It's back to school....

Jul 27, 2022

Saskatchewan's Crop Diagnostic School kicked off yesterday in Swift Current.

The two day event continues today for pre-registered participants.

Crops Extension Specialist Allie Noble says this year's event gives producers, agronomists, industry and retail staff from across the province the opportunity to take part in training sessions focusing on everything from crop scouting to agronomics.

Participants are going through five different stations covering a variety of topics ranging from weeds, to disease and insects, herbicide injury and soils.

The soil station with Dr Jeff Schoenau and Ken Wall focuses on how higher levels of seed placed nitrogen can affect seedling survival, and how different crops can tolerate varying levels of salinity.

The weed identification station focuses on commonly found and misidentified broadleaf and grassy weeds as well as information on noxious weeds and weed seed longevity.

The disease station covers a lot of ground from chickpea issues with Dr. Michelle Hubbard to Dr. Sabine Banniza on root rots in pulses. Dr. Alireza Akhavan focused on verticillium stripe in canola, Dr. Randy Kutcher spoke on cereal diseases while Dr. Dean Malvick talked about Goss’s Wilt and Tar Spot in corn.

At the insect station, Dr. James Tansey along with AAFC Scientists Dr. Meghan Vankosky and Dr. Tyler Wist focus on how to identify and properly scout for insects that you might find across Saskatchewan.

Provincial Weed Control Specialist Clark Brenzil walks participants through herbicide injury symptoms and what to look for on cereals, oilseeds and pulses.

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Video: Dicamba Returns for Georgia Farmers: What the New EPA Ruling Means for Cotton Growers

After being unavailable in 2024 due to registration issues, dicamba products are returning for Georgia farmers this growing season — but under strict new conditions.

In this report from Tifton, Extension Weed Specialist Stanley Culpepper explains the updated EPA ruling, including new application limits, mandatory training requirements, and the need for a restricted use pesticide license. Among the key changes: a cap of two ½-pound applications per year and the required use of an approved volatility reduction agent with every application.

For Georgia cotton producers, the ruling is significant. According to Taylor Sills with the Georgia Cotton Commission, the vast majority of cotton planted in the state carries the dicamba-tolerant trait — meaning farmers had been paying for technology they couldn’t use.

While environmental groups have expressed concerns over spray drift, Georgia growers have reduced off-target pesticide movement by more than 91% over the past decade. Still, this two-year registration period will come with increased scrutiny, making stewardship and compliance more important than ever.