Manitoba Agriculture is gearing up for a special crops, disease training and variety evaluation trial tours next week Thursday at the Westman Agricultural Diversification Organization (WADO) at their Melita area test plots.
The tours will take place from 9:00 AM until noon focusing on corn, flax and sunflowers, says Applied Research Analyst, Scott Chalmers.
"You can join us with some of our specialists here and the Manitoba Crop Alliance is sponsoring that as well, with their specialists here talking about corn, flax and sunflower," explains Chalmers. "And so, the tour begins just northeast of Melitta, about 1/2 mile inside a corn crop. And any farmer or agronomist is welcome to join and check it out. We'll be talking about diseases and varieties, and we're going to be moving around from plot location to plot location. So, bring your truck, bring a buddy, and there'll be some hot coffee and snacks available on that day, September 18th."
RSVP with Scott Chalmers to register for next Thursday's crop tour at 204-522-5415.
Let's talk about pests!
"We've seen a few Lagus bugs in sunflower, but we're getting so late with that crop, you know, I think the frost is really going to take care of those little guys someday... and the pressure at this point is quite underwhelming," he adds. "I guess we have still a few soybean aphids, but the frost is going to catch up to them too, and the plant is basically mature."
"We have some blackbirds in the corn a little bit, but really we're not seeing the birds like we normally do this year. I'm not sure what happened to them. I'm expecting them to come and show up for the sunflower feast," he adds.
Chalmers says he did see a few flea beetles in some volunteer canola, "and they're just kind of setting up for next year when they want to hatch in May and give us another bug."
To register for the WADO special crops tour focusing on corn, flax and sunflowers, call Scott Chalmers at 204-522-5415 or if you have any questions.
WADO, located in Melita, MB, is a multi-stakeholder network and research farm facilitating the development and extension of applied production research focused on specialized crops, companion cropping and innovative crop production practices. Specialty areas of applied production research include fertility trials, reduced tillage and companion cropping systems.