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 the efficacy of the desiccant herbicide, resulting in a slower dry down and delayed harvest. Read more to learn about solutions to make the best of your crop desiccation.

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 for guaranteeing crop standability and preserving yield and quality.

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 pollen tube growth and the germination of pollen grains and fertilization, helping to ensure good grain fill and yield. 

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 resistance to fungicidal and insecticidal active ingredients and enhance crop tolerance to a wide range of abiotic stresses, such as wet, dry, cold and hot.

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 throughout the growing season and are crucial for plant growth and development. And, acting as growth regulators, they are essential to many responses to stress.