Snow mould in winter cereals

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Holly Loucas, Agronomist, DOW Agroscience

What is snow mould?

Snow moulds are cold-loving fungi that can attack many economic plants under a cover of snow.

Pathogen biology

WinterMouldChartThe important species of snow moulds that infect winter wheat are Microdochium nivale and Typhla spp.

Gray snow mould (Typhula spp) is the less damaging form of snow mould. It is able to survive throughout hot summer months as sclerotia under the ground or in plant debris.

Pink snow mould (Microdochium nivale) is usually more severe than gray snow mould. It can survive the summer months in decayed plant debris as spores or mycelium. Read more

Grain storage bins

Temperatures climbing? Check the grain bins.

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Warmer weather’s nice, but could affect grain quality.

As much as warmer weather may have growers in Ontario thinking of spring planting, a provincial ag specialist warns farmers to consider the old crop ahead of any plans for the new crop.

Temperatures are moderating and in southern Ontario, they’ve risen well above freezing for the first time in nearly two months.

Peter Johnson, shown here in 2009, urges farmers to check their bins given the recent rise in outdoor temperatures. (Ralph Pearce photo)

Peter Johnson, shown here in 2009, urges farmers to check their bins given the recent rise in outdoor temperatures. (Ralph Pearce photo)

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Frost seeding clover

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With the snow beginning to melt and spring just around the corner, it’s time to begin thinking about seeding your clover cover crops on the frost for your winter grains. Clover is still one of the most beneficial cover crops to use when you have a winter grain crop. Thompsons Agronomy has put together some tips to help achieve good success when frost seeding clover.

Why clover?

  • Establishes and maintains growth under low light and under competition for other crops
  • Well adapted to all of Ontario
  • Has an extensive root system with a tap root that can work though compacted layers and extensive lateral roots in the top 6” of soil which contributes to good structure and tilth
  • Provide nitrogen credits to the following crops
  • Termination of the crop is relatively easy with proper tillage and/or herbicides

Species selection

Generally Red Clovers are used (single or double cut) because the seed is dense, which improves seed-soil contact, it germinates at low temperatures and has high seedling vigor, allowing it to start growing early in the spring. Double cut is ideal if you are looking for the maximum nitrogen credit or are wanting to graze/bale the crop for feed as it is more vigorous in the seeding year. Single cut clovers put more emphasis on root growth and are consider better at soil conditioning. Other options are alfalfa, sweet clover, or various mixes (45% single/double and 10% sweet clover).
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Humic DG–now available in Canada through Thompsons Limited

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Humic DG™ — the next generation of soil health

Humic DG + H2O

Upon contact with water, each Humic DG granule disperses into thousands of micro particles that move directly into the root zone and provide immediate benefits to the soil and plant.

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Reduce production costs without sacrificing yield

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Falling commodity prices mean growers are concerned with their profit per acre. Input costs have remained high and have not adjusted to where farmers believe they should be. Until prices change, strategic adjustments will have to be made to stay profitable during lower commodity pricing years. Thompsons has identified 5 ways to help you reduce production costs without sacrificing yield.

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2014 Grain Corn Ear Mould and Vomitoxin Survey

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Greg Stewart, OMAFRA Corn Specialist; Albert Tenuta, OMAFRA Field Crop Pathologist

The OMAFRA Field Crops team has completed the survey of the 2014 Ontario corn crop to determine ear mould incidence and the occurrence of mycotoxins in the grain. These mycotoxins, particularly vomitoxin (DON) produced primarily by Gibberella/Fusarium ear moulds, are grading factors and can be disruptive when fed to livestock, especially hogs.
202 samples were collected from October 14 to October 17, 2014 from corn fields across the province. In each field, 2 random areas were selected: in each area 10 consecutive ears were hand harvested and bagged. In fields with several hybrids, representative samples were taken from two areas for each hybrid (maximum of 4 hybrids per field). The 20-ear samples were then immediately dried and shelled. The resultant sample was thoroughly mixed and a sub-sample provided to A&L Laboratories in London for vomitoxin (DON) analysis.

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Potassium deficiency in corn source:

Potassium is a key ingredient to producing quality crops

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Potassium (K) levels have been declining in Ontario fields. Many fields that have been sampled have noticed a drop in their soil sample potassium levels from a few years ago. Simply said, growers are not applying enough fertilizer. In some cases fertilization is less than what the crop will remove causing a decrease in soil nutrient reserves. Potassium is one of the three nutrients needed in large quantities by plants. This essential nutrient could be a limiting factor in your crop yields if your soil is not maintained at adequate levels.

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Wheat field

Late Planted Winter Wheat

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During years when soybeans are harvested later than expected or environmental conditions delay field work, winter wheat is generally skipped in the rotation or planting is rushed. When planting winter wheat later than the recommended planting dates, even more care should be taken to ensure yield potential is not lost.

Planting date

In general, delaying planting past the recommended planting window can cost a producer from 0.6 to 1.1 bu/day. It is best to strive to plant around these dates (See figure 1).

planting dates map

Figure 1: Optimum Planting Dates in Ontario.

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corn stalks

Corn Maturity and Drydown

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Can I capture an early market premium?

It’s that time of year again when growers look at their corn crop and go through the exercise of deciding when to harvest. They also wonder if they will be able to harvest a bit early to capture an early market premium for their corn. With the overall later planted crop and cool summer temperatures, corn maturity and drydown will likely occur later for most and harvesting to capture this market premium will be more difficult.

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