By Jonathan Zettler CPA, CMA, CCA-ON and Patrick Lynch CCA-ON

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If you have a question, just reply to this email, we try to have an answer for you within 48 hrs.  Or text Jonathan at 519 323 7505 or Patrick at 519 275 1058. If you want a topic researched let us know.

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Things to do This Week

1.    Top up all fuel tanks. Consider getting extra fuel storage. Lock all fuel tanks

2.   Finish updating your GPS/Rate Controller monitors – both the software and the fields/boundaries 

3.   Talk to your input supplier about your fertilizer needs.

4.   As seed comes in, check that all bags and/or totes are what you ordered. You can even use a marker to mark where each lot of seed will be planted. (I suggest setting them up on skids for a particular farm with a name attached on a sheet).

5.    Order field flags for trials if you have not done this. One suggestion is these folks at IRL – no duty payments, as they are Canadian based.  If you a Fieldwalker customer and need flags I will be putting in an order by end day March 19^th for my spring needs.

6.   Check grain in storage.

Cereals

Evaluating your winter wheat stand

Publication 811 suggests that 7 plants per foot of row should give 90% yield. You probably dropped 20-24 seeds/ft of row at planting. At 7 plants per foot of row consider leaving it. Reasons being

1.      If  weather turns dry you will be glad you have winter wheat.

2.     Wheat gives a great chance to seed red clover and reduce N costs in 2026.

3.     Having wheat in the rotation spreads out your workload.

4.     Wheat allows you to use another herbicide with a different mode of action than corn and soybean herbicides.

5.     Growing wheat shows a significant yield increase to following corn and soybean crops

It can be hard to get a good handle on how much wheat has winter killed in an individual field. An aerial image by satellite/drone should help. Failing that measure off a few spots and then mentally put all these spots together. Say you have a spot 20’ by 60’. That is 1200 sq ft. If you have 10 spots in a field that is 12,000 sq ft. There are 43,560 sq feet in an acre. So, this is about 1/3 of an acre. The spots can look bad. That is why you must measure to evaluate. If you have a pen with 100 head of livestock you will see the sick one. If still not sure, apply the first 30 lbs of N with S and worst-case scenario it goes into corn and some N and the S is already applied.

Split applying N on wheat (PJL)

Research by Dr Dave Hooker from 2011, 2012 and 2013 looked at yield of winter wheat when nitrogen was applied at green up vs part at green up and part GS 30 or GS 52

The research suggests there is no reason to split apply nitrogen on most soils for soft red wheat. Split applying N for hard red wheat and on sandy soils still has merit.

JZ – I still promote a two-pass approach for my high management wheat farmers. Some application equipment can’t handle the high rates when applied all at once, and they are also trying to manage lodging risk. In some cases, they also don’t have enough product on hand to apply all the nitrogen in one application and need to wait for trucks to come from the terminal.

Q  When can I start to apply N on winter wheat?

Ans (PJL)

We get asked this question every year. The research at the right was done in the 80’s but I still believe it is valid. This was research at Ridgetown. It is basically saying that you can start any time now. The first fields to start with are fields that are mostly level, fields that you might now be able to get to when it turns wet, fields that will be split applied. I see no agronomic reason to add a N inhibitor/stabilizer now if split applying.

Snow mould in Winter Triticale  (CK/PJL) (Pictures from 2025 from a reader)

The disease is caused by at least four complexes of soilborne fungi. They have a broad host range covering all winter and spring cereals and can basically affect all plant growth stages and organs. Their attack leads to a low germination rate, and/or pre- and post-emergence death of seedlings after winter and, depending on largely unknown environmental conditions. It also causes foot rot, leaf blight, and head blight. Resistance in winter wheat and triticale is governed by a multitude of quantitative trait loci (QTL) with mainly additive effects highly affected by genotype × environment interaction. Snow mold resistance interacts with winter hardiness in a complex way leading to a co-localization of resistance QTLs with QTLs/genes for freezing tolerance. In practical breeding, a multistep procedure is necessary with (1) freezing tolerance tests, (2) climate chamber tests for snow mold resistance, and (3) field tests in locations with and without regularly occurring snow cover.

Most of our winter wheat varieties have good tolerance to snow mould.

There are research trials in Ontario looking at fall application of sulphur. I think I would rather see applications of a fungicide in the fall.

Ryan Benjamins CCA ON in Lambton County has spread a lot of red clover on winter wheat and has not seen any sign of snow mould. He thinks it was too dry last fall to start snow mould.

The last picture of the big field is triticale 2026 in the Tavistock area.

Wheat Diseases – Powdery Mildew

Powdery mildew is a common wheat disease in the U.S. and Canada, especially in winter wheat regions. It appears as white to gray fungal growth on leaves, often with yellow spots underneath. Severe cases can prevent head formation and affect stems and heads. As the disease worsens, small dark spots form within the mildew. The symptoms can be seen from the tillering stage through to ripening.

Mild winters and cool, humid conditions encourage mildew. Prolonged cool, humid weather in the springtime can allow the disease to thrive and reach flag leaf, causing yield loss. Excess nitrogen, thick plant stands, and sandy soils increase the risk.

Many wheat varieties have resistance, which is the best way to manage the disease. Fungicides work best when applied early, with triazole-based options offering the best control. Proper fertilization and avoiding overcrowding can help prevent mildew while maintaining good yields.

(I think we have to look at a fall fungicide application on winter wheat in areas that typically get a lot of powdery mildew. PJL)

Wheat Fungicides – Controlling Powdery Mildew (JZ)

The best research I have found on powdery mildew control has been from the UK. There is also some data provided in North America by the Crop Protection Network. Powdery Mildew is a disease of high yielding wheat crops, so if you are expecting a strong wheat growing environment, do not let this disease take off the top-end, which is ranked as the number one yield robber in the east north central region of the United States.

In the Ontario Crop Protection Hub, the all fungicides with powdery mildew on the label are rated as a “3”

– however personal experience suggests there may be some difference between products.

Conversation with Marijke Vanderlaan on Mildew (JZ)

I asked Marijke her thoughts on controlling mildew as far as high pressure situations and product selection and her comment was that in these situations to consider 3 fungicide applications (T1/T2/T3), as we cannot expect more than 10-14 days protection from these products. Perhaps use Quilt at T1, Miravis Neo at T2 and then your FHB at T3. Or switch the Quilt and Miravis Neo depending on application timing (i.e. use the Neo on the biggest wheat for the full 10-14 day window or at flag leaf).

Weed Control

Thoughts on Incorporating herbicides ppi (PJL)

A number of herbicides are registered for ppi. The trifluralins (e.g. Treflan) must be incorporated within 24 hours of application to prevent breakdown by sunlight. Trifluralins do not move in the soil, the first incorporation is to cover the herbicide and the second incorporation is to thoroughly mix the herbicide in the top 2”. The rule for incorporation is “the herbicide is mixed to ½ the depth of the incorporating tool." If you want the herbicide in the top 2” then you set the incorporating tool to 4”.

Other herbicides like Frontier (dimethenamid) including products that contain this active, or Dual (s-metolachlor) and some  products containing this active can be incorporated to move them down deep enough to be activated by soil moisture. If incorporating for nutsedge control read the label. The issue with incorporation is you will destroy some weed seedlings in the ”white” stage but you also dilute the herbicide, in effect losing some weed control activity. The first incorporation tools were the older discs that did a good job mixing soil. Then we moved to “vibrating” shank cultivators with narrow feet that mixed the soil well. Today, good incorporation is harder because there is more trash in the top 2-4” and current cultivators have wider teeth. Some growers want to apply an herbicide with UAN and feel the nitrogen should be incorporated to reduce risk of N going off in the air. I am not concerned about losing N to the air in the spring.

Isabelle Aicklen – Ragweed locations for trial site

Dr. Aicklen has stepped into the role that was previously held by Dr. Peter Sikkema. When I was working in retail, I had the opportunity to hire Dr. Aicklen as a crop scout while she was doing her undergrad and recently connected with her at a GFO meeting. I offered to help find fields for her research projects, and here is her request below.

Hi Jonathan,

That would be great, thank you. We are looking for the following weeds/crops:

1. Herbicide resistant common ragweed in IP soybean (Xtend or E3 is also okay but IP soybean preferred) - spring 2026 start
2. Wild carrot in corn - spring 2026 start
3. Annual bluegrass in winter wheat - fall 2026 start
4. Ryegrass - The trials would start this fall 2026 but would be going into either corn or soybean in 2027

If you have any contacts that are interested, I would be happy to speak with them regarding further details.

 Thank you,

 Isabelle

Email Jonathan for my contact info if interested.

Managing Weed Control with Pre-Emerge Herbicides in IP/Non-GMO Soybeans (JZ)

For many areas of the province, the best options are combinations of group 14 and 15 herbicides with the addition of a metribuzin +/- a group 2 herbicide. See herbicide table below from the OMAFA Crop Protection Hub.

Dicamba (PJL)

Last week Jonathan and I had some discussion around the use of dicamba. This lead me to dig out more information on this active. It was first used in the late 60’s. I worked with it earlier in my career, both as dicamba for corn, Marksman for corn, and as Kilmor, which was a pre-mix of dicamba, 2,4-D and mecoprop. My earliest unfortunate experiences was with the high rate (0.24 gm/ac). When it was used early pre-emerge and we had cold soil with rain and the corn seed set in this soils for days, we had damage showing at the 6-8 leaf stage. This quickly made me switch to just using dicamba post emerge. I still prefer dicamba post emerge. You can use dicamba at 0.24 gm/ac pre emerge. The issue is that dicamba breaks down in the soil and you will only get 3-4 weeks residual at this high rate. Dicamba breaks down quicker in higher pH soils. If you spray dicamba pre-emerge, say early May it will run out late May. If you spray post emerge you have longer weed control. The other thing is the newer Dicamba Formulations Engenia (BASF) and Xtendimax (Bayer) are designed to have less off-target movement.

JZ – some seed companies have screened hybrids for herbicide injury, if you read the Pioneer seed guide from past years, it would give a rating for risk of injury from Dicamba. Not sure if this year’s guide or other companies have the same chart.

Corn

Corn Traits – What trait controls what pest? (JZ)

I found myself struggling this week to remember which traits control which pests, hence sharing the Canadian version of the Handy BT Table. https://cornpest.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Canadian-Bt-Traits-Table-May-2025-English-Final.pdf

Business Matters

What should I do differently in my crop that I haven’t tried before? (JZ)

These are listed in order of priority by crop

Corn

Pre-emerge herbicide

Population Trials

Sulphur

Boron – apply with nitrogen application up front – don’t wait for foliar at tassel, too little too late.

Soybeans

Pre-Emerge Herbicide

Population Trials

Manganese with glyphosate

Sulphur

Winter Wheat

Manganese on your T1 or earliest sprayer pass

Plant Growth Regulator + 140-150 N

Megafol or comparable stress reducing product at flowering

Measuring Sprayer Effectiveness – JZ

Lots of chatter this winter on sprayer productivity or efficiency, but very little on effectiveness. There are three key pieces you can measure when it comes to determining sprayer effectiveness or performance.

·        Ability to get the product to the plant – assess weather status

·        Ability to get product on the plant – assess coverage

·        Ability of get the product in the plant – assess plant status

While some of these tools have been available for a while, I had not understood how easy it is to incorporate them into your day-to-day decision making. A few metrics you could check before heading to the field.

·        Delta T can provide an indication of how fast the spray droplets are going to evaporate before they hit the plant.

·        For spray coverage, water sensitive paper or the use of spray dyes can help assess ability of the nozzle to get product effectively on the leaf. My preference is to use dyes, as you assessing the actual leaf rather than a proxy.

·        Vapour Pressure Deficit – can be used to determine the ease of getting material into the leaf.

The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.

— Socrates