Nothing To Hide

Forty-five years may have dimmed a frame or two of memory, but I can still see my father emptying small bags of flour-like powder into a five-gallon bucket and then, slowing stirring in a trickle of water until the two ingredients combined to make a chalky, white cream. The bags contained the still-new, pre-emergent herbicide

Check Pulse Seed For Germination And Vigour

Pulse growers should check the germination and vigour of their seed before planting it this spring following tough harvest conditions last fall, advises Ed Thiessen, technical crop manager with Syngenta Canada. That includes seed from crops treated with the desiccant Reglone. “In many cases they (farmers) were forced to put on Reglone at too early


Partnership Aims To Produce More Wheat

Syngenta has announced a public-private partnership with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) to focus on the development and advancement of technology in wheat, the most internationally traded food crop and the single-largest food import in developing countries. The agreement will entail joint research and development in the areas of native and GM

Seed Treatments Seen Boosting Vigour In Cold Soils

Seed treatments help protect young crops from insects and diseases, but according to Syngenta, its Cruiser Maxx Cereals has an added benefit: increased plant vigour under cold soil conditions. Research shows early seeding usually results in higher yields. That and the fact more farmers are seeding earlier because they have more acres to cover means


Syngenta Releases New Canola Fungicide

syngenta canada release Syngenta Canada has announced the registration of Astound, a new canola fungicide that provides preventive and curative protection against stem rot caused by sclerotinia. Containing two active ingredients, fludioxonil and cyprodinil, Astound works both systemically and on contact, to inhibit spore germination outside the plant and prevent disease penetration into the plant

New Seed Treatment

Protinus, a seed nutrition product that promotes early plant growth has gained regulatory approval for sale in Canada, Wolf Trax has announced. “Protinus really stands out in tough early-season conditions. Given the substantial dollars that growers are spending on seed, a product that will enhance crop emergence and early-season growth is certainly of value,” says


Mobile Phones Bring Insurance To Kenyan Farmers

Kenyan farmers can now insure some of the costs of growing crops against bad weather by using mobile phone technology that links solar-powered weather stations to an insurance company. Farmers can cover the cost of seeds, fertilizers and pesticides at local agricultural supply shops by paying an extra five per cent of their value. If

More Crops Added To Pulse Seed Treatment Label

Syngenta Crop Protection’s pea and dry bean seed treatment Cruiser Maxx Pulses has now been cleared for use in Canada as a treatment for chickpeas, lentils, lupins and faba beans. Cruiser Maxx Pulses, a combination of active ingredients thiamethoxam, metalaxyl-M and fludioxonil, is offered as a co-pack of Cruiser 5FS and Apron Maxx RTA or


Products Now Labelled For Broader Use

Titan seed-piece treatment has an expanded label to include control of above-ground pests such as: Colorado potato beetle, aphids (potato, green peach, foxglove and buckthorn), potato leafhopper and potato flea beetle, making it the broadest-spectrum insect seed-piece treatment available for Canadian potato growers. Titan, a Group 4 insecticide, was initially registered in early 2009 to

In Briefs continued from page 2 – for Jan. 28, 2010

Field trip: Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz is back from an agricultural trade mission to Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala and the United States. In Mexico he announced a $5-million investment under the Canada Brand Initiative to boost the Mexican appetite and raise consumer awareness of Canadian foods. “This initiative will further connect the Canadian maple leaf and