Ontario Winter Wheat Harvest About One-Quarter Complete; Rain Hampers Fieldwork

More rain has hampered the Ontario winter wheat harvest, with some areas receiving upwards of four inches of rain earlier this week, according to the latest field observations from Grain Farmers of Ontario. 

Meanwhile, corn and soybeans are still developing well through vegetative and reproductive growth stages. But disease infection is a concern with the high moisture environment. 

Cereals: 

Winter wheat harvest has been stop-and-go for regions with grain ready for the combine, with around 25% of the crop in the bin. Some limitations to harvest have been overcast skies, heavy dew, and rain showers not allowing the plant to dry. When combines are rolling, moistures are anywhere from 12 to 18%, with reports of decent test weight (fields lodged during grain fill show lower test weights). 

With heavy rains and strong winds that moved through the province, some fields have been lodged. Black point (a black smudging of discoloration on kernels or a black cloud of spores floating around the combine at harvest) could be of slight concern as the disease develops when it is wet and warm during the grain fill and ripening period. 

Oats and barley are in the midst of grain fill. 

Corn: 

Corn across the province is staging from the vegetative stages into reproductive stages (VT-tassel and R1-silk, in earlier planted fields).   

Saturated soils have kept roots at a shallow depth within the soil, which can cause concerns such as root lodging in saturated soils, a lack of nutrient availability with shallow roots. If soils dry up, the root capacity is not there to scavenge for deeper water. 

With recent conditions, Gibberella ear rot could be a concern. Growers are also being advised to scout for tar spot. 

Soybeans: 

Soybean stages range from still in vegetative growth to R3 (early pod development). With a high amount of moisture being received while soybeans are flowering, growers should be on the defensive against white mould.