Digital Corner
Spring activities are ramping up, nitrogen and sulphur applications on wheat, creating plans to assess the health and growing conditions for application of herbicides, plant growth regulator and fungicides is ongoing. This also affords a great opportunity to try new and novel products either on wheat or plan to on corn, soybeans or other high value crops.
How we test new products is important. Utilizing our MiField Plot system we can set up trials with checks and treatments to assess the performance of any product. The most important part of doing trials is to properly record where the check or no treatment is located as well as the replicated strips of the treatment being testing.
The traditional or what I call the analog system requires a commitment of time during specific field operation to apply a treatment in at least 3 strips with the intervening strips with the check or no treatment. We must stake or flag those locations so we can find them at harvest. At harvest time we need an equal commitment to take the time to harvest each strip utilizing or weigh wagon or yield monitor.
The digital method works well when the equipment can record the application followed by the yield capture with a yield monitor. The cooperator then sharing those files so we can do a yield by treatment analysis in our analytics program in our software system. This makes testing easier more seamless and less time commitment in setting up and harvesting the trials.
A few of the bio stimulants we want to test are Biopath a biological that releases bound nutrients. This is to be applied at sidedress in UAN on corn. Another unique product is Silogold a product based on Silicic Acid helps plants overcome various abiotic stresses, increases chlorophyll content increasing photosynthetic activity , improves carbon dioxide utilization and can shorten the internodal length caused by certain environmental stresses and nutrient conditions. We are aiming this product for use on soybeans, applied at flowering timing at Growth Stage R 1 to up to R3.
If you are interested in trying these other novel products reach out to your Crop Specialist to learn more.
Do you have a yield monitor capable of making yield maps but no recording system for your applicator or sprayer? We can help we have a portal GPS system we can place on the applicator during the trial to capture that “as applied strip."
Let’s be curious and willing to try some new things knowing we can help.
Article by Dale CowanAgronomy Strategy Manager and Senior Agronomist at AGRIS Co-operative
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Early Season Weeds
After one of the driest years that most can remember in a while, moisture has been restored to the soil with help of a warmer than usual winter where majority of the territory had more inches of rain then snow. This has caused some early season weeds to germinate earlier than usual.
The warmer weather in April has started greening up the fields and weeds like chickweed, henbit and bluegrass are starting to be visible from the road. Targeting the weeds when they are small will not only give you better control and cleaner fields but it will also help your overall ROI. When only a burndown is applied pre-emerge and delaying your post herbicide application for more weeds to come through can play a factor in your overall profit. Studies have shown that your dollars lost increases dramatically when targeting larger weeds. Revenue loss with weeds up to 8” in height in a soybean crop can be as high as $27ac/inch of weeds and up to $50ac/inch in corn. With the prices of commodities these days the revenue lost by delaying a post application can be devastating.
With weeds like waterhemp rapidly spreading through southern Ontario that have confirmed resistants to multiple groups including 2,5,9,14 and now 27. It is more important now then ever to get out and scout early to confirm which weeds that need targeting. Weather using the Xtend, Xtendflex or E3 platform there are various residual products that can be added to your burndown that will add multiple modes of action to your tank to insure we give our fields the clean start they need to maximize yield potential.
If you have any question regarding weed management or weed ID, contact your local AGRIS branch for assistance, our team is here ready to help.
Article by Jean Marc GuilbeaultCrop Sales Specialist, AGRIS Co-operative, Stoney Point
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Weed Control in Winter Wheat
It is almost time to apply herbicides to winter wheat. Having a wheat crop allows an opportunity to use different chemistry with different modes of action than we may be using in other crops. Although wheat can out compete some weeds with shade when the wheat gets tall. Unfortunately, weeds will still be growing, competing for sunlight and nutrients during critical growth stages. Weeds not controlled will go to seed and need to be dealt with later anyways, so there is more value to control them when it will be beneficial to the crop and maintain yield potential. If under seeded to red clover, weeds left in the clover will compete with the cover crop, and likely increase your weed pressure in the following crop.
Glyphosate resistant weeds can be controlled with products used in winter wheat. This is an opportunity to reduce the seed bank, and stay ahead of resistant weeds. Herbicides can be tank mixed with other products while performing other field operations, such as growth regulator or fungicides. There is usually a nice window to get a herbicide applied in the spring and it is a pass I would not recommend skipping. Managing weeds is a multiyear approach and it is wise to take advantage of an opportunity to use a different mode of action every time possible.
Despite wheats ability to out compete many small weeds, favorable conditions will allow many weeds to thrive, as wheat matures and reduces ground cover, there will be increased weed pressure at harvest. Talk to your crop specialist about finding the best products for the weeds in your wheat today.
Article by Mike Veenema
Crop Sales Specialist, AGRIS Co-operative, Tupperville