Ontario Field Crop Report – Week of July 1st, 2019

 

Early planted corn reached the ‘knee-high by the 1st of July’. Crop stages range from 12 leaf stage to still a few acres being planted. More so on the heavier soils some unseeded corn acres remain.  Corn planted this late will have high harvest moisture and could be difficult to combine pending fall conditions. For the most part, plant stands look good on lighter and medium textured soils. Stands planted in less than ideal conditions continue to show plant stress and particularly on heavier soils. Some stands are showing the planting side-wall compaction and with dryer weather, the seed trench has opened up. A lot of the intended side-dressing nitrogen has been applied in the past week. With the warmer temperatures, the corn colour has improved significantly. In areas where planting conditions were delayed, nitrogen side-dressing still needs to be done.

 

Still a few fields where the weeds have emerged and are competing with the corn. Lots of slugs in no-till corn stands, less in the strip-till planted corn.

 

 

Overall soybean stands look good and are changing to a darker green as the nodules kick-in. Still a few acres were replanted this past week due to seed corn maggot or poor emergence due to soil crusting. Symptoms of early season diseases like phytophthora root rot are also starting to show in some fields that will require replanting. The soybean and edible planting date deadlines were extended to July 5th. With respect to the unseeded acreage benefit (USAB) a grower may now change their dominant crop up to July 5th. Please contact Agricorp to discuss coverage.

 

Pre-emergent herbicides have been doing an excellent job this year resulting from adequate activating rainfall. Weeds are quite large in a considerable number of fields that did not get a burndown application. Lots of volunteer corn growing in soybean fields`. Read herbicide labels to understand timing and performance. It is important to following good herbicide stewardship practices like considering wind speed, application volume, ground speed and neighbouring crops.

 

 

Fusarium is starting to show up in winter wheat fields. Growers should begin scouting their fields to identify those with FHB and target those fields first for harvest. Even fields that have been sprayed with a T3 fungicide should be scouted as applications may have gone on in less than ideal conditions in some cases or there is variation in stands resulting in less than adequate protection of tillers.

 

For those planning to use a pre-harvest desiccant, they should be applied at the hard dough stage when the grain is less than 30% moisture. An easy way to scout for the correct staging is to look for a change in the colour of he peduncle. When 95% of the peduncles have changed from green to tan/brown the crop is physiologically mature and ready for a pre-harvest desiccant.

 

Spring cereals are progressing with the early planted cereals now headed. Some disease is starting to show up so continue to scout. Also continue to monitor for cereal leaf beetle infestations as they move from winter wheat fields into spring cereals stands. Thresholds for aphids are up to the boot stage; if the crop is beyond this stage, treatment has no merit. Populations may begin to increase in spring cereals, however, natural enemies will hopefully build up before that. If young plants have 12-15 aphids per stem up to boot stage and natural enemies are not present, control may be warranted.

 

Growers should be ready to harvest wheat at higher grain moisture and plan to dry it to maintain quality.

 

 

May planted canola is in mid – bloom, and many fields have had a fungicide applied or will shortly. Early June planted canola is now bolting. Some areas are beginning to show moisture stress.

 

Swede midge is present but much of the crop that is flowering now has low to very low levels of damage so far, with many getting through bolting without an insecticide application.

 

 

Still some white and other edible beans being planted yet. Some fields of shorter season beans such as cranberry beans left to plant. There are reports of white beans having poor emergence and emerging ” bald headed”, without cotyledons. Many reports of slow emergence on a variety of bean classes. There are many fields with low populations, leaving tough decisions about replanting.  Lots of volunteer corn in the edible beans also. Leafhoppers will likely be moving into dry beans as alfalfa stands are being cut. Scout for adults and nymphs. Threshold for adults or nymphs per leaf is 0.2 for unifoliate beans, 0.5 for second trifoliate, 1.0 for fourth trifoliate and 2.0 for flower stage. More information on potato leafhoppers is available at fieldcropnews.com.

 

 

Still lots of reports that forage inventory is low. More demand for oat seed for cover crops for unseeded acres. Forage stands that were going to be ripped up like the winter wheat, ended up being kept. Some interseeded with Italian ryegrass was drilled into thicken stands. Lots of 1st cut hay being harvested. Still reports of yields only 60% to 70% of normal.

 

Spring grains up high for forage, mostly nurse crop, harvest before the nurse heads out. Lots of emergency forages out there and they need different management to be fertilized, harvested and ensile properly. Forage oats and peas still being planted. Others have planted sorghum or sorghum sudan grass planning on 2 cuts. Producers who have established alternative forage crops are reminded that it is generally 45-60 days from planting to harvest, depending on the crop.