Weeds Archives | Manitoba Co-operator

Frosty weeds and closing spray windows

Variables like weed species and recent and expected frosts will weigh into management decisions

By Alexis Stockford October 2, 2020

Add the weather forecast into your calculations when planning fall weed control. It’s prime weed control season for perennial weeds like Canada thistle and winter annuals and acting now can help you, come spring. “A lot of the winter annuals are starting to become problems because if we don’t do any kind of control in

Equipment, Farmit Manitoba

Redekop pitches combine-mounted weed seed control

Manufacturer says combine-mounted unit will pulverize weed seeds

By Alexis Stockford August 18, 2020

Farmer reaction to herbicide-resistant weeds may trend towards, “kill it with fire,” but the latest harvest tool out of Redekop Manufacturing has a different answer for weed seeds: pound them to oblivion. The Saskatoon-based manufacturer recently unveiled its seed control unit, compatible with John Deere combines. With resistant weed pressure and certain herbicides increasingly in

Tammy Jones speaking to attendees during a Crop Diagnostic School session in 2019.

News

Manitoba Agriculture weed specialist Tammy Jones changing jobs

Starting July 20 Jones is Corteva's technical sales agronomist for Manitoba

By Allan Dawson July 15, 2020

Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development (MARD) is losing its weed specialist Tammy Jones. She took the job in January 2018 and her last day is July 17. Jones becomes Corteva’s technical sales agronomist for Manitoba July 20. Meanwhile, Anastasia Kubinec, MARD’s manager of Crop Industry Development, hopes the department will fill the position quickly. “Getting

A kochia seedling breaks ground near Winkler in late March.

Crops

Spring weeds rise up well ahead of seeding efforts

Weed forecasts have farmers expecting to reap the consequences of last year’s lack of field work

By Alexis Stockford April 20, 2020

Farmers are gearing up for spring seeding, but the weeds have already made it to the field. Manitoba’s provincial weed specialist, Tammy Jones, says producers are already starting from behind on weed control this year, thanks in large part to harvest conditions last fall. Why it matters: Seeding is stressful enough as is, but farmers

Harrington Seed Destructors are widely used in Australia.

Equipment, News

Destructor’s weed escapes still fail to germinate

Microscopic abrasions allow microbes to infect embryonic weeds

By Manitoba Co-operator Staff February 11, 2020

Many weed seeds that appear undamaged after passing through a Harrington Seed Destructor still fail to germinate, say researchers at the University of Illinois. Developed and widely used in Australia, the HSD is mounted on the back of a combine and crushes weed seeds to prevent them from germinating. A University of Illinois release says

Three current or emerging herbicide-resistant weed threats in Manitoba: Palmer amaranth (left), waterhemp (top right), and kochia (bottom).

Editorial, Op/Ed

Editor’s Take: The cancer of herbicide-resistant weeds

By Gord Gilmour January 16, 2020

I’m a redhead. Or at least I once was, before I started seriously going grey. Along with the inability to hide in a crowd, I also got the pale skin that makes sunscreen and a hat a critical part of my summertime coping tool box. It’s also led me to be statistically more likely to

Provincial weed specialist Tammy Jones says leaving small patches of survivors can quickly result in a huge problem as new and highly competitive herbicide-resistant weeds have arrived.

Crops, News

Losing the war on weeds

Tammy Jones has been doing the math on where herbicide resistance is taking Manitoba farmers and the numbers are grim

By Gord Gilmour January 16, 2020

Tammy Jones spent four hours last summer wrestling with about 300 waterhemp plants in a Manitoba field, yanking them out of the ground by the roots and carrying them to the field edge for destruction. The provincial weed specialist was trying to demonstrate the value of controlling what might seem to be small patches of

The Harrington Seed  Destructor has come a long way since it was first developed in 2012.  Originally a tow-behind unit that  attached to the back of the combine, the new weed seed management tool is now a mill that can be integrated with the combine ― at half the price.

Equipment, Farmit Manitoba

Is the weed seed ‘destructor’ ready for prime time in Canada?

Aussie invention is much cheaper, easier to use, but is still in the ‘promising, not proven’ category

By Jennifer Blair November 5, 2019

In the battle against herbicide-resistant weeds, the Harrington Seed Destructor might just win us the war — if farmers can justify the $100,000 price tag. “If herbicides are still working, it can be hard to convince producers to spend that kind of money to purchase this kind of equipment,” said federal research scientist Breanne Tidemann.

“We’ve actually sent people out into fields with cameras in Saskatchewan and Alberta and Manitoba to actually capture the weeds and crops that are growing right here.” – Daniel McCann, Precision.ai.

Equipment, Farmit Manitoba, News

Smart spot spraying still has a way to go

Farmers need to be 100 per cent confident these new technologies will work when they hit the field

By Alexis Stockford September 24, 2019

Like any developing technology, spot-spraying systems are far from perfect. In a Manitoba demonstration this July, attendees noted that the WEEDit system missed some smaller weeds during a single pass. That could be addresses by adjusting sensor sensitivity or by turning on “dual mode,” which sprays a constant quarter-rate to take care of less hardy

Crops, Farmit Manitoba

VIDEO: Deciding when to spray to wipe out weeds

Know your economic threshold before firing up the sprayer

By Greg Berg August 14, 2019

Deciding when to spray is key to limiting the spread of weeds and capturing the best yield your crop can offer. As with nearly every aspect of crop production, weather plays a key role and the amount of precipitation in a growing season – and the timing of your herbicide application – will go a

U.S. grains: Soybeans dive to biggest weekly loss in 6-1/2 years

U.S. livestock: Feeder cattle gain from falling feed prices

U.S. grains: South American supply issues wane

GFM Network News