Crops

by CLARE KINLIN

It turns out that seed corn maggots caused Sam’s soybean stand to be thin and uneven.
Don’t let the name deceive you. Seed corn maggot is not only found in corn. It’s a common pest in soybean and vegetable crops throughout the province.

Damage caused by seed corn maggot can be difficult to distinguish from other insects and disease, but two features made it an easy diagnosis in Sam’s field – spring-applied manure and cotyledon feeding.

by SHAWN BRENNEMAN

Rootworm larvae damaged the roots in John’s corn causing the plants to look severely drought- stressed.

The key to solving this puzzle was getting as much information as possible from the field history. Typically, rootworm is a pest found in corn after corn. While John’s previous crop had been soybeans he’d had significant volunteer corn pressure.

His seed wasn’t the issue. But there was evidence of compaction and the nights had been cold, with temperatures dropping to zero in early May. Could that be the problem?

by DEAN SHANTZ

If you notice that your corn crop isn’t coming up like it should, do you call for help right away or do you take a wait-and-see approach?

by MIKE FOLKARD

European chafer (white grub) was the pest that vanished after feasting on the roots in Matt’s cornfield. The chafers couldn’t be found  because they had already moved on to the next stage of their life cycle.

His beans seemed ‘to be struggling to come out of the ground.’ What’s more, the stand was thin and uneven across much of the field. So what was the cause?

by CLARE KINLIN

One of my favourite times of year will soon be here. That’s when the first soybean seedlings begin popping out of the ground and getting a strong, vigorous start on the season.

A diminutive wasp has joined the growing number of natural predators which are helping to control otherwise costly aphid infestations in the province’s $194 million soybean crop

by MARY BAXTER

While scouting for soybean pests last year, Ed Kaiser noticed some black spots on the bottom of his plants’ leaves. “They could have been dust, for all I knew. They were very tiny and didn’t seem to be of any consequence,” says the Napanee-area farmer.

It looked like drought stress, but other fields close by were not showing the same problems. And why was the stress more prevalent on the east side?

by SHAWN BRENNEMAN

It never hurts to get a second opinion. Sometimes it just confirms your initial diagnosis, but other times it will open your eyes to different possibilities.

Where to find information on soybean varieties for your farm

Soybeans are an important part of a cropping rotation with wheat and corn in intensively farmed areas of Ontario. To help you find which varieties are best suited to your farm, check our website for this year’s soybean variety chart

by DEAN SHANTZ

Fusarium wilt (also called soybean blight) was the culprit causing patches of dying soybean plants throughout Blake’s field.

The disease is caused by a common soil-borne fungus and is predominant when soybeans are under drought stress and root development is inhibited. Both factors can interfere with the normal activity of the plant’s root system and make it vulnerable to root diseases. Two key stressors were present in Blake’s field – soil compaction and lack of moisture.

by MIKE FOLKARD

Crime suspects don’t hang around the scene waiting to get caught. The same is true of some yield-robbing pests. They often flee without detection, but that doesn’t mean the trail of evidence has gone cold.