Pulse crops should be viewed as more than a source of income. Used wisely in a rotation, they also serve as a significant disease management tool, according to Kelly Turkington. Turkington, a plant pathologist with Agriculture Canada in Lacombe, Alta., presented his view of pulse crops as fixers. His online presentation was given in December […] Read more
Ron Lyseng
Stories by Ron Lyseng
Tracking disease in all the usual pulse places
Managing diseases in pulse crops depends on knowing where they are and when they’ll raise their ugly heads again
Disease has always been a problem for pulse growers and probably will remain so Ad infinitum. At the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, plant disease specialist Alireza Akhavan has assembled an overview of the latest survey findings on pulse diseases in the province. He made his presentation during the annual Saskatchewan Agronomy Update, to about 700 […] Read moreWeeds plus pulse equals trouble
Pulses and weeds make a bad combination. The lack of in-crop herbicides can lead to a major train wreck if the necessary pre-seeding weed control hasn’t been carried out diligently. Shaun Sharpe, a new Agriculture Canada research scientist in Saskatoon, says weeds and peas are one of the worst mixes with which to deal, especially […] Read more
Stacking five genes stomps pathogen
Latest technology stacks more genes, like adding digits to the combination lock that protects your crop
Wheat stem rust is a killer, one of the world’s most devastating diseases, with a history of massive rust plagues dating back 2,000 years. But a new variety holds hope. The new strain has been named Big Five by the research team because it’s the first time breeders have successfully installed five stable genes in […] Read more
Dissecting Big Five: all genes present in nature, not the same plant
Plant breeders realized decades ago they might be able to introduce improved varieties more quickly and ensure the new genetically stacked benefits remained stable. Then came the question, “how do we do that?” Who better to ask than the person overseeing all this gene stacking magic on a daily basis — Diana Horvath. Horvath, president […] Read more
One air, OneSoil serves us all, around the planet
One contiguous atmosphere blankets Earth. We all breathe that same air. We all walk on the same band of soil. We all grow food on the same band of soil. We have a lot in common, all of us who live on planet Earth. That’s why OneSoil is an appropriate name for a new satellite […] Read more
New MT800 from the ground up
Tractor pushes leading edge of two-track technology a little deeper into the industry but not the soil
Agco’s new MT800 series provides up to 673 horsepower along with a step-less transmission and front suspension system that provide a more comfortable ride than previous parallel track Challengers. It’s a tractor designed for deep ripping, sub-soiling, installing tile or pulling high-speed seeding equipment, Agco engineer Adam Sills said in a recent phone interview. Sills […] Read more
Pull the big planter with the big 4-wheel drive tractor
If your regular MFWD planter tractor doesn’t have the ponies to pull the new 1790, you need an adapter interface between your big four-by-four tractor drawbar and the planter hitch. Fred Dueck, founder of Schnelll Industries in Winkler, Man., has been making custom hitches for 18 years. It started when a local corn grower bought […] Read more
Triangles give strength without weight to Geometrica’s Agridome
Texans never do anything but big and bigger. Take storage domes for example. Geometrica’s new Agridome tops out at 500 feet in diameter with a capacity of 6,970,000 bushels of corn. “We can build a 10 million bu. dome if that’s what a customer wants, and we’ve built them up to 700 feet in diameter,” […] Read more
Brand new Agridome built in Minnesota
Bryan Mueller was monitoring the first grain to be loaded into his company’s US$5.5 million Agridome on a cold day last month when he was asked how he liked the new dome. It was built for West Central Ag Services in Beltrami, Minnesota, a three-hour drive south of Winnipeg. “Well, we just now finally started […] Read more
