Reading Time: < 1 minute A team from the University of Western Australia conducted a number of on-farm research trials to evaluate the effectiveness of the Harrington seed destructor. The results were impressive with greater than 90 per cent seed destroyed in the chaff of a number of different weed species.
PHOTOS: Seed destructors for weed control
PHOTOS: Pest Patrol: What are the best apps for agriculture?
Six apps that that can help you with crop production, record keeping, product support and social media
Reading Time: < 1 minute Below is a summary of a live demo of different agriculture apps that Peter Gredig (AgNition) and I gave at this year’s FarmSmart Agriculture Conference at the University of Guelph. Rule #1: Unless you’re looking for games like Farmville, Farming Simulator or Kid’s Farming Sim Tractor, search for apps in Google first before searching through […] Read more
Pest Patrol: Improving spray coverage and reducing drift
Working 9 to 5: What a way to kill those weeds!
Reading Time: 3 minutes Competitive broadleaf weeds, specifically lamb’s quarters and velvetleaf, are easier to kill when herbicides are applied during the day, generally between the hours of 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Most will joke that this is simply because civil servants like me do not want to work before 9 a.m. and after 6 p.m. Touché. However, […] Read more
Pest Patrol: Choosing winter wheat herbicides
Controlling weeds when you've underseeded red clover
Reading Time: 2 minutes Question: Besides Buctril M (bromoxynil/MCPA), are there other winter wheat herbicides that we can use to control weeds when we have underseeded red clover? The short answer is, “Not really.” There are other broadleaf herbicides including MCPA sodium and MCPA/MCPB that can also be used on winter wheat that is underseeded with red clover, but […] Read more
Pest Patrol: OMAFRA’s Peter Johnson retires
A valued colleague, @wheatpete, goes on to the next chapter of his distinguished career
Reading Time: 3 minutes Whenever I mention the name Peter Johnson to someone in agriculture, it always gets a reaction, be it a smile, a shake of the head or a roll of the eyes. That’s the price you pay for being passionate, unafraid to share an opinion and continually challenging the industry to step up their game. Not […] Read more
Pest Patrol: controlling nipplewort
I have nipplewort, and it seems to be very tolerant to herbicides. Any tips for controlling it?
Reading Time: 2 minutes The common name of this weed may seem risqué but understandable. The plant’s milky latex, which is believed to have anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties, was allegedly used in the 16th century to soothe cracking and inflammation of nursing mother’s breasts. Fast-forward to the present day and it’s thought more of as an annoying weed that is […] Read more
When it comes to crop rotation planning, there’s an app for that
#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA
Reading Time: < 1 minute Crop prices are certainly more bearish now than they have been during the past two seasons, and because of this some farmers will question whether they should tweak their cropping rotation in the short term or stay the course. Now there is a smartphone app called “Cash Cropper” that will help you to evaluate: The […] Read more
Pest Patrol: Weed control update on vetch
Can I do anything to get rid of vetch before seeding soybeans?
Reading Time: < 1 minute In my last column, I discussed my optimism for vetch control in soybeans using a few different pre-plant burn-down herbicides. Specifically, I had been impressed by some preliminary results when either flumioxazin (found in Valtera, Step-Up, Fierce and Guardian Plus) or saflufenacil (found in Eragon, Integrity and Optill) was mixed with glyphosate and the adjuvant Merge. […] Read more
Pest Patrol: options for tufted vetch
Can I do anything to get rid of vetch before seeding soybeans?
Reading Time: 2 minutes Tufted vetch (Viccia cracca) is a weedy perennial legume that is difficult to manage in cropping systems that use reduced tillage and particularly when annual legume crops like soybeans are grown. Tufted vetch also exhibits high tolerance to many herbicides, most notably glyphosate. A rate response study was conducted by the University of Guelph over […] Read more
What is the best way to clean your sprayer?
#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAF and MRA
Reading Time: 2 minutes Cleaning the sprayer is a critical part of every spray day. Pesticide residues clog and corrode equipment and can injure crops. So what is the best process for sprayer cleanout? Operators should clean out their sprayers every time they switch pesticides, but respondents of a survey conducted by Colorado State University in 2013 said they […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
