For the most part the Southern Ontario soybean crop is at the R5 - R6 stage of crop development.The R5 stage of growth is reached when seed in the plants top pods reaches 1/3 of a cm.in length.The R6 stage of development is reached when seeds fill the cavity within the plants top pods.The plant in the photo above and below could be considered to be the R6 stage of crop development.
Seed is filling the cavity of the pod in the above shot.This is considered the R6 stage of crop development.
In the above photo seed has not yet filled the cavity of the pods but is more than .3 cm in length.This could be considered a plant mid way between the R5 and R6 stage of reproductive growth.
These plants still have small pods at the top no more than 3/4 of an inch in length.These could be considered to be in the R4-R5 stage of crop development.
This plant too is in the R4-R5 stage of crop growth.Yields can be significantly impacted by stresses in this period.August is the crucial month for soybean pod fill and for the most part we have had very favourable weather during the pod fill period.Though we started with slow growth from May through to late June we have not experienced any severe drought stress to really hurt soybean pod fill.If anything the 2 biggest diseases we have experienced is white mould and SDS ( Sudden Death Syndrome )Soybean Yields for most growers should be respectable.

The number one factor hurting the performance of this years corn crop is uneven emergence.Soils were
slow to dry in the spring of 2009.The cool moist weather of late April and early May lead many fields to remain pasty at the 2 inch depth.This made it extremely difficult to avoid planters from creating sidewall compaction in the slower drying areas of fields.As the planters double disc openers moved through the soil they often created a pressure point against less than totally fit soil leaving the sidewalls of the seedtrench to compress.As these areas of the field eventually dried it created a tighter more condensed rootbed environment for the young seedlings roots to penetrate.This in turn created a delay in plant growth in these areas leading to smaller rooted, smaller stalked plants to develop.The end result is what you see in the photo above and below.Smaller ears that in some instances are not nearly as well pollinated as we'd like them to be.
Note the smaller stalks of these plants.Smaller stalks are a prime indicator of delayed emergence due to either cooler seedbeds slowing plant growth,sidewall compaction in the seed trench causing restricted plant development ,crusted soils or leafing out underground.When a plants development is significantly delayed it can lead to poorer pollination like what you see here due to insufficient pollen being present to fertilze silks when they eventually emerge.
An illustration of small stalk diameter.Consistent uniform stalk diameter is the key to uniform emergence.
Consistent ear sizing with good ear tip fill like that shown here is the end resolve of strong uniform emergence.This can only occur with uniform planting depth, excellent seed to soil contact and dry friable seedbeds with no sidewall smearing and good soil warmth transmission.
Consistent ear sizing like that shown in the above photo was characteristic of nearly every growers corn fields in 2008.Why you ask ? Because last year soils came through the winter in great shape.There were no pounding rains in late April and early May to compress soils and make them hard to dry.And soils were warmer in the spring of 2008 because of it.Also in 2008 no rainfall event of any significance occurred between April 23 and June 9th.This lead to the most consistent uniform stands of corn that I've seen in a long time.Followed up with sufficient timely rainfall and voila we experienced the biggest highest yielding corn crop in the history of Ontario farming.
Ear sizing will be propionate to stalk diameter development.Take a good look at the stalks of these eared plants in the photo below.
Produce consistent large diameter stalked plants like those shown here and you're on your way to BIG YIELDS !!!If you are finding too much variation in stalk diameter in your fields then you need to start asking yourself these questions?
Did you push your planting date ?(in that was the field really fit for planting - there was more evidence of sidewall smearing in more corn fields in the spring of 2009 than I've personally seen in a decade)
Did you plant deep enough ?( ideal planting depth is between 1 3/4 and 2 1/4 inches
Are you getting too much planter bounce ?( ideal planting speeds are between 5 and 6 mph depending on planter type
Are you leaving your fields level enough ?
Are you clearing sufficient residues ?( with trash whippers) to avoid seed furrow pinching and improve seedbed temperatures
Are your units properly calibrated ?
Are your double disc openers worn too much ? ( they should have at least 2 and 3/4 inches of contact at their front cutting point and they should be at least 14 7/8 inches in diameter
Are your depth gauge wheels properly shimmed in ?
Have you installed Seed Firmers ?
Did you check both your closing wheel alignment and down pressures ?
NOTHING BEATS UNIFORM EMERGENCE FOR HIGH YIELD CORN PRODUCTION !

If you are planning on growing corn on corn in 2010 you need to be seriously considering growing a rootworm resistant hybrid.If left controlled rootworm larvae can do serious nodal root pruning that can cause significant yield loss as well as reduced harvestability from root lodging.The above photo is a shot of adult Rootworm Beetle feeding on the silk of a corn plant.
The silks on these ears have been pruned by adult beetles.
If silk pruning by beetles occurs before pollen shed it can lead to a serious reduction in kernel set like that shown in the above photo.
<These are the larvae that prune roots below ground between June 20 and July 25th.Depending on the year they can wreak a lot of havoc with the roots of corn.
Double click on the above photo and you'll see how much root pruning has been done by larvae and the rootworm larvae pressure at this site was not all that high.

A big part of the lure to Glyphosate Resistant soybean production has been the ability to consistently grow clean weed feee soybeans.
When you travel through the countryside it is quite easy to pick out the Glyphosate resistant soybean fields.Like the one above they generally look impeccably clean.
NO HOES NEEDED HERE !
Unfortunately the same cannot be said for conventional IP soybean production.The lure of a premium may be nice but it certainly requires a demanding herbicide regime to keep weeds down.
In many cases it takes two sometimes three spray applications to try and keep weeds in check in a conventional IP program.Even then fields at times may not be satisfactorily clean.
Some growers will be required to apply a preharvest burndown of glyphosate in order to properly harvest fields and hopefully still salvage a premium.
WEEDS !
WEEDS !
WEEDS!
AND MORE WEEDS !
Preharvest burndowns will definitely be needed to allow harvest of these IP fields.
IP Premiums sound nice but they certainly don't come without their fair share of challenges.An intensively managed weed control program is a definite must for any grower to have a chance at achieving his premiums.The risk - reward efforts of a Conventional IP PROGRAM must be carefully weighed by any producer venturing down this path.

This shot depicts two of the quintessential elements to high yield corn production.UNIFORM EMERGENCE and UNIFORM SPACING.If you want to grasp a better handle on how uniformly your crop emerged in 2009 go out into your fields and start measuring stalk diameter.Take a close hard look at the uniformity of stalk diameter in the above photo.There is a definitive correlation between stalk diameter and emergence.If you are finding too much difference in stalk diameter in your fields then you need to start asking yourself these questions ?
Did you push your planting date (in that was the field really fit for planting - there was more evidence of sidewall smearing in more corn fields in the spring of 2009 than I've personally seen in a decade),did you plant deep enough ( ideal planting depth is between 1 3/4 and 2 1/4 inches,are you getting too much planter bounce( ideal planting speeds are between 5 and 6 mph depending on planter type,are you leaving your fields level enough ,are you clearing sufficient residues( with trash whippers)to avoid seed furrow pinching and improve seedbed temperatures,are your units properly calibrated,are your double disc openers worn too much ( they should have at least 2 and 3/4 inches of contact at their front cutting point and they should be at least 14 7/8 inches in diameter,are your depth gauge wheels properly shimmed in, have you installed Seed Firmers and did you check both your closing wheel alignment and down pressures.NOTHING BEATS UNIFORM EMERGENCE FOR HIGH YIELD CORN PRODUCTION !

The greater degree of stem diamter uniformity you find in your fields the greater degree of higher yield performance you'll achieve.If you want to score yourself on how uniformly you're getting your crop to emerge I'd suggest purchasing a micrometer for measuring stem diameters.The above photo illustrates how stalk measurements can be taken with a micrometer.( Photo - Courtesy of the Pioneer Agronomic Image Library
DesMoine Iowa )

The above photo depicts all too well what can happen to corn roots when growth regulator herbicides are applied over the top of corn past the 6 inch stage of growth.In this particular case glyphosate and 2,4-D were applied over the top of corn at the 6 true leaf stage.When corn is this big there is simply too much surface area for absorption of the growth regulator herbicide.With excess herbicide accumulation at active growing points the brace roots have become twisted and contorted as shown.
With the significant amount of brace root fasciation that has occurred the plant has no nodal root structure above ground to support its upright stance.As a consequence the hybrid is leaning on a 45 degree angle to the soil.This will undoubtedly make harvest more of a challenge.
The good news here is that despite the significant amount of root leaning the hybrid pollinated well and should still be able to be harvested with some extra care.The field will be slated for early harvest.
This is a close-up shot of how the brace roots have fused together.Growth regulator type herbicides can do this to roots when applied at a late stage of growth.
This is another shot showing how twisted and fused the above ground nodal root structures have become.The moral of this story is be sure to NEVER APPLY
growth regulator type herbicides to corn over the top after corn is above 6 inches in height.

This is a shot of how relative maturity, ear sizing,grain type are all setting in on a number of similar maturing 2950-3050 HU hybrids from a test plot near Dresden,Ontario.
Ultimately the real benchmark separating the performance of these products will come in at harvest as test plots across the countryside are weighed.
( the second hybrid shown is a representative cob of DEKALB DKC 50-19 VT3 - all others are Pioneer brand hybrids.The last hybrid shown is a new triple stack hybrid rated at 2950 HU.Its addressed with the new Pioneer nomenclatured numbering system.
The P stands for Pioneer.The first 2 digits stand for the hybrids overall CRM ( Comparative Relative Maturity - Rating )In this case it is a 99 CRM hybrid.The last two digits are random based on breeder designations.The X stands for Xtra meaning Herculex Xtra or Triple Stack and the R designates that this is a Round-up ready hybrid )

This is now 27 days after pollination for this hybrid.As you can see it has reached the late milk stage
Pioneer brand P0125HR is a new 3050 HU Double Stack hybrid that poses to be a solid new product for 2010.Last year in limited strip trials the hybrid exhibited stellar performance.The excitement builds to see just how well it will perform again this year.Stay tuned as Weigh Wagon data in 2 months time will give us the answer.

Every year we seem to experience some BLUNT EAR SYNDROME in some locality.This year is no exception. This shot taken near Thamesville,Ontario shows how the ear on the plant appears very sharp pointed.A dead give-away,with some additional ear pinching, that something during pollination went wildly wrong.
Usually associated with Blunt Ear Syndrome is silk balling,giving indication that the hybrid incurred some kind of stress that diminished its ability to push silks out.
There are very few answers to explain exactly what goes wrong in the plant to cause BLUNT EAR SYNDROME to occur.Everything from prolonged cold soils,to cold temperature stresses at the 10-12 leaf stage, to herbicide interaction,to a weak silking hybrid, to some type of soil disease not yet understood have all been blamed for BLUNT EAR SYNDROME but to this day no one really knows why.
Growers can be fortunate that BLUNT EAR SYNDROME only impacts a limited number of acres and a limited number of growers each year.When it does impact a grower though it can be nasty.Yields have been cut in half when Blunt Ear Syndrome becomes severe in a field.
The interesting thing with Blunt Ear Syndrome is that it may show up one year and not impact a grower for several more years to come.There are definitely some hybrid differences,though its difficult to predict when or why a hybrid will react with Blunt Ear Syndrome or sometimes referred to as Beer Canning worse than another hybrid.

White mould can be one devastating soybean disease.And it all starts as just a small spore thats released from these inverted appearing mushrooms on the soil surface.As the black sclerotinia seed from a previous soybean crop germinate they produce these inverted mushroom like structures at the soil surface.At just the right time these fruiting bodies release large numbers of ascopores into the soybean canopy.If a spore lands on a wet dying petal that remains moist for 2-3 days the infection process is on its way.( Photo - Courtesy of the Pioneer Agronomic Photo Library - DesMoine,Iowa )
Once the thread like infection strand has penetrated within the stalk the growth of white mould mycelia begin their process of shutting down the plants phloem and xylem network ( in other words they block off the plants water and nutrient plumbing devices that feed the upper plants leaves )The end result is a wilting death to the upper leaves.
Once infection has occurred at a flowering node the white cottony mycelial growth will begin both its downward and upward ascent of the plants stem.
It doesn't take long for the mycelial threads to develop black fruiting bodies called sclerotinia.
These seed like structures( sometimes referred to as rat turds by farmers )can be already seen formed in the above photo.( Double click on the shot and you should be able to detect several )
As growth progresses white mould can spread quite profusely throughout the canopy as seen by the amount of stem infection these plants display.
Yield losses from severe white mould ( 50% plant infection can approach 15 - 20 bu / acre )All companies are well aware of what white moulds potentially devastating impact can be. Research is being conducted in several arenas to help overcome it.
In the meantime if a grower is seriously plaqued with WHITE MOULD all he can do is follow these helpful suggestions.1) Do not over fertilize a field either with commercial nutrients or manure.Excess foliage growth and leaning soybeans can lead to more white mould development because of more humid and darker shaded canopies 2)Select above average white mould tolerant narrow line soybean varieties with exceptional standability to avoid early season lodging 3)If posssible grow strong yielding but earlier maturity soybean lines for your geography.Earlier maturing varieties will not grow as big and lush by the time they flower and so they can often avoid white mould infection because of greater air movement and sunlight penetration into the lower canopy.4)If possible consider widening your row spacing and reducing your seeding rate.Soybeans should always be seeded according to their seed size.If you are planting a small seeded variety you may be dropping too high a plant population.Consider moving to a 20 inch or wider row spacing and dropping only 150,000 seeds per acre.6)You might consider using atrazine in your corn crop prior to rotating to soybeans.There is some evidence to indicate that the L-isomer of atrazine controls a percentage of the germinating sclerotinia and 7)You might want to consider cultivating wide row soybeans.There is evidence to show that when cultivation is done when sclerotinia are germinating a percentage can be controlled through soil disturbance.
Bottom line is that we will inevitably see some white mould show up in soybeans when we experience lush moist growthy years.
When its all said and done I don't mind seeing some white mould in a soybean canopy.When you see white mould its making a statement that growth has been strong and lush and that yields are likely going to be favourable due to better pod set and larger seed sizing.It reminds me of the grower who once called me to come look at his mouldy soybean crop.After examining the field for an hour or so I left him telling him that I'd have to get back to him to see how they were going to yield.His reply was that a he couldn't afford to grow a soybean that moulded like the one he had planted.I just said that we'd have to wait and see.A call came back to me about a month later.It was the same farmer.He said he'd called because he wanted me to know just how the field had turned out.I replied with, " well,whats the verdict " His comeback was that as much as he'd once stated that he couldn't afford to grow the variety, he now indicated that with what it had yielded he couldn't afford not to grow it.The moral of the story is that we probably shouldn't be too quick to judge how things will turn out when it comes to white mould.They sometimes aren't near as bad as we think.