Blog

Harvest 2020 is right around the corner and the memories of “Hellvest 19” are still a little too raw. While nature’s plans for Harvest 2020 remain to be seen, ensuring an adequate and timely dry down of the crop is crucial for a smooth harvest in any year. Hard water and high pH can reduce […]

When the gravity pulling your crop down to the ground is stronger than the counter forces keeping it standing, lodging will occur. Crop lodging causes serious losses of yield and quality in many crops grown in Western Canada, especially cereals. Assessing the root cause of lodging and taking measures to help prevent it are key […]

Flowering is one of the most important stages in a crop’s life cycle and often happens during the hottest days of summer – ideal conditions for a less-than-ideal situation: heat stress. When conditions are right for heat stress, it is especially important to pay attention to boron (B) – a micronutrient that is critical to […]

Jasmonic and salicylic acids (JA and SA) are plant phytohormones that play key roles in resistance/tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses and interact with the other families of phytohormones to modulate growth and development. Understanding these PGRs and their roles has given modern agriculture new tools to fight diseases and pests, reduce the build-up of […]

Brassinosteroids (BRs) are growth hormones from the steroid family that are found in all plant species. They have a high-growth promoting activity, particularly in pollen and anthers, and take their name from the pollen of canola (Brassica napus), where they were initially discovered. BRs are involved in the control of cell division, elongation and differentiation […]

With tightening budgets in today’s turf industry, “spoon feeding” fertilizer and nutrients has become commonplace to manage excess turf growth and the associated costs to maintain turf while also helping your business to operate in a more sustainable manner. However, even while scaling back macronutrient application, it is important to make sure your turf has […]

Soil salinity can occur naturally or be caused by practices used on the farm – continuously irrigating with water that has a high salt concentration, for example. While some crops are tolerant to saline soils, high concentrations of some salts can be toxic to others. Salinity can also hinder a plant’s uptake of water and […]

Boron (B) is the first nutrient plants seek as they begin to grow, and this makes good sense when we consider the key roles B plays in a wide range of physiological processes allowing plants to germinate, grow, reproduce and remain healthy. In this post, we’re diving deep into the mysteries of boron. B is […]

Well-balanced nutrition including healthy levels of essential micronutrients like manganese (Mn) plays a key role in a crop’s natural ability to resist diseases. Mn is known as an activator of a crop’s internal defense responses, especially when it comes to root rots. Keep reading to learn more about how manganese supports a crop’s ability to […]

Manganese (Mn) is an essential micronutrient that while needed in small amounts, plays a key role in photosynthesis. Mn sparks the photosynthesis process by splitting water after Photosytem II (PSII) fixes light to initiate the conversion of CO2 and water into carbohydrates. Manganese deficiency is widespread in Canadian Prairies and Eastern Canada, reducing growth and […]