Reading Time: 2 minutes Do we have Palmer amaranth in Ontario? How do I tell it apart from other pigweeds? Thankfully, Ontario does not have Palmer amaranth, a pigweed species that in the U.S. is resistant to five different herbicide modes of action (Table 1 below). However, we do have waterhemp, another pigweed species that is often confused with […] Read more
Pest Patrol: Do we have Palmer amaranth in Ontario?
#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA
Pest Patrol: Do potassium levels affect my weed management?
#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA
Reading Time: 2 minutes Soils that test “low” in potassium negatively affect weed control in soybeans. When soils test low for potassium, soybean plants will express deficiency symptoms that reduce canopy closure and allow more weeds to germinate and compete with the soybean crop for other resources. In the spring of 2014, Dr. François Tardif and I began a […] Read more
Pest Patrol: What advances in precision agriculture would benefit weed control?
#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA
Reading Time: 2 minutes Auto steer and real-time kinematics (RTK) that allow an operator to repeatedly get within millimetres of a target are, to me, the most obvious investment that you could make to improve the efficiency of mechanical weed control practices like inter-row cultivation. Operator fatigue and accidental damage to the crop would be greatly reduced by integrating […] Read more
Pest Patrol: A survey of weeds in corn, soybeans and winter wheat across six southwestern Ontario counties
#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA
Reading Time: 2 minutes The last survey of weeds populating fields in Ontario was conducted in 1988. Therefore, I felt it was time to do another survey and compare the weed species populating corn, soybeans and winter wheat found in 1988 versus 2014 (see tables further down). In general, the abundant species identified in 1988 were also abundant in […] Read more
PHOTOS: Pest Patrol: What is the best way to get rid of common burdock?
Seeds may be viable for up to three years so manage accordingly
Reading Time: 2 minutes Knowing how this plant reproduces will influence how you manage it. Burdock is biennial and reproduces only by seed. Following seed germination in the spring, burdock will grow into a large leafy rosette plant with a large taproot that allows it to overwinter. In the second year, burdock will flower and produce the burrs we […] Read more
Pest Patrol: Using the ‘Pest Manager’ app
Weeds and weed management information in the palm of your hand
Reading Time: 2 minutes We have good pest management information and research. The challenge can be to get that information to the farmers who need it. Earlier this summer, a smartphone app was launched called Pest Manager. Currently, only information on weeds and weed management is included, so I tell farmers it’s what you would get if a weed […] Read more
PHOTOS: Pest Patrol: Giant hogweed, and its look-alike that’s far more friendly
A farmer asks, “I’m worried about giant hogweed because I hear it causes severe dermatitis and blindness. How do I identify it?”
Reading Time: < 1 minute When plant parts of giant hogweed are torn open, the plant exudes a sap that contains light-activated chemicals known as furanocoumarins. When these compounds come in contact with the skin, they cause burn-like rashes and/or blisters, the severity of which will depend on how much sap you are exposed to. There is one very common […] Read more
PHOTOS: Pest Patrol: Be prepared for white mould on soybeans
Factors favouring white mould and what you can do to control it
Reading Time: < 1 minute In 2014, we saw a lot of white mould in the Ontario soybean crop, so I asked Albert Tenuta, our provincial field crops pathologist (on Twitter @alberttenuta) for the best way to minimize this disease for 2015 and beyond. Factors Favouring White Mould 1. High yield potential crop/field 2. Field history of white mould 3. […] 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
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
