Better Farming - January 2017

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Better Farming January 2017
CROPS: THELYNCH FILE
Eighth, wheat, corn and soybeans had a positive
response to fungicides more times than not. With a hot,
dry summer you would expect less response to fungicides.
I am starting to believe the plant health claims that
manufacturers talk about is real. In greenhouse studies in
Raleigh, North Carolina, some fungicides show better
moisture utilization. I believe this utilization occurred in
the field in 2016.
Ninth, what did we learn about western bean cutworm?
I don’t know. The early flights indicated higher than
normal numbers. Hot, dry weather is conducive to insect
buildup, which meant we should have seen a lot of egg
masses. But early scouting showed low levels of western
bean cutworm egg masses. No one predicted in-season
how devastating western bean cutworm would be.
Scouting did not seem to help. Fields that seemed to
have very few insects during scouting still had damage
and worse – these fields had high vomitoxin levels at
harvest. And there is no new genetic control for this
insect. Hybrids with the Cry1F Bt protein gene did not
control western bean cutworm. The Viptera gene gives
good control of this insect but that gene is not in current
hybrids.
In 2017, I am sure more growers will spray for western
bean cutworm in the traditionally susceptible areas.
Tenth, there were some lessons to be learned on
nitrogen rates and timing. Mainly that you do not learn
anything from one year’s worth of plots. But this does not
mean you should give up. In many cases, the strategy that
growers had going into the year would work in a normal
year. But 2016 was not a normal year.
And this is the summary lesson: 2016 was not a normal
year. Take the lessons from 2016 and blend them with
lessons from other years as you make plans for 2017. BF
Consulting agronomist Patrick Lynch, CCA-ON, formerly
worked with OMAFRA and Cargill.
Seeding red clover pays.