Agronomist Notes

I must say that crops in our area look exceptional. We’ve had a good initial run at spraying the early seeded wheat and have moved on to canola. The pre-burn herbicides worked extremely well and have keep weed pressure down to a minimum. The cooler weather has reduced the speed of canopy closure but overall the rows are filling in nicely. I’ve seen very few signs of insect damage after scouting 5,000 acres of canola last week. Cereal leaf diseases are minimal for now.

In this week’s issue of Beyond Agronomy News, we’ll look at the Salford RTS vertical tillage unit and how it manages heavy pea residue. Next, we’ll see how we’re stacking up with GDD’s with this year’s crop. We’ll examine a little experiment comparing paired row to single row openers and then review a few herbicides symptoms on weeds for when you do your post-herbicide scouting. We’ll finish with fundamental and technical grain market news.  

Pictured above: One of Starland Colony’s canola fields planted with a John Deere 1870 drill, near Morrin, AB.

Agronomy

Crop Staging (Calgary to Drumheller to Three Hills)

Seeded	May 1-7	May 8-15	May 16-21	May 22-29
Wheat	4 leaf 1 tiller	3 leaf 1 tiller	3 leaf	2 leaf
Canola	5 leaf	4 leaf	3 leaf	cotyledon
Barley	4 leaf 1 tiller	3 leaf 1 tiller	3 leaf	2 leaf
Peas	10th node	7th node	4th node

Steve’s tips of the week

• If you’ve had excessive rain over the last week or two you may want to top dress with ammonium sulphate. If canola is shallow rooted it can’t access sulphur leached below the root zone.
• The day after an application of Liberty herbicide is just as important as the day you spray. Warm and sunny weather the day following a Liberty application will dramatically improve control.
• Spraying Liberty in the evening is fine so long as the temperature is warm enough during application and the following day is sunny and warm. Cloudy conditions following application reduces efficacy.
• Stick to herbicides with 1 hour or less rainfastness when possible. Showers remain in the forecast.
• Do not spray herbicides when temperatures are dipping down to 5 degrees Celsius at night to avoid crop damage.
• Monitor for cutworm damage this week.

Salford RTS vertical tillage unit deals with 90 bu/ac pea straw

I had a chance to see the Salford RTS vertical tillage machine in action several weeks back near Beiseker. After a huge 90 bu/ac pea crop in 2010, my clients found themselves with a problem on their hands, straw and more straw. There was no way their Morris Contour air drill was going to get through it and no way you would ever, ever touch that pea straw with a heavy harrow. I suggested they rent a vertical tillage unit but not before they had to find out why I suggested they avoid using a heavy harrow but I digress.

The Salford RTS unit rents for about $6.00 acre and is 31 ft wide. You can pull this machine at 13 mph so you can average roughly 40 ac/hr at 85% efficiency. Here’s a video of the Salford RTS in action http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoC0tXWub8Y&feature=related .
The field finish is smooth and it does make for a softer seedbed than most producers are used to in their direct seeding system. As you can see by the photo, the crop emergence was excellent and I must say the Morris Contour, which struggles with residue handling, had no plugging issues and did a fine job of seed placement. Compare that to a pea stubble field six miles away that was banded with fertilizer to break up the pea straw and there’s no comparison. The banded field had poor and uneven emergence throughout. The Salford RTS leaves the field fairly uniform so seed placement is consistent. 

The next time you find yourself with 80+ bu/ac pea straw you may want to look at renting a vertical tillage implement. See your local rental or equipment dealership for one near you. Or, perhaps you can convince a local dealer to buy one to rent out. SL   

Growing Degree Days – A look at this year’s vintage

The late start and cooler weather this spring has given the impression that crop maturity is behind, but by how much?  Crop maturity is directly affected by the number of growing degree days we receive each year. Growing degree days is simply the calculation of the highest daily temperature plus the lowest daily temperature divided by two and subtracting five (Ex: 200C + 100C ÷ 2 - 5 = 10 GGD). You subtract five because it is assumed that plant growth does not occur at less than five degrees Celsius. We’re currently at 320 GDDs and here is the historical log:

Growing Degree Days from May 1st to June 13th:
2010: 237
2009: 268
2008: 327
2007: 367
2006: 411
2005: 346
2004: 297
8-year average: 321

We are bang on the eight-year average at 320 growing degree days and very similar to our record crop year in 2008. The 14-day trend is calling for temperatures in the high teens with overnights in the low single digits and scattered showers. These temperatures are ideal for plants in the tillering phase. We’re a week behind in maturity compared to 2008 but we can make up a lot of ground in July-August if a heat wave comes. I’m very optimistic on yield potential but slightly concerned about frost on the other end of the growing season. This year’s vintage is setting up like 2008. SL

Single row vs. paired row experiment has surprising results in canola

I think many of us would agree that paired row openers are inconsistent with canola seed placement. We often find canola seeds too shallow or two deep or don’t find them at all. In previous newsletters I’ve discussed how a client of mine reversed the seed and fertilizer tubes on his JD 1830 drill and the seed depth and emergence was greatly improved. This spring I had another client switch the seed and fertilizer tubes and test the theory by doing a side by side trial with his Dutch 4-inch paired row opener and 5-inch packers.

As you can see in the photo, the paired row is on the right and the reversed seed and fertilizer placement is on the left shown by a single row. After assessing plant stand density, crop staging and seeding depth, I found an advantage to reversing the seed and fertilizer and placing seed down a single row, even with a paired row opener. The seeding depth varied by 1 ¼” in the paired row versus just ½” in the single row. Many seeds were planted 2” deep in the paired row; the variability was consistent across the field and there were plants still emerging in the paired row right up to 3 leaf. The crop stage in the single row was fairly consistent with 80% at the 2 leaf stage and the rest at 1 leaf. I think this could have been improved if we’d been able to put starter fertilizer with the seed and not above and to the side in the paired row.

These experiments are pointing me toward an inherent design flaw in paired row openers. Here are my quick thoughts on what’s happening:

• The wings on paired row openers lift up a great deal of soil that include last year’s roots and stubble, lumps, clumps and some soft soil between the rows occasionally. The difference in soil texture and moisture content across each few inches of row can lead to a large variance of soil flow which effects seed placement.  
• Seeds are blown outside of the furrow where seed to soil contact is poor and seeding depth is highly variable. This is very common when seeding canola because the soil resistance on each side of the opener at shallow depth is low so seed is able to blow outside of the furrow easily.
• The majority of packers on the market are semi-pneumatic flat rubber packers and about an inch wider than the openers. Depending on the seed placement, there is a difference in packing pressure across the furrow because the packers run on the sides of the furrow. 
• The difference in packing pressure across the furrow leads to excessive packing for some seeds and not enough for others which reduces the consistency of germination and emergence.

For those who struggle with seed placement using paired row openers and aren’t in the position to trade in their conventional hoe drill for a precision hoe drill with on row depth control, switching to a sideband opener may be just what you need and I’ll tell you why. First, I like a narrower opener because it moves less soil and creates less variability in seeding depth.  Second, placing seed down the back of a sideband opener typically means the most pliable and mellow soil flows around the opener and on top of your seed. Third, the seed spread is typically about 2 inches side to side when shooting the seed down the back tube on a sideband opener. I feel that leaves enough room even on 12-inch spacing to place 30 to 35 plants per ft2 when targeting high plant densities. It’s also narrow enough to benefit from being closer to started fertilizers to give us that pop up effect we’re looking for. And finally, it’s less iron, less draft, less horsepower, less cost per tip and less fuel consumption when moving from a paired row to sideband opener. On a 60 ft drill, moving from a 4-inch paired row to a 2-inch sideband means you’re dragging 10 ft of iron and not 20 ft through the ground. It definitely makes a difference.

I hope I’ve given you something to chew on while you’re out scouting for germination and emergence over the next few weeks. Perhaps you suffer from paired row syndrome and could stand to improve germination and emergence with a switch to a sideband opener. SL 

It's time to check post- herbicide efficacies

The most important role of a farmer or agronomist during spray season is to not only apply the correct herbicides at the right time but to follow up with post-herbicide checks. Follow up should be done 10 to 14 days after application. More weed escapes could be corrected if only we checked how well the herbicides worked after application. Calling the chemical representatives at harvest to tell them the herbicide didn't work is futile and besides, herbicide inquiry cut off dates are usually around the 15th of July.

The following list is of herbicide injury symptoms for the top six herbicide groups I use to help you identify herbicide injury and efficacy.

Group 1
ACCase: Axial, Achieve Liquid, Horizon, Puma Super, Centurion
Symptoms: The first sign of injury on wild oats or green foxtail may appear as intervenal chlorosis or yellow striping on newer leaves. Older leaves may show red or purple. The growing point turns brown and dies. The newest leaf can be easily pulled from the crown where you will see a "pinching" at the base of the leaf. New growth dies first, such that the plant appears to take considerable time to die after application.

Group 2
ALS: Assert, Simplicity, Velocity, Everest, Frontline XL, Refine SG, Odyssey
Symptoms: In broadleaf weeds the first visible symptom is the termination of plant growth. A few days after application you may see yellowing, reddening and purpling of the leaves. In grassy weeds like wild oats, you may see a yellow striping and purplish discoloration of the leaves. The youngest leaves die first followed by older leaves. Death of grassy weeds may take 1 to 3 weeks to occur.  

Group 4
Auxinic: 2,4-D, MCPA, Attain, Buctril M, Curtail M, Frontline XL, Target 
Symptoms: Bending and twisting of stems and petioles, stem swelling, especially at the nodes, elongation, leaf cupping and leaf curling. These signs are followed by yellowing at the growing point, growth inhibition and wilting. 

Group 6
Photosynthetic Inhibitors: Buctril M, Pardner, Thumper, Infinity
Symptoms: Rapid yellowing and whitening begins at the leaf edges. Later symptoms include desiccation and a burned-off appearance of the leaves. Symptoms develop rapidly under full sunlight conditions.  

Group 9
EPSPS: Glyphosate: Roundup WeatherMax, Touchdown Total, Vantage PlusMax
Symptoms: Gradual wilting and yellowing at the growing point of the plant that advances into browning of above ground growth. Annuals may show signs within 2-4 days and perennials within 7-10 days. 

Group 10
Glutamine Synthetase Inhibitor: Liberty 150
Symptoms: Yellowing and wilting usually occur within one to three days after application, followed by necrosis or bleaching-death of plant tissue. Symptoms develop more rapidly under bright sunlight, high humidity and moist soil.   

Group 27
HPPD Inhibitors: Infinity, Velocity
Symptoms: Chlorosis or yellowing first seen on the newest leaves as early as three days after application. The systemic action of pyrasulfotole causes a bleaching effect over the entire plant. Leaf tissue begins to die seven to ten days after application depending on weather.

Make sure you follow this link http://www.weedsresearch.usask.ca/Herbicide%20Injury%20Symptoms/Group-1-.php
to the University of Saskatchewan for an excellent photo resource for the groups mentioned above.

Reference: How Herbicides Work, Alberta Ag publication

Compaction in silt-loam sandy soils after potatoes

I had to share this photo sent to me by Trevor Thornton from CropCare in Manitoba. This field is silty loam-sand and was in potatoes last year. It was seeded to Glen wheat in 2011 and I’d like you to notice the arrows which point out crop yellowing in the wheel tracks from last year and this year’s equipment traffic.

I wonder if the freeze thaw cycle in the next few months will alleviate the compaction in this field. SL

CWB Seeding Progress Report

Overall Prairie seeding progress has reached an estimated 86-per-cent complete, according to CWB crop and weather analysts. Progress is slightly ahead of last year, but well behind normal, when 96 per cent of the crop would be seeded by this time. Rainfall of between 10 and 85 millimetres continued across saturated southern growing areas of the Prairies last week. Pockets of Saskatchewan and Manitoba made some good seeding progress, but many farmers are now being forced to abandon significant acreage due to excess moisture. In more northerly regions, more rain is badly needed, with only light showers received last week.