Agronomist Notes

Last week was full of rain, sun, road trips to Taber to look at seed drills and a check ups on insect pressures. Wheat midges are out in full force but thankfully most of the wheat has finished flowering and no longer susceptible. Some of the late-May seeded wheat will still be at risk though. On the canola insect front, I have yet to find anything remotely close to threshold anywhere. With 10 to 16 inches of rain in the last three months, the insects really haven’t had a chance to set up shop. We’ll wait to see what August brings but we’re now on the down slope to harvest.

In this week’s issue of Beyond Agronomy News, we’ll run some quick math on wheat midge thresholds and the economics of spraying. Next, we’ll discuss the findings from our tour down to Taber to see a seed singulation drill. Then we’ll look at applying half rates of growth regulators on barley. Last, I’ll give a brief outline of Diamondback moth tips, tools and techniques of scouting.

Don’t forget to come out to our controlled traffic field day this Thursday afternoon! See details below.

Crop Staging (Calgary to Drumheller to Three Hills)

Seeded	April 23-31	May 1-7	May 8-15
Wheat	watery ripe	watery ripe	end of flowering
Canola	early pod	late bloom	70% bloom
Barley	Milky dough	watery dough	heads eme
Peas	end of flower	mid-flower	mid-flower

Steve’s tips for the week

• Continue monitoring for wheat midge in wheat that hasn’t begun flowering yet. I estimate any wheat planted later than May 20th is still at risk. One adult midge per four or five wheat heads is the threshold for yield loss and 1 midge per 10 heads is threshold for grade loss.
• The window for spraying wheat midge ends at the beginning of flowering. 
• Begin monitoring for diamondback moth in canola.
• Continue sweeping for lygus bugs in canola. Threshold is lygus 3 per sweep.
• If you plan to straight cut canola, watch fields as they come out of bloom to give you an idea of which fields are the most even and best candidates for straight cutting.
• Spraying for sclerotinia past 50% bloom is rarely economical and by now most canola is well past the optimum spray window. 

Agronomy

Controlled Traffic Farming field day at the farm Thursday, July 29th

Our controlled traffic field day is approaching quickly. This Thursday at 1:00pm until 5:00pm we will be looking at our controlled traffic farming adventure, equipment set-up and the trials and tribulations we’ve had so far. We’ll also be discussing canola agronomy in partnership with ACPC. Registration is $10.00 per person and includes a BBQ supper and beverages.

We’d love to have you stop by, so if you’re interested, please register at the ACPC site http://canola.ab.ca/controlled_traffic_farming_tour.aspx

Directions to farm:

From the West: Take Hwy 21 to Hwy 27 and head east to Hwy 839. Turn left and head north 2 miles on Hwy 839. Turn east on Twp Rd 31-4 and head east 2 miles. Turn south on Rg Rd 20-4 and you’ll see the signs.

From the East: Take Hwy 9 north of Drumheller to Hwy 27. Turn west on Hwy 27 and go 3 miles. Turn right on Rg Rd 20-4 and head north for 1.5 miles, past the farm yard to the bin yard approach. Watch for signs.

Quick facts on Orange Blossom Wheat Midge

I’ve had a few questions about wheat midge lately and thought I could help shed some light on a few things, particularly the decision whether or not to spray. First, wheat midge is not a threat once wheat completes flowering. You’ll know it’s finished flowering when you see anthers along the sides of the entire head from top to bottom. Flowering begins in the middle of the head, works its way outward and will take just a few days to complete.  

When you’re out scouting and you see X number of midge per square foot, you can work the math backwards to how many midge you have per head which the threshold is based on. For example, after measuring plant stand densities back in early June (like Steve suggested), you know you have 30 plants per ft2. Those 30 plants per ft2 will produce 2 tillers making a total of 90 heads per ft2. If you have found 4 to 5 midge per ft2, then you simply divide 90 heads/ft2 by 4-5 midge per ft2. The total in this example would be 1 midge per 18 heads and thus uneconomical to apply insecticide. 

Steve’s quick math:

Now, the threshold for wheat midge is as follows:

• 15% yield loss = 1 midge per 4-5 heads
• Grade loss = 1 midge per 8-10 heads

Yield loss example: 60 bu/ac × 15% yield loss = 9 bu × $4.68/bu for No.1 13.5 protein = $42.12/ac
Cost of application: Lorsban at 400 ml/ac $7.40 + $8.00/ac application = $15.40/ac

Grade loss example: No.1 13.5 protein downgraded to a No.3 13.5 protein
60 bu/ac × $4.68/bu No.1 - 60 bu/ac × $4.14 = $280.80 - $248.40 = $32.40/ac
Cost of application: Lorsban at 400 ml/ac $7.40 + $8.00/ac application = $15.40/ac

Therefore, if you count 1 midge per 8-10 heads and suffer a grade loss, your $15.40/ac investment would return you $32.40/ac. If you counted 1 midge per 4-5 heads your $15.40/ac investment would generate a return of $42.12/ac. You really have to guesstimate what your potential yield is this year before you can make a sound decision on whether to spray. If you’ve counted your plant stand density, you’ll be even further ahead at determining where your threshold lies. Good luck! SL

Seed singulation client tour to see the Monosem vacuum planter

Well, we packed seven guys in the SUV and headed off to Taber, AB to look at a Monosem planter owned by 20-year Monosem veteran Marty Johnson. We had a good look at a 20-year old Monosem drill as well as a two-year old model. We quizzed Marty on all points and at the end of the day he said it was a simple, mechanically driven drill with few wear points and low maintenance requirements. He said he didn’t want to sound like a salesmen but he was really impressed with the drill, which is believable given the time he’s owned one.

Here are the take home points from our trip to Taber:

• You can achieve 2 to 7 inch spacing between plants, within the row using a 120- hole disk.
• You can seed down to just 1.4 lbs/ac and achieve an ideal plant stand like you see in the canola picture below.
• This drill requires a second pass system to place fertilizer and prepare the seedbed for planting. An 8-inch band of level soil must be made for the gauge wheels on either side of the disk opener to maintain seeding depth accuracy.
• This planter is deadly accurate!
• Marty has had no issues with either unit.
• This spring Marty used a strip till machine built by Kirshner Machine to band fertilizer and prepare the seedbed prior to planting. The 24 ft strip till machine was around $30k. See picture below.
• Seed boxes can hold one 50 lb bag of canola seed. A 35 ft planter with 21 rows on 20 inch spacing at 1.4 lbs/ac can do 750 acres per fill! That’s right, 750 acres.
• All parts are mechanically driven. One hydraulic fan mounted on the frame to create suction behind the disk to draw seeds into the holes. The depth control is one lever and the seed spacing is one sprocket and chain drive.
• The biggest issue is to find a solution for the second pass to move residue out of the way and band fertilizer. I think RTK guidance would a must to seed right into the strip till band. I love the idea of seeding into warm black soil, with minimal disturbance (8” on 20” centres) and spreading out the spring work load.
• You could have your main drill seeding cereals while someone is seeding canola using a 2WD or front-wheel assist.   

The trip was a success and we had some fun along the way. Some clients were very interested in the Monosem planter and saw opportunities to do custom seeding for canola or corn to help pay for the drill. The savings in seed cost would pay for the drill on most farms within a few years. Like Marty said, he had probably 20,000 acres on the one 20 year old drill and it was still in good shape. You could expect to own this drill for a very long time. I’m looking forward to seeing how my clients progress with the idea of seed singulation and a two pass system. If you want to know the cost of planter that fits your needs, call Dwayne Kirshner at Kirshner Machine at (403) 328-5568 in Lethbridge, AB. SL

Growth regulators allow growers to push nitrogen and yield in barley

During our client road trip last week, we stopped by Ron and Martin Wiebe’s farm at Rosemary. They grow seed alfalfa, barley, wheat and canola under irrigation. We were discussing production tips and they mentioned the use of Ethrel, a growth regulator used on wheat and barley, mainly in the irrigation districts of southern Alberta. I thought that Ethrel was a no-no on 6-row barley because it could shorten heads and cause severe yield reductions. However, the Wiebes informed us that a half rate of Ethrel works well on the 2-row barley variety called Coalition. The growth regulator shortens the stems by 4 to 6 inches and can keep a 130 to 150 bu/ac barley crop standing, allowing N levels to be pushed to the limit. 

The one caveat is that the plants cannot be stressed; in fact, a soil moisture probe is your best friend prior to applying Ethrel. If you have a decent level of soil moisture and the plants aren’t suffering from stress, an application can be made.

Here are the tips I learned from the Wiebes:

• Applications of a half rate or 500 ml/ac of Ethrel have worked very well at keeping 130 to 150 bu/ac 2-row Coalition barley standing under irrigation.
• Ethrel is typically applied at early flag leaf with a fungicide like Tilt.
• Ethrel is also registered on spring wheat and again, half rates work quite nicely at early flag leaf with a fungicide.   
• The cost at full rate at 1 L/ac is $11.20/ac and $5.50/ac at a half rate.
• Must be applied with 10 gal/ac of water volume.
• Growers have noticed 4 to 6 inches less height after Ethrel application.
• You need to call Viterra at Brooks and sign a waiver and jump through some hoops to purchase a growth regulator like Ethrel.

The picture shown above is actually from New Zealand where a friend of mine Chris Dennison uses growth regulators to keep the heads facing up instead of falling over and shading the leaves. The right side has had a treatment of Opus and the left side has had no growth regulator. The difference in yield was 20 bu/ac on this particular trial. Not a bad investment! I’m really keen to start experimenting with growth regulators along the west side of my territory. The five dollar investment seems like it could offer a big return on yield and harvestability if we can keep 120 bu/ac barley standing. Food for thought. SL

Diamondback moth scouting
Technique: Walk 100 ft into headland and grab a few plants on three sides of the field. Take the plants back to truck, disturbing them as little as possible. Next, whack them over the hood of your truck a few times. I’m not kidding. Count the number of diamondback larvae.

Thresholds
Early podding: 2 to 3 larvae per plant
Early flower: 1 to 2 larvae per plant

Insecticides
Lorsban: 405 ml/ac
Decis: 80 ml/ac
Matador: 34 ml/ac
Malathion: 324 ml/ac

For more information go to:
http://www.canolacouncil.org/uploads/Diamondback%20%28FactSheet%29.pdf
http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex2540

Market News

Technical Analysis

Canola: November futures. The short and long term trend is up.
HRS Wheat: December futures. The short and the long term trend is down.
Corn: December futures. The short and long term trends are down.
Soybeans: November futures. The short term trend is down and long term trend is up.
Canadian Dollar: August futures. The short term trend is up and the long trend is down.
US Dollar Index: August futures. The short term trend is down and the long term trend is up.