Exeter Crop Advisors Ag Breakfast Meeting Minutes – June 12, 2018

Chair for this meeting was Ken Currah (BASF)

Thank you to Maizex (Kirk Van Will) for sponsoring breakfast. The final meeting for this spring will be on June 26th starting at 7:00 am for breakfast (meeting starts at 7:30) at the Malibu. Frank Flanagan will be the chair.

Synopsis: Conditions are getting extremely dry in some regions (parts of Huron, Grey, Bruce, etc.). There has been sporadic rainfall in other counties. A relatively dry spring is usually good for wheat and corn so many fields actually look quite good particularly in Perth County. A tremendous amount of hay has been cut and should be good quality. Weeds are becoming harder to control as they are hardening off. They may actually appear smaller than their growth stage due to a lack of moisture. Higher rates of water, (20 gallons/ac) should be used when spraying Eragon, Glyphosate and Merge to control fleabane. Overall, the corn crop is in reasonable good shape except for those fields that were planted under poor conditions. A large percentage of the crop is in excellent shape. There was a report that the seed trench may be opening up again in some fields planted “green”. Planters set up with appropriate closing wheels is essential for good success of fields planted green.  Soybean stands range from excellent to very poor and everything in between. Overall, plant stands are an issue due to a number of reasons including seed corn maggot, root rots, crusting, deep planting, etc. In some cases seed imbibed water but then ran out of moisture to fully germinate. There is hope for a rain tomorrow but if that does not materialize many of these stands will be extremely poor and may need to be replanted. Agricorp received about 200 damage reports during the first two weeks of June with half of those due to excess rainfall and the other half due to extremely dry conditions. Re-plants are still under way. In the Niagara region some fields are just now fit to plant for the first time. Edible bean planting is nearing completion for many growers although planting is still underway in the Stratford area. Finding moisture to seed into is a challenge this year. It was reported that soils are still “gummy” underneath the top 3 to 4 inches while the top has turned powder dry. Some growers are waiting for moisture before planting. Edible bean fields that have emerged are consistently weak in terms of plant stands this year. This does not necessarily impact yield negatively if the stands are consistent.

Wheat: Some wheat stands are variable and considerable discolouration is still evident. In the driest areas wheat is starting to flare up due to a lack of moisture. Since wheat is considered a dry land crop, yields are often better than expected after a dry spring but kernel fill will be impacted in extreme cases. Stripe rust has been found in the St Mary’s area but the disease has not been widespread. There is also one field near Clinton that’s been reported with stripe rust. As temperatures increase, stripe rust becomes less of a concern now. Fusarium timing in wheat has been a challenge due to uneven stands and rapid growth. Although there was considerable T3 fungicide spraying in this area, there was not as much fungicide applied at the T3 timing in the southwest. It has been dry and the wheat grew so quickly that the ideal window for application was missed by some growers. In some cases the T3 was still applied even though it was late due to stripe rust concerns. Pre-harvest intervals must be considered now. Cereal leaf beetle(CLB) is still an issue. One CLB adult or larvae per stem warrants control after boot but prior to heading. If significant feeding is taking place on the flag leaf in the early heading stages, control may be warranted.

Corn: The PSNT survey conducted by OMAFRA is showing that available N is slightly higher than the last few years at 12.7 ppm compared to 11.7 ppm from the last few years. There is lots of 6-8 leaf corn that is very dirty this year. These are from plots with no N applied. If applying late season Nitrogen either as sidedress or in a Y drop is it worth considering some Sulphur. Little trial data exists on S timing on corn but generally speaking it would be reasonable to expect a yield response in fields that are low in S. Ontario research has shown a ½ bu/ac/day to 3 bu/ac/day loss in yield if weeds are not controlled. Those that emerge at the same time as the crop are the most damaging. For example waiting from the 3 leaf to 4 leaf stage in corn can cost 10 bu/ac in yield. Generally speaking the best strategy for corn is to start clean and stay clean from emergence to the 6 leaf stage. Some purple corn is also evident as is yellow flash from herbicide applications. Callisto “flash” is evident on overlaps. There are hybrid differences. Lower spray water volumes will increase the likelihood of burn(less than 10 gallons/acre). As the corn plant metabolizes the product will green up. This usually takes 7 to 10 days.

Soybeans: Soybeans planted around May 18th have the poorest stands due to cold growing conditions following planting. The normal mortality in soybeans is 20%. A germination rate of 90% multiplied by an emergence rate of 90% equals an 81% plant stand. Ontario trials have shown that a 75% stand in no-till and an 80% stand in conventional tillage is quite normal. Soybeans can compensate for poor stands to a degree but there are parts of Lambton, Bruce, Grey, Essex, Chatham/Kent, Elgin, and Niagara, where soybeans stands are a real challenge.  Poor stands due to crusting, seed corn maggot, root rots, deep planting, excess residue, heavy rains after seeding, or extremely dry conditions have resulted in some tough fields. Experience has shown that soybean seed sitting in dry conditions can emerge over a long period of time (4 – 5 weeks) so many of these stands will likely still thicken up over time when it rains. However, seed that has imbibed enough water to swell up but then run out of moisture to fully germinate will only survive a few days without additional moisture. Lambsquarter is beginning to harden off. If using Reflex and Basagran use 20 gallons/ac of water plus 2 L of Turbocharge / 1000. If spraying into next week consider increasing water and surfactant rates to improve efficacy. The time of day applications are made is also important. If spraying in the evening when the leaves are up or in the morning when there is dew efficacy is greatly reduced. Spray during the heat of the day. There was a report of 2-4 D damage that was applied about 4 days prior to seeding. Research has shown that although there can be leaf strapping, the crop will recover with essentially no yield loss.

Upcoming Event

Southwest Crop Diagnostic Days – July 6 and 7, 2016

FarmSmart Expo – July 14

Eastern Crops Day – July 28