FERTILIZER BURN - SOMETHING THAT CAN BE AVOIDED
Fertilizer burn occurs every year to some extent.Experience has taught me that once the combined broadcast application of ammonia from urea and the salts of potash exceed 200lb/ acre on sandy loam soils fertilizer burn can become a reality.Once combined levels exceed 220lb/acre on sandy loams and soils remain dry for any extended period the severity of burn will increase.Over 240 lb/acre of the two combined and you're in for BIG TIME BURN.Add a liquid pop-up fertilizer to the mix and you are adding insult to injury.Even heavy manure applications on sandy soils can lead to fertilizer burn.The best way to confirm fertilizer burn from salts is to take cores of soil 2 inches deep right through plants suspected of burning from salt injury.
A simple laboratory test will corfirm your suspicions.

You can be 99.9% certain that fertilzer burn has occurred when you dig up plants like those shown on the right side of the above photo and you see NO RADICLES.
When radicles are missing or appear as blackened tips its a strong tell tale sign that they were burnt from too much ammonia and salt injury.

The surest means of avoiding fertilizer burn is to split your potash and N fertilizer applications.Of course you should never exceed 10 lb of N + K in a liquid pop-up on the seed and you should never exceed 70 lb of N + K in a 2 x 2 band.

CRITICAL WEED FREE PERIOD IS 3 - 8 LEAF CORN
The above photo is meant to depict a light weed infestation.Though this corn is approaching the Critical 3 leaf stage there is no urgency here to need to apply Glyphosate or a tank mix partner.Research will show that when weed pressures are light applications can be made by the 4th or 5th leaf and yields will not be suppressed
The above photo is meant to depict an average weed pressure.In this case weeds are more prevalent and the potential for them suppressing yield is very real.Though these weeds are very small they still represent a competitive factor to small 3 leaf corn plants.Glyphosate and any tank mix partner should be applied immediately to avoid possible yield loss due to their presence.In this case because weed pressures are heavier and the crop very small a residual tank mix partner would be recommended.
The above photo is meant to depict a very high weed pressure.With weed pressures this high the grower may have been better off applying a pre -emergent residual spray and then waiting to the 6-7th leaf stage of corn to apply glyphosate as a final spray application.This grower should have already applied his glyphosate and tank mix residual partner.YIELD OPPORTUNITY IN THIS CASE HAS ALREADY BEEN JEOPARDIZED.

NEARLY 100% RECOVERY EXPECTED FROM MONDAY MAY 10ths FROST
Growers across SW Ontario have been expressing concern over their corns recovery from Mays early freeze.They are finding a number of plants that are having a difficult time of unfurling their leaves and expressing a hooked candycane apperance much like that shown in the above photo.I have had to reassure many a grower that they have NO REASON to worry.Their crops are still actively growing and getting bigger day by day.Plants that express this shepherds hook will eventually break free with Little to NO YIELD LOSS expected.
Just to give you an idea of the type of recovery that you can expect I purposely untangled the corn leaves of the two plants shown in the first photo above and I then took a picture of them untangled.
I think you'll agree that you have a much different perspective of how you'd expect the two plants in the photo above to perform as compared to the two plants in the first photo above.Fact is they are the same two plants.I just speeded up what the recovery will look like by untangling their leaves.HANG IN THERE - THIS YEARS EARLY PLANTED CORN CROP HAS A LOT OF YIELD POTENTIAL BEHIND IT !

ONTARIO's ALFALFA HARVEST BEGINS IN EARNEST
Alfalfa silage harvest began in earnest this past week across SW Ontario.This is roughly a week ahead of normal.Though to put up high quality ALFALFA SILAGE with 20% protein ,30% ADF and 40% NDF digestibility scores requires harvesting at between the bud stage and first flower.

Both photos above were taken on Wed May 19 on farms loacted between Mt Elgin and Norwich Ontario.Pioneer will be releasing 2 new alfalfa varieties for Ontario forage producers this year.Current Pioneer favourites for putting up BIG TONNES of high quality alflafa silage are Pioneer brand 55V48 and 54V46.Both are intensively managed
alfalfas that will allow 3-4 cuttings per year.

ONTARIO's WHEAT CROP 7-10 Days Ahead of Normal

The maturation of the 2010 Ontario wheat crop is running 7-10 days ahead of normal.The overly warm month of April is responsible for making this occur.Most of the SW Ontario wheat crop will head over the next week.Much of Essex and Kent Countys' crop is already in head.It generally takes 6 weeks from heading to when combines start rolling.The above photo was taken Wed May 19 just west of Ridgetown.
Average to just slightly above average yields are expected.

PIONEER WHEAT VARIETIES LOOKING GOOD IN 2010

The newest Pioneer soft red winter wheat variety is Pioneer brand 25R39.This is an awnless soft red with the highest yield potential that has ever been released from Pioneers' breeding program for Ontario producers.25R39 is the tallest and latest to head of Pioneers' soft red winter wheat varieties.For growers wanting TOP YIELDS and more straw 25R39 is the one to beat.
Pioneer brand 25R56 is an awnless soft red that grows shorter than 25R39.For growers not wanting a lot of straw Pioneer 25R56 would make an ideal choice.Experience has shown that 25R56 has a tendency to have a very fast drydown.As wheat varieties approach their maturity 25R56 may not appear be as mature but in a very few short days it will dry down faster and be one of the first soft reds ready to combine.

Because of its fast drydown 25R56 has a bit of a tendency for some pieces of its head spike to appear in its harvested grain.Though this may seem unsightly at first it has never been a problem in 25R56 receiving grade 2 wheat status.

Another comment that has been fed back to us is that 25R56 has a tendency to thresh harder than our other soft red winter wheat varieties.Despite these comments one cannot overlook the fact that 25R56 is one of the highest yielding soft red winter wheats in the marketplace today if not the highest.

OLD FAITHFUL as she is called ! Pioneer brand 25R47 has long been a standing favourite of the Ontario farm marketplace.Probably no soft red winter wheat has ever been grown on more acres in its lifespan than 25R47.It just continues to deliver strong stable consistent yields year after year.People grow it because they like it and they can count on it.
You can put the combine on automatic pilot with this one.
The above photo taken just west of Ridgetown Ontario shows a nice plot of Pioneer soft red winter wheat varieties.( Double click on the photo to gain a close up )
Pioneer brand 25R51 is an awned soft red winter wheat.The key attribute that 25R51 brings to the Ontario marketplace is its FUSARIUM HEADBLIGHT RESISTANCE.

With the continual worry that growers express over the potential downgrading of their wheat I'm rather surprised that more growers don't take advantage of this varieties strength.

I have long expressed that if growers were to grow 25% of their acres to Pioneer brand 25R51 they would never have no worry over achieving grade 2 wheat status.

Pioneer brand 25R51 will be the first Pioneer wheat ready to harvest in July.Storing 25R51 in a separate BIN would allow growers to blend their 25R51 with any other Pioneer soft red wheat variety that might express some fusarium headblight ( or tombsone kernels ) in a BAD FUSARIUM HEADBLIGHT YEAR.

I only suggest growing 25R51 on 25-30% of ones acres as the variety does express a 3-4 bu per acre yield drag from other Pioneer soft red winter wheat varieties.On the other hand Pioneer brand 25R51 offers a significant yield advantage over companies Fusarium tolerant winter wheat varieties.

GROWERS HAVE OPPORTUNITY TODAY TO ENHANCE YIELDS WITH HIGHER PLANT POPULATIONS

Many growers today are not realizing the full yield potential that todays newer hybrids are capable of delivering.Todays hybrids have the unique capability of being able to deliver more yield through higher plant populations.Improved disease tolerance, stalk strength,silking strength,drought tolerance,herbicide tolerance and corn borer resistance have all paved the way to allow todays hybrids to deliver more harvestable grain yield when seeded at higher seeding rates.Growers have the ability to take advantage of this opportunity but they will first have to adjust their seeding rates upward if they are to ever realize it.The photo above shows the spatial distribution of a hybrids population when dropped at 32,000 seeds per acre.All Pioneer hybrids will respond favourably to this seed drop.( Double Click on these photos to make closer observations )

Growers dropping 32,000 seeds per acre, like that shown in the above photo, will likely end up with FINAL stands near 30,000.One has to remember that the average warm germ over a multiplicity of seed lots will be 96%.On top of that growers will generally lose another 2%.( 32,000 seed drop with a 6% plant stand loss equates to a FINAL STAND of 30,080.One can generally expect to see FINAL PLANT SEEDS of roughly 2,000 per acre less than what one seeds )

There are a number of Pioneer hybrids that will respond even more favourably when dropped at a 35-36,000 seed drop.These tend to be more determinate ear sized hybrids.

Increasing plant population to 35,000 seed drop should be relegated to your more productive farms that have historical farm averages of 150+ bu per acre. It goes without saying that achieving improved yields with dropping higher plant populations requires the application of good farm management skills.

Pioneer agronomy science researchers have evaluated all Pioneer hybrids for their yield responsivity to increased plant population.You can find this info by accessing Pioneers growing point website or by asking your Pioneer sales rep.

On choice soils of 190 + bu /acre capability there may be even more opportunity to capture more yield from some Pioneer hybrids when dropped at 37,000 seeds per acre.Seed drops of this magnitude are not for every farm or every farm manager.Be sure to do yourself a favour this coming year.At least make a committment to start assessing the extra yield potential that Pioneer hybrids can deliver you by evaluating higher seeding rates on your farm.