Canola do you spray Fungicide on a shitty crop or not?

[farmaholic]

3:1 payback would mean for a $20/ac application and chemical cost you would have to get $60, on wheat? Who would ever spray then? Better odds with canola and the higher/bu price. 5:1 ????
In the fall when you "offer" your grain(cereals) to the Pirates and they pick it apart with a magnifying glass, tweezers and hand sort a weighed sample..... I've never seen a group of people demand so much and offer so little.

[ado089]

Ding! Ding! Ding! Why do I want to spend my time to go to town spend my money, run my sprayer, trample some crop on the off chance Co dictionary line up perfect and if I spend $20 I'll make $40 to net $20. That said there's more to getting a return than just yield. 5:1 is for those snakoil $5-10 products.

[saskcanfarmer]

If it's a garuntee that you won't lose money and there is a chance you can get 2 or 3 to 1 return will you do it?

[mbratrud]

In 2012, those that didn't spray in our area had half of what those that did. Certainly doesn't mean that is the case this year, but it is a costly mistake many are reluctant to make again.

If the tap shuts off and the forecast certainly looks drier, things will start going backwards soon.

Cotton, We are feeling pretty fortunate, 2 weeks ago we were certainly teetering on the edge of too much water for lentils and flax probably lost 10% of each but could have been significantly more. Crops do look pretty good today, but a long way from the bin. A rain will be necessary in the next 10 days to protect the potential. Last time I was south crops didn't look too shabby either?

[SASKFARMER3]

This isn't 2012. Crops were lost in 2012 due to aster yellows. That's it that's all she wrote.

[mbratrud]

SF3 in our area there were many examples of those that sprayed had 40 BPA and those that didn't had mid 20's. Especially on the earlier seeded crops. I'm not trying to speak to what happened 90 Miles north of me that was just what we experienced. Aster yellows were definitely present as well. No doubt fungicides are a tough call. Everyone has to make a call kind of like Hail Insurance.

[mbratrud]

SF3 in our area there were many examples of those that sprayed had 40 BPA and those that didn't had mid 20's. Especially on the earlier seeded crops. I'm not trying to speak to what happened 90 Miles north of me that was just what we experienced. Aster yellows were definitely present as well. No doubt fungicides are a tough call. Everyone has to make a call kind of like Hail Insurance.

[bucket]

If the heat comes this year with no rain, guys will lose more from that than the disease.

The record crop last year was made with a big rain in late july if memory is correct.

If there is no substantial rain in the next two weeks this crop will be well below average. Right now a big rain won't make average.

2012 was a year that yellow asters hurt alot of crop.

No doubt there was disease but guys have convinced themselves that spraying helped, not sure that is the case for every year since.

Besides if your going to spray for sclerotinia why not use Contans in the fall and do a real preventative treatment without have to go back in at flowering??

[SASKFARMER3]

MB it is well documented that Aster yellows destroyed a large part of the Canadian Canola crop. It just wasn't a little area.
We sprayed some and didn't others it was the same result.
Understanding your crops understanding the weather understanding the stage etc. all should be considered when looking at fungicides. Oh yea cost.
Were doing trials this year on a fungicide against the top others time will tell but I think their is a new chicken soup for crops for disease it works on every thing.

[SASKFARMER3]

Mmb one other note the Chemical companies made so much money on the aster yellow problem the following year by telling people they have to spray to help their canola. It was a huge profit day the following year.

[mbratrud]

If you walk into your crop at 3 in the afternoon and come out soaking wet and it hasn't rained for a week it's a pretty good indication that the risk for disease Is extremely high. Everyone has to determine their own risk tolerance. It's a very hard check to write. The stakes in farming are getting unbelievably high.

[SASKFARMER3]

Yes if your walking into your field at three in the afternoon and coming out wet then spray man spray. But if your flood central and you can step around plants as you walk in to field. Ah its a real easy answer.