‘Honeymoon’ period for producers is ending as diseases such as phytophthora root rot make inroads following soybean expansion
Glacier FarmMedia – The worst phytophthora infection that Laura Schmidt of Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers has ever seen was just south of Souris. “Probably 25 per cent of the field was impacted,” the production specialist told field day attendees at the Westman Agricultural Diversification Organization near Melita. “One in four plants were dying off, […] Read moreTag Archives Laura Schmidt
Plants and bacteria: friends for 500 million years
WINNIPEG — Bacteria have been on earth for much longer than humans. The first ancestors of humans with the ability to walk on two legs arrived about four million years ago, says the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Related story: Yes, kids do need to get dirty In comparison, fossil evidence suggests that microbes and […] Read more
Microbiome revolution proposed
WINNIPEG — The hyperbole around biologicals and what they can do for crop production sounds like 10 million crickets in a suburban backyard. There’s a lot of noise around biologicals, and for good reason. Soil contains millions of bacteria, fungi and other microbes that perform vital functions for plants. As a result, global agri-science firms […] Read more
The gaps in Palmer amaranth, waterhemp prevention
No one wants Palmer amaranth or waterhemp to become bigger weed worries than they already are in Manitoba, and there’s work currently focused on making sure that doesn’t happen, but locally based knowlege is still thin on the ground. The two boogeymen of the weed realm were recently the subject of a successful resolution brought […] Read more
Biological nitrogen-fixing products fail test
WINNIPEG —Dave Franzen is a straight shooter. If he doesn’t know the answer, the North Dakota State University soil scientist will admit it. If he does, he’ll tell you. As an example, in the summer of 2022 researchers from land grant universities across the north-central United States studied commercially available, biological nitrogen-fixing products to see […] Read more
Should I spray or should I go?
Deciding on a fungicide application to control mycosphaerella blight (aka ascochyta blight) in field peas can be difficult. Many variables are at play, including disease occurrence, product selection, application timing, single versus double treatments, application costs and potential returns on investment. To help, a fungicide decision worksheet is available to take some of the guesswork […] Read more
