Fungicides

[Ache4Acres]

Does everyone feel that fungicides are worth the money?

One guy I know is now contemplating a 4th application on his durum.

What crops are the no-brainers?

Watch for disease or just blast away?

[farmaholic]

In my opinion, WHEN they are actually required it is the only thing to help suppress it. DO NOT READ THE LABEL. Look up the word suppression. Supposedly the best you can hope for. Imagine what control would cost you.

[ado089]

Fourth app on durum = dumbass

[seabass]

Have used them since the mid nineties. The only years I have not seen them have a place were 01-03. This year was another in which they were only used on select fields. Most years in our area they definitely are worth the money. Have done multiple apps in some of these wet years. Have done it enuf now to know that the worst case scenario is that we get our money back.

[SASKFARMER3]

It's suppression otherwise multiple applications so basically it's hit and miss. We do peas at early flower if the crop coming is decent.
Tilt with wo spray just at half to keep leaves nice.
Then prosario if crop is looking great.
Canola we use to apply a fungicide at flowering but dropped that for a fungicide with last liberty at bolting. If other things are present in excess water and humidity etc then maybe another otherwise seems that app is the hit and miss.
We have guys who give a crop everything from spring till freeze up. Really usually Mother Nature picks the winners and losers.
Spend spend spend only our suppliers win hands down every time if it works or doesn't they have a answer.

[SASKFARMER3]

It's suppression otherwise multiple applications so basically it's hit and miss. We do peas at early flower if the crop coming is decent.
Tilt with wo spray just at half to keep leaves nice.
Then prosario if crop is looking great.
Canola we use to apply a fungicide at flowering but dropped that for a fungicide with last liberty at bolting. If other things are present in excess water and humidity etc then maybe another otherwise seems that app is the hit and miss.
We have guys who give a crop everything from spring till freeze up. Really usually Mother Nature picks the winners and losers.
Spend spend spend only our suppliers win hands down every time if it works or doesn't they have a answer.

[freewheat]

If needed, yes. As a matter of course for every acre? In my opinion, no.

The trick is having the good fortune of guessing correctly. Just because it is wet and warm, does not necessarily mean devastating disease. Some places can ill afford the delay in maturity that applications can cause.

I have some CPS wheat which inn theory, should be filthy with disease based on weather. Yet there is not a stitch of disease to be seen, and if disease comes on now, it will be getting too late for it to matter. If my crops look tremendous, I will give them a shot, not saying that I never spray.

IMO, long rotations and effective rotations go a long, long way to alleviating pressure. A visiting agronomist agreed with me wholeheartedly, and went on about our complete lack of proper rotations in a lot of cases.

Each to his own though. I just am not personally a multi application guy, and some around here are, and then some of them never apply.

Pick your poison! lol

[Ache4Acres]

Is there any data out there to guide us? i found some fairly decent trials on flax and it seems almost universally to help 3-5 bushels per acre

In a theoretical world, if you could only spray one crop type per year with fungicide which one would it be for you?

[farmaholic]

....still hoping to get my expenses back not incur more. Well past the stage of fungicides here, next will be desiccation on peas. What does that say about the state of the crop and it's fungicide worthiness? My goodness, it would have been a colossal waste of money here yet there fields not too far from me that looks like they would warrant it "if need be"!

I'll be watching for infected wheat heads(I can hardly type that with a straight face, but will be shocked if there are any). Walked into the peas today, no disease what so ever, last three years the ****ers turned brown and basically died before maturity, they are turning lime green and yellow from the bottom up. Canola has an "airy" canopy. I was going to spray my flax but said EF it, with the lack of rain how can there be disease. Other years in the flax if I missed or left a small triangle that spot would turn a grey brown and lodge while the treated stuff had a nice brown color.

Next year if it "needs" it, it will get it. I hate spraying but if your crop is that good and disease is a possibility consider yourself lucky. I "saved" myself close to $40,000 this year by not spraying with a high probability of not recouping it(or maybe any of it) if I had.

[Ache4Acres]

I thought this is very interesting. IHARF trials.

Canaryseed seems to love a little squirt, most everything else probably case by case basis

http://iharf.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Field-Scale-Fungicide-Trials.pdf

[seabass]

Wheat pays for us

[furrowtickler]

Totally depends if moisture conditions are right . Locally this year - driest May/June since '01/02.
So conditions were no where near favourable to even start the disease cycle in any crop. The ground surface under the crop has been bone dry 85% of that time = no way disease can get going. We just did a few fields for seed and a few low lying fields , the rest is on it's own. Ground surface is still dry after the hit and miss rains over the past 6 days . We totalled lest than 1/2 in over that 6 days . Any rain or wet conditions here foreward may start disease but it will have a very low impact on yield even if conditions for disease development is perfect.
The last 8-10 years it's been a no brainer and has paid in 90% of every application 3-1 at least.

[farmaholic]

Furrow, if your headers are out text me some pictures of the poly strips please. 306 535 0626.

[sawfly]

not any science to my decision not
spray a drop this year.
it is just that dry, and poorish crops.
i know some around here, sprayed their peas. and swear by it.
i know ag canada at scott has said
whether it payed or not some years.
that would probably be the only results i would trust.

we need more of that kind of info.
the same as seed treatments.
rather have hard numbers than chem. co bs

[SASKFARMER3]

I agree sawfly. We rely on what companies tell us but when we see little to no results they say it was a light year. Then like a few years ago they tell me sorry you sprayed once it was a year you could have sprayed every day for a week and still might not have had a result you wanted. They win we lose very simple explanation.