Ontario Field Crop Report– September 28, 2017

Sep 28, 2017

New Online Version for Inspection of Soil Pest Assessment Reports (PAR): Those requiring access to Class 12 Pesticides Neonicotinoid (NNI) treated corn and soybean seeds) are required to submit an Inspection of Soil Pest Assessment Report to their seed vendor prior to the purchase of the seed.

There is now an online version of the form that can be filled out and sent directly to your vendor at: https://omafra.secure.force.com/PAR.

Your seed vendor will be advised of your PAR submission, and once accepted, a copy of the form will be sent directly to OMAFRA. This eliminates the need for the vendor to take the additional step of submitting these online forms to OMAFRA by October 31st of each year. In addition, the online version also makes use of the AgMaps mapping tool to complete and attach the required field sketches done by the producers or Professional Pest Advisor to the online form.

Schedule 1 Begins for Phased-In Professional Pest Advisors (PPA): Fall is a great time to scout for wireworms and grubs (Figure 1.) if you require a Pest Assessment Report (PAR) for the purchase of Class 12 Pesticides (NNI treated corn and soybean seed) for next year’s growing season. A PAR is valid for 12 months from the time the assessment was completed. Anyone certified through the IPM course at https://www.ipmcertified.ca/ can conduct the PAR each year until the year that their farm property lands within one of the schedules.

Figure 1. European chafer grub
posted as soon as possible on the Field Crop News website at: http://fieldcropnews.com/

Schedule 1 begins on August 31, 2017 until August 30, 2018. Those farm properties that are in the counties listed under Schedule 1 will require a PPA to conduct their next Pest Assessment Report (See Table 1, below). This does not mean that a PAR is revoked and a new one is required.

However, once the PAR expires after 12 months, the next PAR must be completed by a PPA. Also beginning on August 31, 2017, the regulation requires that the professional pest advisor be financially independent. This means he/she cannot receive a specific financial incentive (above and beyond their salary or commission) to promote the sale of Class 12 pesticide-treated corn or soybean seed over the sale of non-Class 12 seed.

Source: OMAFRA

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Video: Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes | Field Talk Friday

Field Talk Friday | Dr. John Murphy | Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes

Most of us spend our time managing what we can see above ground—plant height, leaf color, stand counts, and yield potential. But the deeper you dig into agronomy, the more you realize that some of the most important processes driving crop performance are happening just millimeters below the surface.

In this episode of Field Talk Friday, Dr. John Murphy continues the soil biology series by diving into one of the most fascinating topics in modern agronomy: root exudates and the role they play in shaping the microbial world around plant roots.

Roots are not passive structures simply pulling nutrients out of the soil. They are active participants in the underground ecosystem. Plants constantly release compounds into the soil—sugars, amino acids, organic acids, and other molecules—that act as both energy sources and signals for soil microbes.