Agronomist Notes
Producers are just starting into harvest with the majority of the peas off and a bit of malt barley. I’ve had client malt barley yields in the high 90’s and low 100’s bu/ac so far. Ring the bell, ladies and gents! If yields continue to come off like they have, we’re in for a banner year.
Canola swathing is nearing 75% complete and the first of the wheat should start in a few days. The ten-day forecast is for temperatures in the high 20’s with no frost in sight, so high quality is very likely. I think we’ll need it to afford the expense of next year’s crop. Rough estimates for 2012 show fertilizer and crop insurance total $100 or more an acre plus seed, herbicide, fungicide, and fuel. Yikes!
In this issue of Beyond Agronomy News, we’ll look at why today is a good time to start fine tuning the depth on your air drill. We’ll look at stored grain insect protection, a heavy seeding rate success story in malt barley and some quick facts on swathing canola in the heat. We’ll also glance at maximizing grain yield in barley through delayed leaf senescence with a little video update at one of the high yield trial locations. We’ll finish with fundamental and technical grain market news.
Photo: A 100ft Apache desiccating wheat on September 5, 2011 at JHB Farms, near Beiseker, AB.
Agronomy
Now is a great time to discover flaws in your air drill
Like most farmers, I dream of table top fields that are even corner to corner and look stunning from the road and inside. Unfortunately, table top even fields with even maturity seem to be a rarity these days. I’ve been to a few farms recently to investigate the cause of uneven green strips across fields. Each time the underlying issue was an unevenly levelled drill. If you’re in a similar situation in your fields, now is the best time to fine tune your drill for next year.
Have a look at the top photo. It shows green striping in a field of wheat. Once I began to pull plants out of the ground in the mature area and compared them to the green areas, I noticed a 1 ¼ inch difference in seeding depth. I paced out the rows and the direction of travel during seeding and discovered that about 16 feet of this 50-foot drill was seeding 1 ¼ inches deeper. The 16 feet was exactly the width of the centre section.
I’ve seen many fields this year with straight green lines and wonder how many drills, shanks or sections are unlevel.
With seeds easy to find at this time of year with a quick tug of a few plants, you can start to nail down which rows are seeding too deep or too shallow.
The easiest way to look for uneven seeding depth is to find the direction of travel at seeding and measure the width of your drill in the stubble. Pull plants out from each shank and look for the ones out of sync. Mark the shanks that need depth adjustment and shim or un-shim the shanks to bring everything into line this winter. SL
Stored Grain Insects Prevention
The first step in preventing bug infestations is to ensure bins are thoroughly cleaned before filling with grain. A typical hiding place for insects is in the space between the edge of the bin wall and the floor. These areas can be treated with a product like Malathion (not for canola storage) or diatomaceous earth before the bin is filled.
Since insect infestations usually begin at the top of the bin, some producers add diatomaceous earth to the last few loads that go into the bin. Diatomaceous earth kills insects by scraping away their protective waxy outer layer and causing them to dehydrate. The product does not deteriorate with time and will remain effective. Remember that diatomaceous earth is a preventative measure and not a curative.
Treatment Information
- Detailed information about treatments for grain can be found in the Guide to Crop Protection on the Saskatchewan Agriculture website http://www.agr.gov.sk.ca/docs/production/CropProtGuide2007_insect.pdf
- You can also find information on preventing, monitoring and controlling stored grain insects at the Canadian Grain Commission website http://www.grainscanada.gc.ca/entomology/control01-e.htm
- DO NOT use malathion to treat bins destined to store canola as pesticide residues threaten marketing options. Refer to the following link for details http://www.canola-council.org/pesticide_link2.html
High plant stand density success story in malt barley
Research has shown that high plant stand densities in malt barley result in uniform kernel size and increased plumpness. To many, it’s a bit of a paradigm shift because most people associate heavy seeding rates with thin kernels and reduced plumpness. I can tell you that after several years with wet and dry finishes, higher plant densities in malt barley do in fact increase plumpness and uniformity.
Long time malt grower Kenton Ziegler has been adjusting his seeding rate upward that last few years after listening to a half-baked agronomist. This year, he aimed for 28 plants ft/2 which gave him a seeding rate of 125 lbs/ac. He managed to pull off 95 bushels per acre of AC Metcalfe after hail adjustment with 98% germination, 98% plump and 12.4% protein. Now he’s telling me he wants to aim higher.
I recommend on most soil types other than very sandy land that producers should target 30 plants per square foot. With an average 1000 kernel weight of 45 grams, 98% germination and 10% mortality, you would be looking at a seeding rate of 150 lbs/ac. That seems like a huge amount of seed and it is when the average producer is seeding at 90 to 100 lbs/ac. To avoid a shock to your system gradually increase the plant population over time from 24/ft2 to 28/ft2 and so on. You’ll see the difference in yield, maturity and malt quality, a combination that makes the 150 lb seeding rate a little easier to swallow. SL
Swathing canola during high temperatures can increase green count
With the ten day forecast calling for temperatures in the high 20’s, it is important to avoid swathing in the heat of the day to avoid high green seed counts. Swathing in the heat can lead to an increase in green seed because the enzymes that break down chlorophyll can be destroyed by high temperatures. The enzymes begin to break down when canola seed temperatures rise above 25C during swathing. Swathing in the morning or evening allows cooler air to enter the centre of the swath and reduce the risk of heating. SL
A picture of natural plant senescence
One of the key ways to maximize yield and grain fill is to allow plants to drop leaves or senesce naturally. Without stress (drought, hail, disease, low fertility), wheat and barley will ripen from the head down starting with the kernels, followed by the stem and then leaves. Unfortunately, the opposite occurs for most in Western Canada with leaves dropping first, followed by stems then heads. The end result is a reduction in kernel weight and yield.
That wasn’t the case in a local high yield barley trial. After a very intense agronomy program including seeding rates over 170 lbs/ac, nitrogen rates over 140 lbs/ac, two fungicides applications (Bumper and Prosaro) and plant growth regulators, I’m happy to say we’ve achieved the Holy Grail I was looking for. Take notice of the barley in the picture. The kernels are below 20% moisture, the stems are dead and the leaves are starting to die back naturally from leaf tip downward toward to the stem. These barley plants have had every opportunity to maximize grain fill and are ready for harvest this week. The crop is AC Metcalfe and was seeded May 14th.
For more details see my YouTube video http://youtu.be/kD750INTpEU
Reader Comments
“Every year we look at the economics of selling straw, current value here is Ca $100 per ton in the swath, buyer pays for baling stacking carting and weather risk on top of that. Straw sales usually net me about $50,000 enough to pay for 1 labour unit. Dairy farmers feeding fodder beet seem to prefer straw to put some fibre into a cow’s winter diet. In the North Island last year farmers were paying Ca$300 per ton for bales delivered out of Canterbury. The joke was that it might be better to forget about heading the grain and bale the whole lot up.” Chris Dennison, New Zealand
