Reading Time: 2 minutes All farmers know that poor weed control reduces income. Staying on top of income-robbing weeds requires two things: first, knowing which species cause farmers the most grief and, second, understanding which management practices consistently provide good weed control. I asked over 30 agronomists from across Ontario to share their biggest challenges and successes in weed […] Read more
Pest Patrol: Control of income-robbing weeds
#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA
Pest Patrol: Dog strangling vine control with herbicides
#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA
Reading Time: 2 minutes An invasive perennial weed from the milkweed family, dog strangling vine is extremely difficult to control once it gets established (Figure 1 at top). Progress has been made on biological control of this weed in Ontario through the release of Hypena opulenta, a leaf-feeding caterpillar. However, integrated strategies that include both biological and chemical methods […] Read more
U.S. legal system helps weeds win
Luckily, Canadian producers are still outside the reach of the Ninth Circuit Court ruling on dicamba-based herbicides
Reading Time: 5 minutes In farming circles, the term “less-forgiving” has become more than a cliché. It’s now a mirror on reality. Farmers are already dealing with an incredible list of challenges and complexities, including everything from new seed technologies, concerns about land costs, equipment decisions, commodity markets, trade issues… you name it. Now growers in the U.S. must […] Read more
Focus on the ear leaf in corn production
Keeping the corn plant weed and stress free early allows the plant to form a larger cob, up to its genetic potential
Reading Time: 6 minutes It seems every growing season brings something new for growers to manage. Sometimes it’s a new disease or its anticipated arrival. Other years, it’s learning to cope with the impact of weather conditions, or a sudden weed flare-up. It’s a testament to modern agricultural science that the more we learn, the more questions we ask. […] Read more
Pest Patrol: How accurate are plant identification apps when it comes to weeds?
#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA
Reading Time: 2 minutes Recommendations for plant identification apps were recently making the rounds on social media. Of course it would be nice to accurately identify an unknown weed in your field by taking a picture instead of sending it to an “expert” or a diagnostic lab. However, many of the top-rated plant identification apps are not particularly accurate […] Read more
Pest Patrol: The latest word on nipplewort in cereals
#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA
Reading Time: 3 minutes Here’s a question in my in-box. “I have a customer with a no-till rotation that has nipplewort — a lot of it. We found some pretty decent options for most crops in the rotation to clean it up before planting, but he’s got some in his wheat this year too. “What would be our best […] Read more
Pest Patrol: Weed control in IP soybeans
#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA
Reading Time: 2 minutes For more than a decade now, the University of Guelph and OMAFRA have been comparing the level of weed control, crop safety and grain yield associated with different herbicide programs in food grade, non-GMO soybeans, otherwise known as IP (identity preserved) soybeans. Table 1 (see below) summarizes the weed control and crop injury achieved with […] Read more
As customers hoard pot brownies, weed firms see lockdown boost
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Cannabis sales are touching new highs as customers across the U.S. and Canada stockpile weed to prepare for long spells of isolation because of the coronavirus pandemic. Between March 16 and 22, sales of recreational cannabis across California, Colorado, Oregon and Alaska — some of the key U.S. markets — were up 50 […] Read more
Robotic weed management takes to the fields
The potential for cost savings and precise control is enormous
Reading Time: 6 minutes Extraordinary. Revolutionary. Game-changing. Those are just some of the adjectives being used to describe robotic weed management, a technology that is generating considerable anticipation based on the initial research into its benefits in a row-crop environment. The list of key players and systems includes WEEDit, Xarvio, Bosch, Agrifac and Einböck. And the potential is large […] Read more
Pest Patrol: Using 28 per cent to manage Canada fleabane
#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA
Reading Time: 3 minutes I’m thankful that farmers and agronomists share their ideas, experiences and questions with me as it relates to killing weeds. During the winter months I’ll test out ideas in the greenhouse to see if they’re worth taking to the field. I’m fortunate that we have some great public-sector researchers (such as Dr. Page, Dr. Sikkema […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
