30 Aug Agronomy Update – Aug 30th

Posted at 10:00h in Recent News by

Good morning everyone,

My agronomy update is a day late going out, as we were busy with our final AIM BBQ yesterday in Morell.  Thanks to all who attended any of our BBQs this week.  A special thanks to the folks at Triple S Farms, Island Holdings, and Mo Dhaicadh Farms who hosted us this week – we truly appreciate your efforts!

At each of the BBQs, I was able to talk about some of the trials that we have in growers’ fields this year.  Stay tuned for results from these trials and more at our winter meetings and updates in due course.

It remains exceedingly dry in most parts of the province.  Short season varieties are either dead or close to it.  Some of the late season varieties are staying green for now but need significant moisture immediately to continue bulking.  There is lots of variability in the 10 foot strips I’ve been digging, but bulking has slowed considerably in the last two weeks.  Here’s hoping we get some significant moisture this weekend.

 

Spore Trapping:

  • Late Blight has not been detected in PEI this week in either Spornado or Airspore programs.
  • Foliar late blight has been found in ON, QC and ME this season, but not in NB or PE.  While the hot and dry weather of the last couple of weeks has been hard on the plants, it has not been conducive to late blight development.

 

AIRSPORE Aug 26th Aug 28th
Region Early Blight Brown Spot Grey Mold Early Blight Brown Spot Grey Mold
West Prince 0 2 139 150 11 828
East Prince 218 531 213 27 80 167
Queens 139 183 517 425 253 2449
Kings 0 0 603 67 27 5520

 

  • There continues to be quite a few fields suffering with early blight/brown spot, especially as the canopy has aged and suffered from the dry weather.  Brown spot (Alternaria alternata) is largely a secondary infection, but can be a yield robber.

 

Spornado Bortrytis count averages:

 

West Prince:  78,400/trap

East Prince:  41,500/trap

Queens:  1.6 million/trap

Kings:  737,000/trap

 

  • Bortrytis numbers decreased a bit this past week, reflecting the lack of moisture and higher temps. I have seen some grey mold appearing in Dakota Russets, Mountain Gems and Russet Burbanks on lower leaves.
  • Grey mold is most problematic when we start getting daytime temperatures consistently below 23 C (with cooler nights) and lots of free moisture.  As the forecast transitions to cooler and wetter weather, switching up your fungicide program to include chlorothanonil (Bravo/Echo) for control.  Note that only 3 applications per year of these products are allowed.

 

Aphid Alert Update:

 

Region Week ending Number of traps Potato Aphid Green peach Aphid Other Aphid Total Average/trap
CENTRAL PRINCE 24-Aug-24 6 0 1 10 11 1.8
CENTRAL QUEENS 24-Aug-24 6 0 0 0 0 0.0
EAST KINGS 24-Aug-24 3 0 0 0 0 0.0
SE QUEENS/KINGS 24-Aug-24 1 0 0 0 0 0.0
WEST PRINCE 24-Aug-24 12 0 12 163 175 14.6
Total 28 0 13 173 186 6.6
Region Date Number of traps Potato Aphid Green peach Aphid Other Aphid Total Average/trap
CENTRAL PRINCE 26-Aug-24 2 0 1 0 1 0.5
CENTRAL QUEENS 26-Aug-24 6 0 1 5 6 1.0
EAST KINGS 26-Aug-24 1 0 0 2 2 2.0
SE QUEENS/KINGS 26-Aug-24 0 0 0 0 0 NA
WEST PRINCE 26-Aug-24 11 0 18 368 386 35.1
Total 20 0 20 375 395 19.8

 

  • Green Peach Aphids (GPA) were first detected last week and were detected again early this week in multiple parts of the province. 
  • Other aphids numbers have also sharply increased in West Prince, but not so much in the rest of the province.
  • A lot of seed fields have already been top-killed; however, if you have seed that has not yet been killed, use of aphicides is highly recommended while these numbers remain high.
  • Aphid numbers have remained high through most of the season in West Prince compared to the rest of the province.  More investigation on the cause of these higher numbers in the west may be useful.

 

Additional Notes:

  • ECB moths were trapped at two locations in mid-August.  This could be a delayed first generation or a second generation this season.  Growers should keep an eye out for evidence of any moths or egg masses in the next couple of weeks.
  • A new generation of CPB are also appearing in a number of fields.  Most growers are keeping on top of CPB.  Do not go back-to-back with the same insecticide for resistance management…keep mixing up your pesticide groups!
  • A lot of folks are terminating forages and getting ready for fall tillage.  Please strongly consider seeding a cover crop in any fields worked this fall.  There is quite a bit of cheaper barley and spring wheat around due to high toxin levels…this would make a good fall cover option.  As this cover won’t have time to go reproductive, it isn’t much of a risk to multiple Fusarium in the environment.  If you are planning to use radish or mustard as a fall cover, seeding in the next 10 days is advised.

 

AAFC Variety Trial Field Day – Sept 4th

AAFC is holding their 2024 National Potato Variety Trial Field Day on Wednesday, Sept 4th at 1:00 pm at Harrington Research Farm (1200 Brackley Point Road).  All are invited to join them as they present the newest French fry, chip, and fresh market selections from the AAFC breeding program.

 

I don’t normally wish for rain on a long weekend, but I’m hopeful all growers will get some moisture pronto.  Have a great weekend.

Ryan