The Rural Voice, 1981-09, Page 16RURAL NEWS IN BRIEF
Crop conditions above average
According to the Ontario Ministry of
Agriculture and Food (OMAF) re-
presentatives for Bruce, Huron, Grey and
Perth counties, crop conditions in all four
counties are slightly above average.
Art Lawson, soil and crops representa-
tive at Perth OMAF, voiced the general
opinion when he said "generally, the
crops have been good, with the exception
of a few isolated cases which are having
problems."
The drought early in the summer was
cause for major concern, but the rain at the
end of July relieved most of the stress on
the crops.
The OMAF representatives were inter-
viewed August 13, when the wheat was
being harvested. In Bruce and Grey
counties, harvest was about 40 percent
complete at this time. OMAF re-
presentative Mac Bolton said harvest in
Bruce was "held up by the rain. There
were only two or three good harvest days
for the last three weeks."
However, he said "the rain has been
good for pasture. Some later hay crops
have second and third growths."
In Perth, the wheat crop appears a little
better than average. Sprouting isn't the
problem it was last year as conditions
aren't as wet. There was some problem
with root rot, said Lawson, and the dry
weather made the wheat mature a little
quickly. However, he is pleased with the
general outlook.
In Huron County, OMAF assistant
representative John Heard reported the
wheat is all harvested and yields are good,
averaging 65 bushels an acre. "The
quality is good with high test weight".
Bolton in Bruce reported the "early
grain is just below average; about five
percent below average and about 10-15
percent below potential."
Spring grain in Perth County is
"yielding well after the break in that hot
weather" said Lawson. He reported there
are isolated cases of army worm.
Barley in Huron County is "generally
pretty good quality and has good yields"
said Heard. There is some malting barley
in the north of the county which didn't
meet the standards because of the
drought, but Heard said this is an
exception.
The corn crop appears to be an
improvement from last year. Bolton said
the corn was suffering in the hot weather
in July but there's been enough rain since
then to suggest a good crop.
A concern in Perth County with corn
crops is the condition of the soil when the
corn was planted. There was compaction
and some fields have corn for the second,
third or fourth time. "Good soil should
have a granular structure," said Lawson
"and corn, soybeans and rutabagas
decrease the quality of the soil."
Some crops in Perth have had trouble
with lodging (falling down) because of
root worm damage, but Lawson said fields
with the most trouble are those with corn
in for the second to fourth year and
without root worm treatment.
The Huron -Perth Soil and Crop
Improvement Association has suggested a
number of corn hybrids which stand up
and yield well, said Lawson, and none of
these have lodged.
Heard has found there is very little
lodging this year, because there has been
little rain, causing the roots to go deeper in
search of moisture. Therefore, the plant is
stabilized. Last year, with so much
moisture, the roots weren't very deep, so
lodging was a great problem.
There has been some root worm
damage and some plants have goose-
necked due to root worms pruning the
roots, said the Huron assistant ag. rep.
Also, the corn showed drought stress after
being on sandy land for so long.
In addition to saving the corn, the rain in
late July can be credited with rescuing the
bean crop. Generally, the bean crop will
be average this year in all four counties.
There was some herbicide damage from
splashing rains when the plants were
young, said Lawson.
The potato leafhopper was common in
both Perth and Huron, and Heard
mentioned there was some damage from
the Mexican bean beetle closer to the
Bayfield area. There has been a fair bit of
aerial spraying for the leafhopper.
White mould has not been as great a
problem as last year, because the weather
has been so dry. However, healthy,
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PG. 14 THE RURAL VOICE/SEPTEMBER 1981