Boron to Flowering Canola

Should you Apply Boron to Flowering Canola
Canola and alfalfa are two field crops with the highest requirement for boron. Canola uptake is 0.3 – 0.5 lb/ac (60 bu/ac yield), alfalfa 0.3 lb/ac (4 t/ac yield) Tissue testing for boron can be useful as soil testing has not proved reliable. Organic matter usually supplies enough boron for most crops, perhaps except very low O.M., or coarse-textured soils. Boron assists in flowering, pollination, and aids in reducing flower blasting due to heat. Limited Ontario studies utilizing foliar boron at fungicide timing, show mixed results and indicate the best opportunity for payback is under dry weather with moderate crop stress.  Read More: https://bit.ly/3eAY0JN
Western Canada studies have generally not shown a response to soil or foliar Boron and caution about widespread use. One of the more recent foliar studies is by Sask Irrigation Crop Diversification Corporation: [...]

Tissue Testing vs Soil Testing

Tissue testing asks the crop ‘ What’s wrong’ and can be money well spent for growers to confirm a deficiency, or as a check if their crop needs more nutrients. In field crops, plant analysis providing a snapshot in time of nutrient uptake and most useful to indicate when nutrient levels are below critical levels.  It can also help with evaluating fertilizer management practices, including potential micronutrient issues. Soil testing complements this information and indicates what is available and should accompany a tissue test. ISU offers updated P & K tissue testing guide for corn & soybeans: https://bit.ly/384f5ck

Remember to GPS sampling locations for post-harvest soil testing with your Wintex sampler

Do you have a favourite Plant Deficiency Symptom App ?

Recently we tested out a couple of phone apps for diagnosing crop deficiency symptoms look like, their function, what soils types are prone to this deficiency, and correction recommendations. The two we tested both have some good features, but left us somewhat disappointed. We only need one app.  Ag Phd has a wide selection of crop kinds; Yara’s has a much more extensive image collection of nutrient deficiencies at different crop stages, and more agronomic information.  Both miss the mark, with nothing for lentils, chickpeas, dry beans. Let us know what your favourite app and we’ll share this in our next newsletter. Email:info@agbusiness.ca