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May 1: Crop Solutions That Work AGRIS Biweekly News Letter

05/05/2023

Digital Corner

We often divide our field planning and observation practicesinto stages. Beginning with Seeding then on to Seedling, Vegetative,Reproductive and finally Harvest. Tracking where we place hybrids andvarieties, planting dates, seeding depth and tracking weather conditions areuseful and assessing any issues that may arise after planting. There are somemonitor systems that record planter performance in real time and often thisdata is available in map form. Even without a system to monitor theseactivities there are number of ways to record this information. Fieldiew offersa digital platform to record some of this key information. At AGRIS we will bepiloting our own recording system on a limited basis to record any scoutingactivity we perform.

Tracking plant emergence in corn and plant populations at V5 andagain at VT or prior to final harvest can offer insight on both hybridattributes but also the overall growing environment.

At V5 growth stage we have an opportunity to check early season nutritional status by utilizing plant tissue testing and recording where we took the tissue samples. Relating general crop growing conditions to plant tissue results and to the soil test values can offer insight on nutrient uptake, and depending on any detected nutritional disorders we may have an opportunity to correct any short comings. This is the time frame to consider the testing of bio stimulants. 

During the rapid vegetative growth stages we can continue toobserve growing conditions and assess any abiotic and biotic stresses that maydevelop due to weather or other conditions. We continue to observe the effectsof any treatments that may have been applied. Recording the observation andattaching images serves as reminder at the end of season what we observed atcritical growth stages that may provide some insight on final outcomes.

During and just prior to the reproductive stages we assess planthealth and the need to apply crop protection if warranted. Once again recordingobservations can be an important management step. 

One of the activities we will be engaged in is collecting the ear leaf sample to determine the nitrogen status of the corn plant at that time. A nitrogen content of 4% would indicate we have an ample supply of Nitrogen heading into the final reproductive stages marked by the lag and linear phase of kernel fill.

Ending the season with a yield map provides the final report card on the production system. The final evaluation step of any treatments, use of novel products or new techniques. An important use of yield maps is to produced crop removal maps to augment the soil sample recommendations in our build, maintain and drawdown 4 R nutrient management strategy. In addition, we can now offer Profit Maps by replacing the yield in bushels with the selling price minus the costs. This can be another insightful map layer to provide insight beyond the obvious.

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Article by Dale Cowan

Agronomy Strategy Manager and Senior Agronomist at AGRIS Co-operative

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Thinking of Using a PGR on Your Wheat?

Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs) have been used in commercialagricultural production dating back many years. They have recently gained moreinterest over the last few years in our winter wheat programs as we increaseour management approach of this cereal crop. Currently there are two mainPGR’s that we are recommending: Manipulator & Moddus, both very goodproducts.

There are a number of reasons to consider using a PGR but this year it maybe even more important because with last fall’s excellent planting condition and mild winter we are looking a plant and tiller counts that are some of highest I remember seeing in quite a few years. Although there are reports of lower tiller counts in some circumstances it is important to assess each field for stand density. The key benefit of using them is improved standability by shortening the plant and thickening the stem, as we push for higher yields, we are also increasing Nitrogen rates, this can lead to lodging concerns. This improves harvestability and also brings a yield increase of approx. 5 to 6 bushels per acre even where we do not see significant lodging, in severely lodged fields the yields will be much greater.

Manipulator is a product that is sold by Belchim Crop ProtectionCanada, the active ingredient is Chlormequat Chloride. The use rate is .72litre/ac and the product is available in 10 litre jugs.

Moddus is another product that is sold by Syngenta, the active ingredient is Trinexapac-ethyl. The use rate is .42 litre/ac and this product also comes in a 10 litre jug.

Both products work by inhibiting the gibberellin production in the wheat plant. They also can be tank. mixed with herbicide or fungicides if the timing and need is right. The ideal timing in winter wheat is between Zadoks stage 31-32 or 1st & 2nd node but can be used right up to flag leaf. Using sufficient water volume is very important to obtain thorough coverage, the labels say a minimum of 10 gal/ac but typically I like 15 to 20 gal/ac especially this year with the high plant & tiller counts giving the wheat much more crop canopy. 

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Article by Kent Wolfe

Crop Sales Specialist, AGRIS Co-operative, Dutton

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Managing Your Wheat Crop for Septoria Leaf Spot and Powdery Mildew

Even though we may not be seeing a lot of disease pressure currently in the wheat crop, we are going to keep an eye out for both Septoria Leaf Spot and Powdery Mildew due to the increased moisture levels from recent rain in the past few weeks.

Both Septoria Leaf Spot and Powdery Mildew first starts to appear on the lower parts of the plant. With Septoria you’re going to look for irregular shaped lesions with a tan center and yellowish margins. If we continue to see the current weather trends of high rain fall with colder temperatures these lesions will start to look more rectangle in shape and black dots will start to appear in the center of those lesions. As time progresses this will spread to the upper canopy as well to neighboring plants in the field.

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https://cropscience.bayer.co.uk/blog/articles/2019/12/six-steps-to-improve-septoria-management/

Current weather conditions will also encourage the growth of Powdery mildew which is white, cottony patches of mycelium and conidia on the upper surfaces of lower leaves. The white colonies later turn dull gray-brown.

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https://agric.wa.gov.au/n/274

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powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis) (DC.) Speer - Photographer:Bruce Watt - University of Maine

Both diseases start in the lower parts of the plant, Powderymildew can become quite prevalent in the lower part of the canopy but not asvisible from the top of the canopy so make sure to look in the lower canopywhen scouting your wheat crop.

The proper time to scout for both these diseases is during the months of April and May. If the diseases are present and moving up the canopy it may be time to apply a fungicide.

Products to consider from Bayer Crop Science for optimum control are Delaro Complete at 177 ml/ac during stem elongation stage and T2 timing followed. Followed by Prosaro PRO fungicide at 303 ml/ac at T3 timing. Apply Delaro from 4 leaf to flag leaf, but prior to head emergence. For fusarium head-blight protection and comprehensive foliar disease management. Once the head has started to emerge from the boot avoid application of Delaro fungicide. Switch to Prosaro XTR fungicide.

Wheat Growth Staging Guide


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Bayer Crop Science

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Bayer Crop Science

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Article by Cory Cowan 

Crop Sales Specialist, AGRIS Co-operative, Chatham

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