It's January 19th. there is about 3 inches of snow blowing around out there and it's probably going to rain again in the next week. The temperature has fluctuated between +10C to -25C, with no consistency. So what does this mean for our growing season next year?
Bugs
Monday, January 16, 2012
What Does This Weather Mean?
I don't think that I can provide a firm answer on this one but I can share some theories.
-If we get a solid 10 days of below -10C, Ontario's overwintering insect population is greatly thinned out, however, it is not too often that we have those conditions.
-Since we had a later than normal fall, there is the chance that some insect populations increased and we could see that continue into 2012.
-The weather conditions present at the reproductive stage of an insect effect population much more that the conditions over the winter.
Soil Moisture Levels
Soil Moisture Levels
-I haven't made up my mind on this one yet. My initial thoughts are that we are still receiving the same amount of precipitation in the form of a rain/snow mix as we would in pure snow. I think the rain/snow mix is actually better for the soil as we won't have the big run off of surface water that comes after 3 feet of snow melts. What do you think?
Wheat Vernalization
Wheat Vernalization
Most Winter Wheat varieties grown in Ontario need at least 4 to 6 weeks of temperatures under 10C to initiate their reproductive cycle. We have that and will continue to get that. For best vernalization, the temperature should be between 0-5C. The best stage for the plant to go into vernalization is 5 leaf, however, vernalization still occurs from germination on. This means that even if your wheat has not emerged, as long as it has germed, vernalization will occur.
Soil Health
Soil Health
-Winter's freeze thaw cycle breaks up compacted layers. This year, we seem to see a freeze thaw every week However, the frost has not gone very deep yet so while the shallow compaction may be broken up, nothing is happening to the deeper compaction yet.
-This winter there are some theories that with warmer wetter soils that we are loosing more Nitrate than usual. I don't think that this is the case. Nitrification of ammonia does occur in warm wet soils however the bacteria that carry out the process are greatly slowed when soil temperatures fall below 10C.
Heaving
Heaving
-As I said, we have seen a lot of freeze thaw cycles this winter and our soils do have a fair amount of moisture in them. This can cause some problems for plants in the ground already such as wheat and alfalfa. In a normal winter with snow cover, the solid actually dries under the soil, this year it is staying quite wet.
-Heaving in wheat is going to depend on seeding depth and plant stage. The shallower the seed, the more likely for that seed to pop right out of the ground. A safe depth for heaving is around 1.25 inches. Also, the larger the root system on the wheat seedling - the better the anchor.
-Heaving in alfalfa depends on the type of root system. A tap root is more likely to be heaved out of the ground than a branched root system. Root disease pressure can also effect heaving in alfalfa.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment