Ontario Field Crop Report – July 6, 2022

Enhancing Corn & Soybean Yields in Ontario

How adding complexity to crop rotations and diversity to tillage practices can benefit corn and soybean growers long term.

By Laura Scott

Gone are the days of grandpa getting the tractor and 3 furrow plow out to work the whole farm each fall after harvest. For decades now, producers have been developing and adapting new technologies and practices to optimize land use, while continuing to care for it. Thirty-one years of data evaluated by the University of Guelph demonstrates the various effects of changing tillage practices and crop rotations in Ontario field crop production.

It seems as though our seasons are becoming more and more variable each year, with bigger temperature swings and dramatic changes in precipitation. With more time between rain events, crops need to be efficient in water conservation and usage.

A research report published in 2015 titled “Increasing Crop Diversity Mitigates Weather Variations and Improves Yield Stability”, demonstrates that more diverse crop rotations beyond corn and soybeans is a key factor in yield increases. Reducing and adjusting tillage is also shown to have a significant effect on yield. As part of Dr. Bill Deen’s research team at the University of Guelph, Amelie Gaudin and colleagues studied thirty-one years of weather data from the University of Guelph, Elora Research Station. Both crop rotations and tillage data were evaluated for corn yield advantages, corn and soybean yield stability and any other potential benefits.

Their findings showed moving from a 2 crop (corn-soybean rotation) to a 3-crop rotation (adding wheat to corn-soybean rotation) increased the following average soybean yields by 13%. The 5-year average for Ontario soybeans is 49 bu/ac. The more crops in a rotation, and the more times the complex rotation repeated, the better the long-term effects.

Corn and soybeans displayed different yield reactions to the various methods of mitigating stresses (Figure 1.). While corn appeared to favour crop rotation and diversity, adjusting tillage practices had little effect on yield and stress tolerance. However, soybeans preferred changes in tillage programs over rotation diversification. Less tillage on soybean ground resulted in more consistent crop stress mitigation than conventional tillage. Tillage and crop diversity had a greater positive effect on crop response to heat and drought than they did for wet and cold periods. These practices offered some yield stabilization for wet and cold periods (or entire seasons), but it was lesser than the effects noted during drought stresses.

More recent research published in 2020, confirmed the earlier results. Sites across Canada and the United States saw an average yield increase of 28.1% across all conditions when crop rotations were more diverse (Long-Term Evidence Shows that Crop-Rotation Diversification Increases Agricultural Resilience to Adverse Growing Conditions in North America). They also saw a large reduction in yield losses on drought years. Sites used both synthetic nitrogen and organic nitrogen, and varied tillage systems between no till, reduced till and conventional tillage.

Adding small grain cereals, forage legumes and other niche crops can add some costs and can complicate management practices, but does it have a place on your operation? The more complex the rotation, and the more diverse the tillage practices, the higher the potential to reduce crop stresses. Add in the potential benefits for weed, pest and disease control, and the value may soon dramatically outweigh the cost for your farming operation.

Weather Data

Location & Year	Weekly June 27 – July 3 2022			Accumulated
	Highest Temp (°C)	Lowest Temp (°C)	Rain (mm)	Rain (mm) April 1st	GDD 0C April 1st	GDD 5C April 1st	CHU May 1st
Harrow 2022	31.1	9.2	0.9	209	1388	950	1399
Harrow 2021	30.0	7.8	89.6	242	1397	946	1316
Harrow 10 YR Avg. (2011-20)	26.8	15.1	26.8	291	1369	901	1379
Ridgetown 2022	31.2	6.6	2.4	177	1293	864	1275
Ridgetown 2021	29.7	6.1	98.2	240	1314	871	1246
Ridgetown 10 YR Avg. (2011-20)	26.3	13.6	15.1	241	1279	817	1278
London 2022	29.8	6.6	8.6	190	1252	827	1225
London 2021	28.2	7.5	66.2	213	1309	870	1217
London 10 YR Avg. (2011-20)	26.1	13.8	28.6	267	1256	797	1256
Brantford 2022	31.4	7.4	4.2	180	1249	818	1189
Brantford 2021	29.9	7.0	60.3	205	1296	856	1208
Welland 2022	29.3	10.7	1.2	191	1293	853	1266
Welland 2021	27.8	7.3	29.6	129	1284	840	1195
Welland 10 YR Avg. (2011-20)	26.2	13.9	19.8	270	1257	798	1255
Elora 2022	28.9	7	3.7	167	1143	724	1086
Elora 2021	27.0	4.8	42.0	167	1181	750	1097
Elora 10 YR Avg. (2011-20)	25.1	12.2	25.1	266	1115	669	1104
Mount Forest 2022	29.5	7.1	8.4	188	1143	731	1105
Mount Forest 2021	27.1	6.2	38.5	174	1187	760	1105
Mount Forest 10 YR Avg. (2011-20)	24.8	12.6	38.3	262	1097	659	1097
Peterborough 2022	27.6	6.7	0.6	213	1150	717	1116
Peterborough 2021	27.6	2.3	23.2	161	1173	732	1085
Peterborough 10 YR Avg. (2011-20)	25.8	10.8	19.4	248	1129	683	1111
Kemptville 2022	27.7	10.9	5.2	306	1242	789	1214
Kemptville 2021	28.9	4.9	25.8	172	1292	845	1176
Kemptville 10 YR Avg. (2011-20)	26.3	12.4	19.3	262	1185	741	1183
Earlton 2022	25.1	6.6	11.3	191	1019	636	1049
Earlton 2021	25.3	3.8	82.3	216	1099	677	1000
Earlton 10 YR Avg. (2011-20)	24.8	9.4	21.9	216	901	539	940
Sudbury 2022	23.8	6.6	6.2	195	1015	623	1027
Sudbury 2021	23.6	1.8	42.6	198	1097	677	1009
Sudbury 10 YR Avg. (2011-20)	24.9	10.7	23.0	240	977	593	1010
Thunder Bay 2022	30.6	3.6	3.6	344	815	459	793
Thunder Bay 2021	26.9	4.6	12.1	203	976	568	919
Thunder Bay 10 YR Avg. (2011-20)	24.4	7.7	28.8	240	824	450	812
Fort Frances 2022	26.3	2.4	4.0	377	868	515	895
Fort Frances 2021	29.0	0.3	8.6	154	1042	628	1017
Fort Frances 10 YR Avg. (2011-20)	25.1	9.2	22.7	226	937	546	955
Report compiled by OMAFRA using Environment Canada data. Data quality is verified but accuracy is not guaranteed. Report supplied for general information purposes only. An expanded report is available at www.fieldcropnews.com.

Ontario Field Crop Report – June 29, 2022

Spring Roundup

As we close out the 2022 spring planting window, for the most part we see crops in good shape, but as always, there are regional differences.

Alfalfa in western and southwestern Ontario suffered a great deal of die out this winter. Farmers had to make quick plans to address this issue. Alternatively, alfalfa and winter wheat in eastern Ontario weathered the winter better than normal and producers there are pleased with these crops. Frequent rains in the east, northwest, and Algoma district are challenging dry hay harvest.

The early spring wet period kept most out of the fields in late April and early May. While the rainfall rates were for the most part not excessive, we didn’t get typical spring sunny warm days to dry out the soil and the frequent small showers continued to slow down the drying process (Figure 1.). As well in many places’ soils were still saturated into spring from the excessively wet fall of 2021. These factors led to a condensed planting window for our major row crops. Eastern Ontario especially received more than average rainfall making for additional unwanted stress. The pressure at edible bean planting time had diminished but farmers were finding some dry soil conditions they had to contend with. This added extra pressure to the retail input suppliers and farmers to keep ground preparation going, planters rolling, and sprayers struggling to keep up.

In general, the soil conditions have been excellent for seeding this spring when we finally got to them, we are now seeing evidence of compaction in areas created by starting in the fields when the soils were not quite” fit”. In many places soils were dry in the top ½” but saturated below. Working this ground too early leads to smearing and can cause problems with and following planting. With large planters and equipment, the number of acres that can be covered in short order means a “too early start” can impact a lot of acres. Additionally, the wet period was followed by a dry period and some producers over worked ground which made finding moisture at planting depth problematic. Those on heavy clay soils across various regions of the province had significant struggles in planting in a timely way into fit soils (Figure 2).

This past week with the heat, “pineapple” corn and rolled soybean leaves have been seen in both lighter and heavier soils. Moisture is needed to keep the good potential for yield on track. With the heat and where soil moisture is adequate, we are entering the elongation phase of corn growth leading to mid to late July tasselling depending on location. In soybeans, much of the crop is starting to flower. The heat has brought on rapid colour change in winter wheat as it heads toward grain fill and maturity.

With the condensed spring season, a significant acreage of intended T3 fungicide was not applied or applied late. Fusarium is showing up in fields in the southwest that are well advanced. Farmers should scout their fields to determine the level of fusarium damage and plan to harvest accordingly to ensure quality of the best portion of the crop.

Winds this spring never seemed to let up making the spraying job that much harder. Everyone needs to consider the risks of spraying under windy conditions which can lead to off target drift and injury to other crops/plants and reduces the efficacy of the products at their intended targets.

Weed control has been a struggle and it is important to scout fields as we enter summer. Are there weed escapes that need attention before we run out of time to address them? Are there weeds coming because of the weather conditions or maybe herbicide resistance? Its important to identify that now so you can prepare plans to address any resistance through your weed control choices in the coming fall and spring. Resistance should be checked by collecting seed of some of the escapes and submitting them according to the information at https://www.plant.uoguelph.ca/resistant-weeds.

If you are going to retreat weed escapes it is important to gather plants/seeds according to the instructions at the URL link above before treatment. Live plants that can set seed are needed to test for herbicide resistance. Resistance testing is important since many species are showing multi mode of action resistance. Not knowing the extent of resistance inhibits your ability to plan the best weed control program in future.  

A lot of time and dollars are invested in the 2022 crops currently growing. It is vitally important to preserve that yield potential by scouting those fields and addressing problems that can be fixed before we run out of management options available to the 2022 crop.

Weather Data

Location & Year	Weekly June 20-26 2022			Accumulated
	Highest Temp (°C)	Lowest Temp (°C)	Rain (mm)	Rain (mm) April 1st	GDD 0C April 1st	GDD 5C April 1st	CHU May 1st
Harrow 2022	33.7	13.3	3.4	208	1237	835	1216
Harrow 2021	30.0	7.8	89.6	232	1238	822	1119
Harrow 10 YR Avg. (2011-20)	26.8	15.1	26.8	264	1213	781	1184
Ridgetown 2022	33.0	9.8	0.5	174	1151	756	1106
Ridgetown 2021	29.7	6.1	98.2	233	1159	751	1057
Ridgetown 10 YR Avg. (2011-20)	26.3	13.6	15.1	223	1129	702	1094
London 2022	32.5	9.8	0.3	181	1119	729	1069
London 2021	28.2	7.5	66.2	201	1154	750	1026
London 10 YR Avg. (2011-20)	26.1	13.8	28.6	252	1110	686	1077
Brantford 2022	34.2	8.5	6.6	176	1115	719	1034
Brantford 2021	29.9	7.0	60.3	183	1138	733	1015
Welland 2022	30.8	12.7	1.0	190	1158	753	1101
Welland 2021	27.8	7.3	29.6	122	1127	719	1002
Welland 10 YR Avg. (2011-20)	26.2	13.9	19.8	248	1111	686	1072
Elora 2022	32.6	8.0	0.0	163	1024	641	950
Elora 2021	27.0	4.8	42.0	161	1035	639	914
Elora 10 YR Avg. (2011-20)	25.1	12.2	25.1	247	981	571	941
Mount Forest 2022	31.5	8.0	0.7	179	1028	651	974
Mount Forest 2021	27.1	6.2	38.5	140	1045	652	926
Mount Forest 10 YR Avg. (2011-20)	24.8	12.6	38.3	249	964	561	933
Peterborough 2022	31.4	10.0	0.4	212	1033	635	979
Peterborough 2021	27.6	2.3	23.2	129	1025	618	906
Peterborough 10 YR Avg. (2011-20)	25.8	10.8	19.4	236	993	582	948
Kemptville 2022	30.7	7.6	28.8	301	1106	689	1047
Kemptville 2021	28.9	4.9	25.8	168	1140	728	991
Kemptville 10 YR Avg. (2011-20)	26.3	12.4	19.3	236	1040	630	1005
Earlton 2022	29.1	10.4	18.7	180	912	564	927
Earlton 2021	25.3	3.8	82.3	166	967	580	837
Earlton 10 YR Avg. (2011-20)	24.8	9.4	21.9	202	772	446	786
Sudbury 2022	27.6	10.9	1.5	189	905	547	897
Sudbury 2021	23.6	1.8	42.6	178	965	580	846
Sudbury 10 YR Avg. (2011-20)	24.9	10.7	23.0	221	842	493	846
Thunder Bay 2022	33.9	8.7	4.9	340	706	385	671
Thunder Bay 2021	26.9	4.6	12.1	197	840	467	763
Thunder Bay 10 YR Avg. (2011-20)	24.4	7.7	28.8	214	700	361	664
Fort Frances 2022	34.6	4.7	44.0	373	774	456	792
Fort Frances 2021	29.0	0.3	8.6	154	904	526	864
Fort Frances 10 YR Avg. (2011-20)	25.1	9.2	22.7	212	808	451	802
Report compiled by OMAFRA using Environment Canada data. Data quality is verified but accuracy is not guaranteed. Report supplied for general information purposes only. An expanded report is available at www.fieldcropnews.com.