ONTARIO GRAIN FARMER LOOKING BACK For more than 15 years, Grain Farmers of Ontario has been leading the way, addressing some of the most pressing agronomic issues facing Ontario's farmers. By collaborating with industry partners, researchers, and farmers, Grain Farmers of Ontario has built a suite of tools and resources to help farmers achieve agronomic success. Looking back… Fifteen years of agronomy advances Fact sheets: Agronomy Factsheet: DON (DEOXYNIVALENOL) IN CORN DON is a mycotoxin primarily produced by Gibberella ear rot. Infected grain can affect palatability, performance, and can have toxic effects on livestock. As a result of this toxic effect, grain with higher levels of contamination can be rejected or, if accepted, may be discounted at the delivery point. CONDITIONS FOR GIBBERELLA EAR MOULD INFECTION Infection occurs with warm (27 °C), humid temperatures, combined with rainfall, that splashes the fungal spores on the silks two to six days after emergence. Cooler, wet weather after silking also favours disease development. Extended periods of rain in the fall promote fungal growth and increase the disease’s severity. IDENTIFYING GIBBERELLA EAR ROT Infection begins in the ear tip and moves down toward the ear base, producing a dark red or pink coloured mould. Sometimes, it has a whitish appearance from the mycelium, but it is usually referred to as pink mould. Mycotoxins produced by Gibberella include DON, ZEN and T-2 toxin. GIBBERELLA EAR ROT (PHOTO: ALBERT TENUTA, OMAFA). • Choose less susceptible hybrids. Reference the current Ontario Corn Hybrid DON Screening Report (found at GoCrops.ca) when selecting hybrids for an indication of the susceptibility for DON infection. • Spread out the pollination timing of your corn fields to reduce the risk of all fields pollinating during a peak infection period. This can be done by selecting hybrids with different pollination dates or staggering the planting period of different fields. • Spray a fungicide that suppresses ear mould. Application at silking, when silks have fully emerged and have not browned off (dried up), is recommended. Always read and follow the product label. • Use of less susceptible hybrids and a labelled fungicide at the right rate and time is the best method. Check with your seed provider for hybrid ratings. HOW TO PREVENT INFECTION? Agronomy Factsheet: SOIL COMPACTION: DAMAGE Short term • If you are not in the snow belt, wait for freezeup, assuming lodging is low and grain is in good condition. • Although taking soybeans off wet and drying them slowly is not ideal, it is preferable to not being able to harvest or making a bigger mess when time has expired, harvest can’t wait any longer, and the field conditions have deteriorated further. • Consider not operating the combine or buggy at full capacity; handle lighter loads. • Create a traffic lane and remain on it with buggies to isolate the majority of the damage. • Repair visual damage (such as rutting), which would otherwise impede next year’s field operations, with tillage. • Where possible, isolate deep tillage to the areas with the most damage (ruts, buggy wheel tracks). • If the ground is really saturated, fix visible problems and consider delaying deep tillage to the future, after wheat, when conditions are better. • Do not create more damage with the wrong tillage type at the wrong time (e.g. deep ripping in wet conditions and then driving compaction deeper with the next ill-timed traffic pass) • Check tire pressures and adjust to the lowest value that the tire is rated for in the field (reinflate the tires when road travel under speed and load occurs). HEALTHY SOILS THE PROBLEM Wet weather in the fall can negatively impact soil health, undoing the good work you’ve put into improving it. Unfortunately, when wet weather strikes, there isn’t much we can do; the crop must come off. WHAT CAN HAPPEN? Rainfall can vary widely across Ontario. Even where amounts may be lower, persistent wet and non-drying weather can reduce the days per week conducive to harvest. Even with low rainfall, the ground can still be very wet and not dry well, so every new rainfall event contributes to increased soil saturation. CONSIDERATIONS GOING FORWARD Longer Term • Do not count on frost to solve compaction problems, as sometimes it is not enough, or the ground doesn’t seem to freeze. • Include more crops in the rotation: cereals, cover crops, forages, along with corn and soybeans. • Increase drainage where possible. • Consider Central Tire Inflation Systems (CTIS) and better and bigger rubber on heavy implements. • Work towards less tillage as a whole in the system. Ensure the right amount of tillage with the right tool is used at the right time to fix long-term issues caused by a bad year. • Build truck loading areas at field entries to isolate soil damage (i.e. gravel field entrances). DISRUPTORS The aim is to create a healthy soil year after year. Healthy soils are more resilient to damage, carry more traffic for longer than less healthy soils, and recover faster from damage. Plan and be prepared for • Changing weather patterns and how this will impact harvest hours and logistics. • Increasing equipment sizes, along with increased yields, which puts added stress on the field and the delicate soil ecosystem. By Laura Ferrier Grain Farmers of Ontario, Ian McDonald and Alex Barrie Ontario Ministry of Agri-business, Food and Agriculture Ontario Grain Farming 101 video series:
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTQzODE4