N on Wheat

Mother nature is taking her sweet time getting here with spring.  Last year, the majority of N went down on the wheat late March - early April.

This year, it is hard to see a tinge of green in some fields.  The only areas showing a little bit of green are those that were protected from the frost by snow cover until recently.  There are some people out spreading Nitrogen this week.  I personally think it is too early to be out with any N fertilizer.  The plant needs to be growing to use the available nitrogen, and the wheat is still dormant. 

With the forecast of rain for next week, the wheat should start to green up and it will be time to roll.

So when it is time, what amount of N should you be putting down?  Have we learned anything more from the SMART trials?  For sure, I think the biggest takeaway from the research is that higher N rates are not for everyone. 

Before bumping up to 120-150lb/ac of N you need a few things:
-a commitment to a fungicide application at heading, and possibly an earlier one if needed
-a variety that can handle the higher N rates without lodging issues
-good enough winter survival and yield potential of the field to justify the rates

And should you include sulphur with your N application?  If you have a steady source of manure, probably not.  If no manure, consider 10lbs of S with your N and do some test strips.

Random Tidbits for a Snowy Day

The season of winter meetings is coming to a close.  Hopefully, there will not be too much of an intermission till #plant13.  (for those that don't know, that is a #hashtag.  There will be a Twitter post in the near future)

I thought I would share a few of the random tidbits that I learned at the various meetings I attended winter.

*Earthworms exude nitrates or ammonia depending on the soil conditions.

*The Brassica family is like "Red Bull" for soil organisms.  When planted as a cover crop, the population and activity of soil organisms greatly increases.

*Have a dandelion problem in your field?  You probably have excess Potassium levels. 

*Faba Beans are cold tolerant and takes the heat, watch for them in Ontario soon as a cover crop or a niche crop.

*Oat residues can inhibit the germination of certain fungal scarlatina

*by including wheat and clover in a Corn-Soy-Wheat rotation over a C-S-C-S rotation you will see a 5% increase in corn yield, 8% increase in soys.  Use Red Clover with the wheat and get another 4.5% in corn yield.

*we often forget that the LibertyLink gene is also part of some corn hybrids.  In the fight against glyphosate resistance don't forget this potential option for weed control (just check to be sure your hybrid has the trait before heading to the field with a tank full).

*Pioneer has some great R5 products coming down the pipe this year.  More info to follow!

*A corn plant can "see" any other green living plant with in 8cm of it.  I know I already posted a blog about that but I find this research very cool!

*Pioneer has their own YouTube channel.  Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/user/PioneerHB  Check it out for videos about topics like research, products, equipment set up and agronomy.

What a Difference a Year Makes

I spent St. Patrick's Day 2012 on the beach in Grand Bend with my family.  We played in the sand, ate ice cream and enjoyed the sunny 25C weather.

Just a little different this year!  The corn seed is still waiting to be sorted, no planters have been dragged out yet, and the snow blowers are still ready to use.

Is this more normal spring weather a bad thing compared to last year?

The earliest corn I heard about for 2012 was planted March 20th in northern Huron county.  It took a few hard frosts, lost some population due to cold emergence issues but in the end the yield reductions were not as large as I would have thought.  Compared to April 12th planting, hybrid A at 198bus/ac lost 42 bus and hybrid B at 160bus/ac lost 73 bus.  An interesting experiment for when the weather allows but it shows that mid April planting in the right conditions is the right choice.

In the same area, there were soys planted March 22,  In yield, the reverse occurred.  At 64.9 bus/ac the March planted soys were 2.4 bus better.  Should we plant our soys before our corn?  I don't think so but the results do show that you should be trying to get those soys in as early as possible.  The larger the soybean plant by flowering (the end of June), the more potential yield. 

One plus of this more normal spring is the snow cover and cold.  Last years mild winter and early spring gave the advantage to the bugs in 2012.  Hopefully, between the more normal weather and the cycle of damage causing insects and beneficial insects we should be in for a few less insecticide treated acres in 2013.

So, as this east wind blows and we expect another 5cm of snow and freezing rain today - relax - it's not April yet.

Monocots and Dicots in Grade Three!

 

My eight year old son brought this science test home from his grade three class.  I have to admit, I was floored!  I know it was a while after grade three that I learned the difference between a monocot and a dicot!

Always Learning

 

Pioneer has released it's 2012 Agronomy Sciences Research Summary.  Information for the guide is gathered from across North America.  There are 47 pages of agronomy gold in it.

 

Some of the articles I found most interesting:

 

1) Stress Emergence in Corn. 

     The optimal temperature for corn emergence is in the range of 80-90F  When a dry seed imbibes (takes on) cold water 50F or below, there is an increase in seed death and abnormalities.  A seed will imbibe most of the water it needs for germination within the first 30 minutes it is exposed to moisture.  Therefor, even if you plant the seed into cool dry soil and it turns cold and wet 5 days later, there will still be more emergence stress response than if the seed has a chance to imbibe warmer water for a few hours and then it turns cold.

   

2) Optimizing Corn Seeding Rates

     Since 2008 the % of acres in North America with seeding rates above 33,000 seed/ac has gone from 19% to almost 35% in 2012.  Pioneer continues to do extensive work with their hybrids to determine the most economic planting rate (MEPR) by hybrid.  This work includes an evaluation of different yield potentials.  For example, the MEPR for 38N94 in a 150bus/ac or less environment is 32,900seed/ac while in a 150-200bus/ac environment the MEPR is 36,000.  You can find the Seeding rate calculator on the Pioneer website or you can now download an App as well.

 

3) Variation in Corn Yield Across Planter Width.

     As planters get larger, Pioneer has started to study the effect of width on corn yield across the rows.  Trials in Minnesota found that the average corn yield on the outside wing were significantly greater than those from the centre by an average of 11.3 bus.  This yield difference is a function of the compaction caused by the wheel traffic.  Why this is important to consider is when planning side by sides or plots with large planters, steps need to be taken to ensure that the results are not unfairly biased due to the differential impact of wheel traffic among the rows.

 

This is just a sampling of the 24 articles found in the Agronomy guide.  If you are interested in a copy, pleased let me know.





Corn In, Meat Out

Every corn seed company offers a few pages of hybrids for silage.  They have done the testing and know how the hybrids rank for whole plant digestibility, milk or beef per acre, etc, on their silage line up for ruminants.  But how many have results for digestible energy of the grain for monogastrics?

Pioneer has ranked their entire North American lineup for the Pork and Poultry market by developing and testing for HAE products (High Available Energy).


Not all kernels of corn are the same. Below is a graph of a sample of different hybrids and their digestibility.


There can be a spread of as much as 6% in the digestible energy between two different hybrids.  Think of that in the difference of feed that you need to put in front of the animal to satisfy their caloric intake.

So other than a large scale feeding trial, how do we know what the better hybrid is?  After years of research with feeding trials and calibration, Pioneer has developed a quick 50 second test using Near Infrared Transmittance (NIRT) to determine the digestible energy in a hybrid sample.  The result is a list of Pioneer's HAE products.  Here is a link to that list:

 https://www.pioneer.com/CMRoot/Pioneer/US/products/corn/end_use/state_pdfs/NAS_HAE_2011.pdf

As a pork or poultry producer, you now have one more tool in the toolbox to select the best hybrid for your operation.  You still need to balance the agronomics (GIB tolerance, yield, etc) with energy output but the HAE products from Pioneer keep you an extra step ahead.

For more information on the HAE products and testing, here is a link to Pioneer's website:

 https://www.pioneer.com/home/site/ca/products/end-use/hae

The Plight of the Honey Bee

Currently the North American press about Neonicotinoids and Honey Bees has become a dull roar.  There are still a few articles in the Ag news but it's moved off of the front page.  However, in Europe there has been some developments.

After the European Food Safety Authority reviewed reports of Honey Bee decline due to the use of neonic's such as Syngenta's Cruiser, there is news that the European Commission will propose a partial ban of key neonic's but not a complete ban.

Syngenta has countered that the commission has come to a decision by basing it on highly theoretical conclusions and that the commission failed to take into account all relevant studies.

Bottom line, I think the Bees are going to be front page news here again shortly.

Here are a few links to look at concerning the EU decision:

http://www.syngenta.com/eame/plightofthebees/en/Pages/home.aspx

http://www.fwi.co.uk/articles/29/01/2013/137389/partial-ban-on-neonicotinoids-proposed-by-european-commission.htm

Quick test

 

I took this picture last fall on the edge of a corn field.  How many weeds can you identify?  I am up to eleven.

Some Very Cool Corn Seedling Research

Last week I attended the Ontario Certified Crop Advisor Annual Meeting and Conference.  It's always an interesting few days as the sessions can be very scientific or political and it's only open to CCAs.

One of the most interesting sessions at the conference last week was presented by Doctor Clarence Swanton who is a professor at the University of Guelph.

A few years ago, Dr Swanton first introduced us to the idea that a corn plant can "sense" weed comeption and alter it's growth.  These findings led to the establishment of the critical weed free time for corn seedlings.

Now, he has expanded his research to determine what exactly makes the corn seedling change and how we can prevent it from happening.

-a corn plant seedling can sense competition by the far red light that is reflected off of anything green growing close to it (around 8cm).  This includes other corn seedlings.  Stubble and trash do not reflect the far red light.

-Even when underground the roots and shoots can sense the far red light up to 2cm deep depending on soil conditions and subsequently alter their growth before they are even out of the ground.

-The reaction to the far red is a release of free radicals (basically an atom or molecule the is very ready for a chemical reaction).  Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) is one such free radical that is released and then is oxidized in the plant tissue.  This can cause alteration of DNA, oxidation of proteins and lipids and alteration of plant metabolism.  The amount of H2O2 in the leaves and roots can be measured as an index of the plants reaction to the far red light.

Now here is where it gets really interesting.  Dr Swanton has found that treating the corn seed with Thiamethoxam (Cruiser, Syngenta) reduced the amount of H2O2 in the seedling, and resulted in no altered seedling growth when exposed to the far red light from weed competition. 

So the main take away here is not that if you have Cruiser treated seed you can let your field get weedy and spray at 8 leaf corn.  Rather, that some seed treatments do more than just protect the seedling from disease and insects and are a valuable part of integrated weed management. 

Other thoughts

This is phenomenal research and we are very lucky to have Dr Swanton working on this for Ontario Agriculture!

Missed Opportunity... or is it?

Christmas and New Years have come and gone, but they have left the flu and cold at our house.  I had planned on attending a day at the Southwest Agricultural Conference in Ridgetown but unfortunately, I was a little under the weather.  It has been years since I have missed the conference and I'm still a little disappointed that I missed it.

I had high hopes of sharing some new and useful info from the conference on my blog for you.  And I still can!

Follow the link below and you will find video of most of the sessions.  Over the next little bit I am going to take some time to view the videos and will share my thoughts on the blog.

http://www.southwestagconference.ca/presentations2013.cfm