in the legume family, only able to fix between 30 to 40 per cent of their N requirements,” says Pfiffner. “We used modest N rates with and without inoculant and found the yield increase with inoculant was consistent at all four N rates.”
Pfiffner adds that currently less than half of bean growers use inoculants partly because they are not convenient to use and partly
There was a yield increase (significant or strong tendency) in 50 per cent of site years with an inoculant, with an average yield increase of 175 kg/ha (160 lb./ac) over the term of the project.
Source: AARD.
because historically adequate inoculum was available in the soil and aggressive N applications were sufficient. However, this study shows there is a significant yield benefit to using inoculants for dry bean production.
Increase N and P for narrow row seeding
Results from the third experiment comparing two fertilizer forms, various rates and split N application found there was a significant or strong tendency response in yields in eight of 12 site years. The
centimetre) depth plus fertilizer N should total between 120 to 130 lbs. N/ac and P soil test plus additional fertilizer P of 95 lbs./ac.
“One of the key findings was that solid seeded beans develop a denser canopy earlier in the season, which can lead to higher humidity and higher disease incidence, particularly for white mould,” explains Pfiffner. “Dry warm weather is the best defense against white mould, but growers can use properly timed fungicide applications and carefully manage irrigation water application to limit disease incidences. Growers may also have the option of choosing more upright varieties that have more open canopies.”
In eight of 12 site years, there was a significant N fertilizer yield response.
Source: AARD.
ESN form showed a slight advantage over urea in half of the site years, resulting in an increase in yields of about 110 kg/ha (100 lbs./ ac). The results showed that at narrower row spacing and higher seeding rates, fertilizer rates for N and P need to be 20 per cent higher than the recommendations for wide row spacing. The split application treatment results did not show any significant differences in yield.
Current fertilizer recommendations for wide row spacings were recently updated and confirmed again by this study. Optimum yield is generally achieved when the soil N in the zero- to 12-inch (zeroto 30- centimetre) depth plus fertilizer N totals between 80 and 100 lbs. N/ac when grown as a row crop. For solid-seeded beans, it is recommended that soil N in the zero- to 12-inch (zero- to 30-
Overall, the results from the project show that growers can achieve similar or slightly higher yields with solid seeded beans, opening up the opportunity for bean production for growers who don’t have specialized row-cropping equipment. The research shows that narrow row bean production benefits from inoculant use and requires approximately 50 to 60 per cent more seed and 20 per cent more fertilizer than wide row bean production. The added benefit to industry is the potential to increase and stabilize annual production for industry. Swathing of solid seeded fields requires careful attention to limit harvest losses. As a benefit, swathing reduces dirt and dirt tag at harvest, compared to wide-row crops that are undercut prior to combining.
Researchers plan to continue their research to compare the different forms of fertilizer and determine whether the yield differences are a result of the fertilizer form or their ability for nodulation. They also want to take another look at split application and different timings to determine if in-crop fertilizer applications need to be earlier, and determine the potential impact of in-crop fertilizer applications on crop standability, maturity and disease incidence in solid seeded and wide-row crop bean production.
Experiment 1 comparing seeding rate of 40 plants/m2 at seven-inch spacing on the left and 28-inch spacing on the right.
Experiment 2 comparing urea fertilizer applied at zero kg N/ha on the left and 90 kg N/ha on the right.
N fertilizer yield response - 2010-2013
PHOTOS COURTESY OF ROSS MCKENZIE.
Norwich Optimist Corn Maze 2013
Shuts
Practically impenetrable yield protection. With two modes of action, Astound® stops Sclerotinia spores from germinating and fungal threads from growing. That frees your canola to do what it should: yield more.
