Agronomist Notes

Hello Reader

Seeding is finally underway in my territory with peas, fababeans and wheat hitting the ground first. Soil temperatures are averaging 5 to 6 degrees Celsius and hitting 12 to 14C in the afternoons. The 14-day weather outlook calls for temperatures in the mid to high teens and lows in the single digits. With excellent soil moisture and temperatures warming, seeding will progress rapidly and be in full swing by the end of this week in my area. On the flip side, roughly 50% of the Prairies are still under snow but melting quickly.

Mitch and I heaved the drill out of the snow last week to begin servicing. It’s hard to believe we’re in our fourth year of CTF and inter-row seeding. Yesterday we extended the Spray Coupe axles from 117-inch to 120-inch centers and will shift the offset hitch 3 inches to prepare for inter-row seeding. We’re also adding a hydraulic kit to push more oil to the air cart to solve an airflow issue. The side dress nitrogen toolbar arrives in mid-May so for once, we have only minor modifications to make this year. Phew!

In this week’s newsletter, we’ll take a quick look at my own on-farm trials this year. Next, we’ll look at post-seed herbicide options in cereals and also three residual options as many producers will chose to seed first and spray later. Finally, I’ll provide an update on the efficacy of the Dutch Air Guard seed brakes with some tips on installations.

Have a great week.

 

I can hear it now, "Remember the Spring of '13 when we had to tug the drill out from underneath a 6-month-old snow bank..."   Photo: S. Larocque

Beyond Agronomy Research Trials on Farm

We have a few new things going on this year at our place that we’ll be watching with anticipation:
 

1. Row-loading Folicur (tebuconazole) and Headline (pyraclostrobin) in furrow with liquid phosphate for disease suppression in CPS wheat. I learned this practice in Western Australia and I’m curious to see what control we can achieve with a foliar product applied in-furrow versus ‘traditional’ foliar application. (This use is not registered.)
2. High yield CPS wheat trial including split application of nitrogen, multiple fungicides and plant growth regulators. I’m really excited about this trial! The field is in fourth-year CTF, on pea stubble with a full moisture profile; it’s locked and loaded for a 150 bu/ac CPS yield.
3. MykePro mycorrhizae to improve phosphate uptake in wheat. I’ve heard big claims made on yield advantages and I’m game to investigate.
4. Side dress nitrogen trial with FAST 8100 toolbar. This is a revolutionary way to apply nitrogen on narrow row cereals and oilseeds at the right time, right place, right rate and right product. I’m all in. 

Post-seed herbicide options

You may be among the producers forced to choose between seeding and spraying this week. With the late start to spring, I suspect some fields will see a post-seed herbicide application rather than a pre-seed burn down. Should you find yourself applying a post-seed herbicide application, here are a few tips I've used to help you that you won't find on the product labels:
 

1. PrePass (Glyphosate + florasulam) Apply up to 3 to 4 days post-seed in wheat, barley, or oats. Ideally, you want to apply PrePass within 3 days after seeding to avoid any risk of injury. RISK: Florasulam can be washed into the root zone if an inch +/- of rain occurs after application when the crop is nearing ground crack. Sandier soils are at higher risk of florasulam leaching into the root zone and causing stunting and yellowing.
2. Express Pro (Tribenuron-methyl + metsulfuron-methyl) Do not apply Express Pro post-seed period! The metsulfuron-methyl component can leach into the root zone and stunt wheat or barley.
3. Heat (Saflufenacil) Apply Heat with Merge and glyphosate prior to ground crack in wheat, barley, oats and peas.
4. Express SG (Tribenuron-methyl) You can apply Express SG in wheat, barley and oats up until ground crack. I've applied Express SG with surfactant at the 1 and 2-leaf stage in wheat and barley safely. RISK: DO NOT apply a post-seed application of Express SG when planting peas. Express SG cannot be used pre or post-seed when planting canola. 
5. 2,4-D Ester Apply up to 200 ml/ac of 2,4-D Ester 700, 3 to 4 days post-seed in wheat and barley. RISK: Applying 2,4-D when the crop has begun to emerge can cause twisting and bending of the heads in wheat and barley. SL

Early season residual weed control strategies

It’s very common to have little to no weed growth in late-April or early-May when ground temperatures are cool. We all know the value of pre-seed burn down but struggle over spraying when it seems there are no weeds present. If you find yourself in this situation and want to control flushing weeds like volunteer canola or cleavers ahead of planting wheat and barley, here are three options.
 

1. Apply PrePass A (florasulam) alone at 40 ml/ac and leave out the PrePass B (glyphosate). If there aren’t grassy or perennial weeds present, I’ve had great success controlling flushing cleavers, volunteer canola, flixweed, shepherd’s-purse, narrow-leaved hawk’s beard, stinkweed and wild buckwheat. It’s amazing how many weeds germinate after the ground is disturbed at seeding and skipping the pre-burn is often regretted. The unused PrePass B can be saved and used on another field in the future.
2. Apply Express Pro at 7 g/ac with a surfactant like Agral 90 at 2L/1000L to give residual control of volunteer canola, seedling dandelions, flixweed, narrow-leafed hawk’s beard and wild buckwheat. I’ve had great success with this option and it’s more convenient than splitting a case of PrePass as suggested above. SL
3. Apply Heat at 28 g/ac with Merge at 200 ml/ac to give residual control of volunteer canola, cleavers, wild buckwheat, wild mustard and stinkweed. You do need a rainfall to activate this herbicide which is one downside compared to Express Pro and PrePass. SL

Improve seed distribution with Dutch air guard seed brakes

Proper seed placement and distribution is key to maximizing germination, emergence, maturity and yield. Unfortunately, today’s air drills are not equipped to distribute seed accurately, especially when drill widths exceed 40 feet. The combination of unmatched primary hose lengths and massive air requirements necessary to push large volumes of seed and fertilizer creates uneven seed distribution. Wind speeds in some cases can vary by as much as 18mph across the drill and create emergence patterns similar to what you see in the top photo.

The bottom photo shows the Dutch Air Guard seed brake attached to a JD 1870 ConservaPak. So far, clients running Dutch Air Guards are having success seeding wheat at rates above 150 lbs/ac. The air brakes are operating as intended and allowing clients to maintain high air speeds to avoid plugging while slowing the speed of the seed exiting the opener. This will be ideal in canola where seeding depth is so critical. 

Initial tests results: Wind set at 4200 rpm on 50ft JD drill with 1910 tank:

48 mph wind speed before seed brakes
28 mph with seed brakes on, all shims in
38 mph with seed brakes on, all shims out

For some reason, even with the air brakes installed and the caps closed with no air venting, the wind speed dropped by 10 mph. The design must create some turbulence insided which slows the wind speed down.   

Tips for installing Dutch Air Guards
 

• Install below frame and try to keep as vertical as possible.
• Measure wind speed at the bottom of air brake, not the bottom of the seed boot.
• Once installed find the average speed of your fastest runs. Then, increase the speed of the slower runs by adjusting the shims to match the fastest runs. This will balance the air across the drill.
• A rule of thumb is to crank seed out of the seed opener and so long as the seed pushes one inch out of the opener before it falls, it is set fine.
• Wind speeds vary from drill to drill so don’t get hung up on a specific speed.
• Warm up the oil first and then check wind speeds. As the oil warms up the fan speed changes. You want consistency when measuring wind speeds.
• Set your wind speed where you would normally and add 10% with the seed brakes on.

The Dutch Air Guards are a low-cost investment for the job they do. So far the results have been excellent with improvements in seed placement, reduction in gaps in the furrow and balanced wind speed across each drill. It takes a little fine-tuning to balance wind speeds on some drills but the end result is worth it. If you haven’t measured the variability in wind speed across your drill, I highly suggest you do. It's only when you meaure that you realize how ridiculous it is to throw seed into a furrow at 48 mph and expect good results. SL

For more information visit Dutch Air Guards.

 Photos: S. Larocque

Reader comments

Shedding light on canola seeding weights

As you know we're planting canola with Case IH planters here in Ontario. Seed size is a huge issue but a reality.  Something we've done is include an air pump, reservoir and ends mounted on each row unit to constantly blow out the plugged holes on the seed disc between the drop and fill portion of the disc.  Looks very promising to help us with that problem.

Darren Fietsma from Crop Guard Services in Ponoka, AB sells Crop Guard Air Box's to clean out vacuum planter canola meter disks at each revolution. His contact info is cropguard@hotmail.com or 403-357-7236.

     Ed Hanson, Cangrow Crop Solutions, Ontario

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Canola Nov 13: The short and long term trends are down.

 

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