Crop Talk Summer 2016

WHAT’S NEW WITH BAYER PRODUCTS

Canola crop looking good?

Keep sclerotinia at bay so it stays that way

PHOTo: jeannette greaves

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any growers believe that a healthy canola crop indicates a lack of disease and therefore does not have to be protected with a fungicide application. But the truth is that sclerotinia can affect all canola fields, and it’s your bestlooking canola crops that are the ones most worth protecting.

Harness the potential of your high-value crop by safeguarding it from sclerotinia with Proline® fungicide.

No Prairie regions are immune from disease – surveys have shown that 60% to 87% of all fields across the Prairies are affected by sclerotinia,** with tighter canola rotations further increasing those numbers. While sclerotinia infection rates vary year over year, region by region and from field to field – the fact remains that sclerotinia is likely on your farm and ready to rob yield from your canola crop.

So why can’t we eliminate the threat of sclerotinia? The sclerotia bodies that cause sclerotinia have been known to overwinter in the soil for five or more years. While the severity of the disease is directly related to moisture levels, even in a dry growing season all it takes is moisture in the weeks leading up to flowering – from either rain or humidity – for an infection to take off.

The best way to protect your crop is with a timely application of a foliar fungicide – such as Proline. The ideal time to apply Proline, or any canola fungicide, is at 20% to 50% bloom and before you see any signs of disease in the crop. Once you see disease presence, the damage is already done. And that damage will cost you. Yield loss is estimated at half the percentage of the overall infection rate – which means that a 20% rate of infection, which is not uncommon, will deprive you of 10% yield.

Sclerotinia infection can result in: • Decreased yield • Plant death before seed development • Uneven maturity • Underdeveloped pods • Lower seed weights • Shattering at swath A well-timed application of Proline can effectively reduce infection rates by up to 80% – which is better than any other tested fungicide in its class. New Demonstration Strip Trial data from 2015 shows that Proline fungicide applied between 20% and 50% bloom in fields with high sclerotinia pressure provided a +10.6 bu./ **Source: “Vigilance required in management of sclerotinia.” Carolyn King, January 2013. http://www.agannex.com/field-crops/vigilance-required-in-management-of-sclerotinia

ac. increase over the untreated and a +3.1 bu./ac. increase over the tested competition.

It is important to remember that with sclerotinia there is no single “perfect storm,” rather a multitude of scenarios can trigger the rapid spread of infection and a disastrous harvest. Sclerotinia can be expected in every canola field and growers should proactively protect themselves with a fungicide application. Ask your retailer about Proline today.

Purchasing 300 acres or more of InVigor hybrids makes you eligible to save an additional 8% on your Proline purchases through BayerValue.

Visit cropscience.bayer.ca/BayerValue to learn more.

FARMFORUM.CA / SUMMER 201 6

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Cereal disease control

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oth leaf and head disease can be devastating to your bottom line and can brutally limit the yield potential of your cereal crop. The added danger of fusarium head blight (FHB) is that it can severely downgrade your grain and, in some extreme cases, eliminate your ability to market your harvested crop. But in a sea of potential fungicide products, which ones will give you your best return and when should you apply?

WHEN SHOULD YOU APPLY YOUR FUNGICIDE? It’s all-too-familiar advice – protect your cereal crop by controlling disease at the flag leaf stage. But today, evidence is telling a different story. Over eight years of independent and Bayer-led trials from 2008 to 2016 have shown that you will get better disease control, better yield protection and an increase in quality when you apply your fungicide at head timing, while also protecting against leaf diseases.

Data from the 2015 Bayer Demonstration Strip Trials (DSTs) showed that a fungicide applied at head timing provided a better grade 22% to 24%* of the time vs. untreated, compared to flag leaf applications which only improved the grade 6% to 12%† of the time.

consistently shown an increase in yield when Prosaro or Folicur EW was applied at head timing.

With over eight years of trial results across the Prairie provinces, Prosaro fungicide has provided a +7.7 bu./ac.* advantage over the untreated check, while Folicur EW has averaged a +5.9 bu./ac.† increase. *Source: 2008-2015 grower-cooperated replicated Cereal DSTs, 107 trials †Source: 2009-2014 grower-cooperated replicated Cereal DSTs, 55 trials

*Source: 2008-2015 Bayer grower-cooperated replicated Cereal DSTs †Source: 2008-2014 Bayer grower-cooperated replicated Cereal DSTs

Does that mean you should never spray at flag leaf? Not at all. A good rule of thumb is to scout often and immediately protect your crop from leaf diseases that show up on the upper leaves and/ or flag leaf. Application at this point will still provide positive yield results and prevent disease from getting out of control. However, if disease pressure is minimal at flag leaf timing and is restricted to lower leaves, you are better off to wait another 7 to 10 days before applying your fungicide at head timing for increased yield benefits to the crop.

Better Crop Quality There are many factors that can downgrade your grain, including disease,

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colour, thin kernels, and more. By applying Prosaro® and Folicur® EW fungicides you can help preserve the quality of your grain, which helps your bottom line.

Wheat crops treated with Prosaro experienced an average +1 lb/bu. increase 29% of the time, and a +2 lb/bu. increase 11% of the time. Wheat treated with Folicur EW at head timing has an average 1 +lb/bu. increase 21% of the time, and a +2 lb/bu. increase 7% of the time.* *Source: 2008-2014 Bayer grower-cooperated replicated Cereal DSTs

Protect Your Yield At the end of the day – there’s nothing like a high-yielding crop. Eight years of demonstration strip trials have

To get the most out of a fungicide application at head timing: • Increase your seeding rate for a consistent crop stage • Use a forward/backward nozzle formation to fully cover both sides of the head • Consult your equipment manufacturer’s nozzle charts to identify the best speed for maximum crop coverage • Target a medium to coarse droplet for optimal coverage at the head • Set your boom 12 to 15 inches above the crop canopy for better coverage and to reduce drift Applying a foliar fungicide at head timing protects the flag leaf, the penultimate leaf and the head throughout the grain-fill period. If disease pressure is low leading up to the flag – target the head for for unsurpassed quality and yield protection.

WHAT’S NEW WITH BAYER PRODUCTS

Healthy, high-yielding pulses with Delaro fungicide

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ulse growers on the Prairies know just how devastating disease can be to their yield. The good news is that disease can be contained and yield preserved with a proactive and timely fungicide application at the beginning of flowering. Launched for Western Canadian pulse growers in the 2015 growing season, Delaro® has quickly proven that it can substantially decrease the risk of disease in Prairie pulse crops and significantly increase yield potential.

The 2015 Bayer Fungicide Demonstration Strip Trials (DSTs) showed the clear benefit of Delaro, even though the season was dry and disease pressure low across most regions. On lentils, fields treated with Delaro had a +4.5 bu./ac. increase or a 15% improvement over the

untreated check.* In field peas, every fungicide tested saw a yield improvement over the untreated check, but Delaro was the clear leader, with an average +2.9 bu./ac. yield increase – an improvement of 5%.† *Source: 2015 Bayer grower-cooperated replicated Pulse DSTs, 12 trials †Source: 20015 Bayer grower-cooperated replicated Pulse DSTs, 12 trials

The Delaro formulation combines the power of two different fungicide active ingredients, providing both preventative and curative properties for best in class protection against all major stem, pod and leaf diseases in pulses, including: • Anthracnose • Ascochyta • Gray mould

• White mould • Mycosphaerella blight

Although a treatment timed for the beginning of flowering will provide the best result, Delaro can be applied at the first signs of disease and provides exceptionally long-lasting disease protection for all pulses and soybeans.

The United Nations General Assembly has named 2016 the International Year of Pulses. This is significant for Prairie growers, as Canada is the world’s largest pulse-exporting nation, with 77% of our pulse crops exported to over 150 countries globally. Finding ways to maximize yield is one way to sustain the growth of the pulse industry in this country in order to increase on-farm productivity and profitability into the future. Effective disease control will go a long way to achieving the high-yield expectations of an international market.

To see how Delaro is performing in your area and the positive effect a fungicide can have on your operation, please visit

Infinity FX: changing the landscape of broadleaf weed control

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ake control of broadleaf weeds in your cereal crop with new Infinity® FX. This latest formulation in the Infinity product line combines three powerful broadleaf herbicides for fastacting control on tough weeds.

Infinity FX provides contact and systemic control of more broadleaf

weeds than any other broadleaf herbicide currently on the market. This includes, tough-to-control broadleafs, such as: • Cleavers • Kochia • Wild buckwheat • Volunteer flax

With Infinity FX you get the activity of three different herbicide Groups (27, 6 and 4), on the same weed species, which has proven to be an excellent resistance management strategy. Powered by pyrasulfotole, supercharged with bromoxynil and boosted with fluroxypyr, Infinity FX has speed of activity that will exceed your expectations.

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After eight years, the message remains the same: when it comes to fungicides, it pays to spray

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ast year marked the eighth consecutive year of the Bayer Fungicide Demonstration Strip Trial (DST) program and the results are hard to argue with. A timely application of a foliar fungicide can deliver a very healthy return on investment.

The Bayer DSTs follow a set of rigorous protocols that stand up to close scrutiny. The results from more than 200 grower-cooperated trials represent the largest dataset of its kind in Canada. The conclusions are consistent across data points – fungicides pay.

As part of the ItPaysToSpray.ca initiative designed by the Market Development Team, Bayer has recently

added numerous pulse crop trials across the Prairies, including; lentils, field peas and soybeans. Early results from these trials indicate the same type of results as the cereal trials. Applying a pulse fungicide is a great investment that will have a positive impact on yield and profit.

For more information on DST results in your area – including a return on investment calculator – please visit

Pod-shatter technology allows you to straight cut your canola safely

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eather and Time. Ask any grower from the Canadian Prairies to name their biggest operational challenges, and that’s exactly what you get. The short-season growing zones of Western Canada pits growers against potentially severe late-season weather; and a rush to complete harvest before early fall frosts can wreak havoc on their yield. However, the new pod-shatter reduction technology of InVigor® L140P helps growers deal with both of these challenges.

InVigor L140P is the first canola hybrid with the patented InVigor pod-shatter reduction trait. This trait allows seed to fill naturally and ripen safely within a pod that is securely attached to the plant.

This in turn helps prevent premature shelling associated with adverse lateseason weather and provides growers with greater harvest flexibility in terms of their ability to straight cut their canola or cropscience.bayer.ca 1 888-283-6847

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consider delayed swathing.

For 2017 Bayer will be launching a new InVigor hybrid with the pod-shatter reduction trait. This new hybrid will offer grower improvements in yield, standabilty and earlier maturity than InVigor L140P. In response to a 2015 survey, more than 70% of growers who grew InVigor L140P opted to straight cut at harvest. This is a testament to the flexibility provided by this hybrid and amazing trust and grower acceptance of this new trait technology.

Most Prairie growers already have a straight cut header for harvesting cereals and pulses. This generally requires only a few minor adjustments to the front end to harvest the bushy canola crop.

Cutting Edge Expo You can learn more about straight cutting and pod-shatter reduction technology at a series of InVigor grower events this spring. In association with industry partners, Bayer will be presenting the Cutting Edge Expo, where industry experts across different sectors will present information on: • Optimizing your combine for straight cutting • Appropriate speeds and equipment settings • Managing harvest losses • Increasing canola production • The latest in pod-shatter canola genetics

For more information on the next Cutting Edge Expo near you, visit cropscience.bayer.ca/CuttingEdgeExpo

@Bayer4CropsCA Always read and follow label directions. Delaro®, Folicur®, Infinity®, InVigor®, Proline® and Prosaro® are registered trademarks of Bayer Global. Bayer CropScience Inc. is a member of CropLife Canada

FA R M FO R U M .CA / summer 2016