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Things To Think About This Month - July 2015

Jul 01, 2015

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Strawberries

Maintain good weed control – dandelion and chickweed infestations can contribute to Tarnished Plant Bug damage (issue in day-neutrals)
Application of nutrients – primarily nitrogen –should be done as soon as June bearer harvest is complete - 50lb/ac N, P & K; Make 2nd application in mid-August - 15-20 lb/ac N (using calcium nitrate)
Mowing old leaves of June bearing strawberries (only) at renovation should only be done if harvest and mowing can be completed by August 5
Irrigation (if not supplied by rainfall) should be continued at this runnering stage of June bearers
Day-neutral strawberries will require constant nitrogen feeding until end of August - 10-20 lbs actual N/ac/month may be split into weekly or bi-monthly applications
Field cooling of strawberries should be considered if temperatures exceed 30°C. Day-neutral flower bud formation ceases at 26-28°C
Failure to cool will result in the conspicuous absence of a crop a month later

Saskatoon berries

Ensure any off-plant types (e.g. chokecherries) are pruned out of the Saskatoon berry rows prior to harvest
Soil moisture can be reduced after harvest to encourage plants to harden-off
Harvest at night or early morning to take advantage of fruit temperatures (reduces cooling requirements)
Cool crop immediately after harvest to preserve produce quality
Ensure that there is airflow through the harvested product to cool more quickly
If freezing the graded crop, consider that smaller quantities or thin layers will freeze more quickly than bulk quantities – which will affect final quality of the frozen product

Vegetables

Harvest product at appropriate stages, with consideration given to cost of harvesting versus total yield
Multiple harvests of each planting can increase total yield but quality (and returns) may be higher for early harvests of each planting
Cool harvested product quickly to slow post-harvest degradation
Final washes/rinses should be in potable water

Greenhouse ornamentals

If holding plants for extended periods, ensure plants are kept healthy, fertilized and free from pests
Apply sufficient water, maintenance fertilizer, etc.
Clear out older stock as quickly as possible

General / Other

Adjust irrigation as soil moisture conditions and plant requirements change.
As plants begin to mature and fruit fills, moisture requirements typically increase.
Maintain soil moisture levels through harvest (particularly during fruit formation and filling)
If June was particularly wet and you have sandy soils, it is possible that soil nitrogen levels may be depleted. Make light applications of nitrogen. Heavy applications of nitrogen can lead to soft fruit and plants

Pest Monitoring / Management

Continue to monitor disease and insect pest development and make appropriate controls (adhering to PHI and REI restrictions)
Remove / prune out diseased plant material
Check out PMRA website for most recent info on registered pesticides
Abandonment (ploughing under) of an annual crop can sometimes be more cost effective than trying to salvage a heavily infested crop with chemical sprays (weeds, insects, disease)
Consider cultural pest control practices such as exclusion, using such technologies as row covers, netting, etc.

Source : Agriculture and Forestry

Video: Luke Harvey & EASYFIX Equine

We recently caught up with one of our wonderful EASYFIX Equine customers Luke Harvey, to see his superb new pre-training facility. Luke installed our Diamond DeluexGlue & Sealed Stable Matting System & Softwall Wall Matting.