The Rural Voice, 1999-10, Page 44the strip variety comparisons.
Planting date is another important
factor in achieving a high yielding
crop. Beyond the ideal two-week
period, each day planting is delayed
increases the risk of yield reduction.
Planting earlier than the ideal date
increases the risk of aphids infecting
the crop with Barley Yellow Dwarf
Virus, and/or Hessian Fly. Varieties
such as 25W33 that are less winter
hardy should be planted first and on
the best drained soils.
Seeding rates are important and
will vary with seeding date. soil type,
conditions at planting, and seeding
method. For far too long planting
has been done using pounds per acre.
However, the number of seeds per
pound can vary as much 40 percent
among varieties. Using an optimum
seeding rate of 1.5 million seeds per
acre will be far more accurate than
135 lbs. or 2.5 bushels per acre as a
seeding rate. Too low a seeding rate
will encourage tillering as well as
lead to increased weed competition.
Too high a seeding rate can increase
lodging, lead to fewer kernels per
head and increase costs.
Seed placement is controversial.
Shallow planted seed Will emerge
more quickly, however deeper
planted seed will survive winter
heaving better. Many growers
discovered that planting shallow in a
dry year, followed by a dry fall and
spring can be devastating on the early
wheat growth, and result in severely
reduced yields. When seeded at the
ideal planting date, in this area of
Southwestern Ontario, where heaving
is almost a yearly issue, seed should
be planted 1.25 to 1.5 inches deep for
Advice
best winter survival.
Fertility is an important
component of maximum yield.
Ensuring adequate soil fertility is
essential during periods of rapid
growth and will help reduce crop
stress. In cold soils phosphorus is
tied tightly to the soil. Grass crops
such as corn and wheat have a high
need for phosphorus during early
growth. In regional comparisons
done in each of the past 8 years,
starter fertilizer at planting has paid
off in bushels of grain. Even where
fertility levels were adequate, but not
excessive, a positive response to
starter fertilizer was measured.
Weed and disease control are also
important components to high yield.
Planting into a weed -free field may
mean applying pre -harvest Round -up
before soybean harvest. Timely
spring weed control should be an
option if weed pressure dictates.
Scouting is an important part of
weed, insect and disease control.
The time to think about a 100
bushel wheat yield should be before
the drill gets to the field. Planning
now will pay off in bushels next
summer.0
Cover crops help
fertility, weed
suppression
By Elaine Roddy
Vegetable Crop Specialist,
OMAFRA
Why not plant a fall cover crop
this year? A cover crop will help
prevent the loss of precious topsoil to
erosion. It will also improve the soil
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structure, add organic matter and tie
up any nutrients that are left from the
previous crop. A densely seeded
cover crop will also help suppress
early season weed growth.
Legumes are not well suited for
fall seeding. However, several of the
grasses perform very well when
seeded in the early -to -late fall. Here
are a few to consider planting this
year.
Winter Rye can be seeded from
September to mid-October. It is the
most winter hardy of the cover crops
and will resume growth early in the
spring. For best results, it should be
sown at least one month before
freeze up. Rye has an extensive root
system. It will perform well on most
soil types and it has good drought
tolerance.
In late April or early May, the rye
cover crop is killed using either
herbicide or tillage. It is important to
note that if rye is tilled under when it
is less than eight inches tall, it may
re -grow. Sometimes, allopathic
compounds in the decomposing rye
will suppress the following crop.
This can be avoided by turning the
crop under three to four weeks before
seeding the new crop. In a reduced
tillage system, a small amount of
zone tillage in the seedbed will
usually suffice.
Winter Wheat — as a cover crop,
winter wheat will not usually perform
as well as winter rye. This is due to
the fact that it stops growing earlier
in the fall, and starts growing later in
the spring. Winter wheat can be
seeded in the late summer or early
fall.
Spring Cereals — barley and oats
are usually sown by mid-September.
They grow quickly and will put on
20 to 40 cm of top growth by freeze
up. The stand is killed over the
winter. This eliminates the need for
herbicides to kill the cover crop in
the spring.
Oilseed Radish should be seeded
by mid-September. It is very fast
growing, and fairly tolerant of early
frosts. The nice deep taproot will
help loosen compacted soil. This
crop requires good drainage and
fairly good levels of soil nitrogen.
By using nitrogen left over from the
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