August 27, 2013

Agronomist Notes

Hello Reader

Warm, dry weather has set in with humidity levels dropping below 30%. Temperatures will continue in the high 20’s for the next week to ten days. Crops are turning very quickly; pre-harvesting wheat is in full swing, swathing canola is 25% swathed, pea harvest is 70% complete and malt barley harvest just underway. Pea yields have been massive with averages above 70 bu/ac (4.7 T/ha) the norm. Early malt barley yields are hovering around 100 bu/ac with good weight, quality unknown yet but likely very good. Canola yields should be average to slightly above average with wheat yields well above average. Time will tell.

This week we’ll look at the power of inter-row seeding lentils into tall wheat stubble. Next, I’ll share some early and exciting results on plant growth regulator trials in peas and finish with some tips on residue management. We’ll end with technical grain market news.

Photo: Brian Miller’s field of AC Harvest wheat ready for pre-harvest glyphosate, near Okotoks, AB, August 26th 2013.

Crop Staging

(Calgary to Drumheller to Three Hills)

Seeded May 1-7 May 8-15 May 15-22
Wheat Mature Hard dough Medium dough
Canola Mature Mature Late pod
Barley Mature Hard dough Medium dough
Peas Mature Mature Preharvest

Steve's tips & tricks of the week

Follow me on Twitter for in-season updates @BeyondAgronomy

Make note of wild oat escapes and look at alternative herbicide options this fall. Group 3 & Group 8 products like Avadex, Edge, Rival ideally.
Fine-tune your straw choppers. There’s going to be some serious material put through these combines this harvest.
Some producers are booking urea at $460 tonne delivered.
If inter-row seeding, keep stubble tall (12"+) to reduce residue loads on the ground.
The warm weather will dry down crops faster than glyphosate. Glyphosate will be usefull as a pre-harvest tool to control weeds first and possibly dry late green tillers second.
Look for late season disease pressure in cereals. Is your fungicide program keeping up?

Inter-row seeding lentils is a no-brainer

Tall stubble is key

Inter-row seeding into tall stubble is completely changing the way we plant and harvest pulse crops. It’s amazing to see the changes in plant architecture from a simple adjustment to seeding between tall stubble rows. Crops like lentils begin to set pods higher on the stems and standability improves by giving lentils a trellis to lean on. The result is better harvestability through increased header height and faster travelling speeds. Don Varty from Elrose, Saskatchewan, shared a success story showing the power of inter-row seeding lentils into tall durum wheat stubble.

The photo you see above shows mature red lentils lodged in the wheel tracks marked by arrows, from the 4WD crushing the stubble during seeding and standing everywhere outside of the wheel tracks where stubble was left standing. The middle photo shows red lentils 22 inches tall leaning on the durum stubble. The bottom photo taken at night shows green lentils 36 inches tall lodged in the wheel tracks and standing everywhere else.

To further the point, research from Australia looked at inter-rowing lentils into tall stubble and the results showed an increased lentil height by 2 to 3 inches and the height of the first pods increased by 2 to 4 inches. Red lentils can typically set pod 3 inches off the ground but stretching it another 2 to 4 inches gives you breathing room and gets your header off the ground. Research from Ag Canada and AusGrain both showed no yield advantage to growing pulse crops between the rows. The gains were made in harvestability.

Inter-row seeding takes planning and forces a slight learning curve but is undeniably worth it, especially in pulse crops. I have examples of 80+ bu/ac peas standing tall this year and our own field last year that trellised on the stubble after a hail and rainstorm tried plowing it into the ground. No more swallowing rocks with the combine and more tonnes per hour. I strongly recommend you look at keeping taller stubble if you’re attempting to inter-row seed pulses next year. The old issue of harvestability, pulses’ number one nemesis, is irrelevant with inter-row seeding. SL

Research AusGrain
Research AgCanada

Photos: D. Varty

PGR trials in peas show big responses

Chlormequat on CDC Meadow peas

In my territory, pulse crops are not high on the priority list for crop rotations due to the reputation of poor harvestability and rotor crushing rocks. With this in mind, we decided to apply a plant growth regulator at a cut rate on CDC Meadow peas and crossed our fingers for improved standability. The initial results show serious potential!

The peas were planted May 6th at 10 plants ft/2 (200 lbs/ac) with a double rate of TagTeam inoculant. Headline fungicide (160 ml/ac) was applied with Cycocel Extra (460 g/L) at 250 ml/ac at early flower on the treatment side with straight Headline fungicide on the rest of the field. The in-season observations showed up to a 10-inch difference in plant height and a slight improvement in lodging. The check was inter-row seeded into 14-inch wheat stubble so it was standing very well. The bottom photo you see here shows the peas standing erect in an 80+ bu/ac area of the field.

Check: 71 bu/ac with yields reaching up to 85 bu/ac
PGR: 80 bu/ac with yields reaching up to 95 bu/ac
Cost: $11.60/ac
Return: $80.00/ac

The 15% yield response was more than I expected and was not due to improved harvestability. The 250 ml/ac of chlormequat combined with Headline at early flower shortened the vines but seem to have improved moisture and nutrient use efficiency. For a first attempt and a wild guess on rate and timing, I think we might be on to something here. The next step will be more replicated trials and a request for companies like Engage Agro to seek registration. If we can boost pea yields by 15% and maintain standability, we’ll see a greater adoption of field peas in Western Canada. SL

Photo: CDC Meadow peas standing tall after chlormequat application but yield boost did not come from improved harvestability. Jeff Skytt, Hi Heat Ltd.

Proper residue management key to higher yields & maturity

One of the biggest yield and maturity robbers in our production system is poor residue management. Every year I see poor emergence in canola and cereals from uneven, heavy residue levels. Unfortunately, we are coming into another harvest with heavy residues and likely higher humidity levels as the nights get cooler. This creates a recipe for disaster in 2014 as residue spread is reduced and residue loads from multiple years increase.

The majority of producers use heavy harrows to manage straw and they do a decent job behind conventional combines. Where I see the biggest issue of poor residue management is behind rotary combines. Heavy harrows can actually move conventional straw around because it is typically longer compared to rotary combines that leave very short residue. Today’s fine cut choppers do a great job of turning straw into chaff or very small pieces but it makes it impossible to manage properly after harvest.

The biggest issue with poor residue management occurs during ideal weather conditions, not tough or damp conditions. Today's straw choppers do a very good job of spreading damp straw and chaff. They begin to do a poor job when residue is hot and dry, smashed to pieces and the winds velocity just can't carry the fine chopped residue out the width of the cut. That's where knowing the conditions and fine tuning your chopping system comes into play.

So, before you get too heavy into harvest I’ve listed a few changes that can be made to either shorten straw and spread it more evenly or increase straw length so it can be managed with heavy harrows. Hopefully you can avoid the hangover that will come with the heavy residue this fall:

You can adjust the length of the straw by adjusting the rotor speed of chopper. Some have two or more speeds.
The length of the chopped straw is controlled by the stationary knife, which can be adjusted to different depths. An optional controller bar is also available to inhibit flow.
Some combines allow you to adjust deflectors individually both in front and rear side. There are deflectors behind the discharge beater that can be adjusted to redistribute the straw mats into chopper.
The rear side veins on some fine cut choppers are the only ones that are adjustable.
The spreading width can also be set by adjusting the spreading hood up and down.
Deflectors can be adjusted for side wind compensation on the John Deere power cast system and Lexion combines.

Please note that I’m not recommending we move back to conventional combines, nor am I giving you an exhaustive review of chopper settings on all makes and models of combines. I’m merely suggesting we don’t need to turn straw into chaff with fine cut straw choppers. If you do have fine cut choppers behind a rotary combine, take the time to fine tune the width of the spread and the size of the straw. There’s too much money at stake to ignore one of the biggest yield and maturity robbers in our system today. SL

For a good read on setting straw choppers click here.

Photo: The goal is to send residue flying across the width of your cut. Photo source: S. Larocque top, Robert Ruwoldt bottom.