28 May Agronomy Update – May 28
Hi everyone,
It’s been quiet from this desk for two reasons:
- I’ve been busy in the field setting up trials, soil sampling, etc.
- Growers are all too busy to read emails anyway!
It’s a rainy day in what has been a rainy week in PEI, so I’m getting caught up in the office a little bit today. Wanted to follow up on a few things to pass along to all of you.
Managing Compromised Seed:
Seeing and hearing lots of issues with seed this spring, much of it related to Fusarium. In a previous Agronomy Update, I shared some thoughts around managing compromised seed lots and shared a link to our Seed Handling Factsheet (PDF). A few factors to consider:
- If your seed lot has a high rate of Fusarium rot, the risk of poor emergence is higher. You may wish to look at adjusting seeding rate slightly to compensate for the fact that you may have reduced plant stand.
- A couple growers I am talking to with particularly challenged seed lots are not hilling at planting, to facilitate faster emerge with seed pieces that may lack some of the energy needed to emerge in a full formed hill. You may also want to take a look at your seeding depth for the same reasons.
- If you are cutting and storing, ensure sufficiently warm storage conditions to facilitate wound healing (around 10C/50F). Frequently clean and disinfect all cutting knives to limit disease spread and ensure consistent coverage with seed piece fungicide treatments.
Pre-emerge Herbicide Timing:
Starting to get a few questions about pre-emergence herbicide timing. Many farms now hill at planting, eliminating a later hilling pass which also kills newly emerged weeds. As a result we ask a bit more from our pre-emerge herbicides, and timing is key.
Pre-emerge herbicides must be applied before both your potatoes have emerged but also before weeds have emerged. Sencor and Lorox will have much less efficacy on already emerged/established weeds. They should be sprayed on bare soil with sufficient soil moisture for activation. Right now, the soil moisture part isn’t a problem, but about 10 mm of rainfall is enough to get good activation of pre-emerge herbicides.
If you think that you have an issue with herbicide resistance, I recommend adding a second active ingredient to your pre-emerge herbicide program that has a different mode of action. A newly development factsheet with information on available herbicides is available on the PEI Potato Agronomy website here. Options include Dual, Boundary (a pre-mix with Sencor), Frontier Max, Zidua, and Reflex. Consult the factsheet for more info on restrictions and efficacy.
New Irrigation Extension Specialist – Scott Anderson
The PEI Department of Agriculture has contracted Scott Anderson as an Irrigation Extension Specialist to work with all island irrigators to promote effective and responsible agricultural water use and efficiency strategies while maintaining crop productivity under drought conditions.
He will be available to advise on:
- Permitting processes
- Implementation of irrigation systems
- Responsible water usage
- General best management practices for irrigation
These services will be provided free of charge to all sectors, province-wide.
Scott is a soil and water engineer with over 20 years of experience in water management for the agricultural industry. He had previously worked with the PEI Dept of Agriculture from 1993 – 2008 and served as the irrigation specialist from 2000 – 2008. During that time he worked with producers to design and implement irrigation, drainage, and water supply projects. When Scott began work at AAFC in 2008, he was hired as the Regional Water Resources Engineer, then progressed into a program management role. Wanting to get back to his roots, he retired from AAFC this year and started Atlantic Water Management, his own water management company.
Scott Anderson can be contacted by email at atlanticwaterpei@gmail.com or phone at (902) 916-0603. The Board is very glad to have someone available to producers that knows the industry and knows irrigation to assist with all irrigation-related questions and projects.
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I hope that next week is better planting weather for everyone. Please feel free to call/text/email me with any questions as they arise. Stay safe!