It’s worry time. The crop is developing quickly, and depending on your location, it may need rain or it may still be suffering from excess moisture, but either way there are numerous yield robbing threats that require decisions.
Fusarium was a huge issue last year for wheat and especially for durum. Although fungicides are only somewhat effective against fusarium and although the application window is tight, more growers than ever penciled in a fungicide application this year.
As this is being written, the weather has turned hot and dry in most locations, and fusarium maps are showing a low risk. The decision to spray is no longer automatic.
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On the other hand, spring wheat prices have been on an amazing upward trajectory, so every bushel and every grade is suddenly more valuable than anticipated.
What about spraying for scler-otinia in canola? What about a fungicide application for anthra-cnose and ascochyta in lentils? It’s a judgment call based on local conditions, disease history and how effective you believe fungicides can be.
Insect pests can be even more unpredictable. Cabbage seedpod weevils are a threat to canola and to brown and oriental mustard over an ever-expanding region of southern and central Alberta and Saskatchewan.
As the crop goes into flower, you should be doing sweep net counts in a number of field locations. If you find lots of weevils, the decision to make an insecticide application is easy. If the counts are variable with some below the economic threshold and some above, it’s a quandary on how to proceed.
Is the count going to increase or decrease? The only way to know is to keep checking. And if your neighbours are spraying or not spraying, that can have an impact on your decision.
A host of other insect pests can arise unexpectedly, including diamond back moth larvae and bertha armyworms.
Many producers plan and budget for fertilizer topdressing. With rainfall running far below normal in many prairie regions and with high temperatures cutting into yield potential, do you still go ahead? Even in the dry regions, subsoil moisture was excellent, so yield potential may still be pretty good.
Some regions have had ample rainfall, and crop potential is great. Do you buy additional insurance to protect against the big white Combine?
Summers are short. Your kids or grandkids are out of school. Time at the lake or the pool is in order. Or maybe you need to travel to attend a wedding or other family function. Unless someone else on the farm has your back, it’s tough to be away for very long.
A huge investment in time and effort is bearing fruit right in front of your eyes. It advances a little bit every day.
In a bygone era, the typical way of operating was to seed the crop, make a single herbicide application and then just leave it alone until harvest time. After the herbicide was applied, the pull-type field sprayer was parked for another year. Grasshoppers were the main insect and might warrant spraying, but fungicides were largely undiscovered.
Field work consisted of multiple tillage operations to control weeds on summerfallow. Cropped land rarely saw another field operation under harvest.
Now there are so many things to worry about that producers risk separation anxiety if they’re away from their crops too long. If the sprayer hasn’t been running in a while, it feels like you’re failing as a progressive farmer.
