To Jun 30th, it is beyond doubt we remain fully in a Sclerotinia rich environment. Last year at this time we had just seen 7-10 rain-free days and a 30+ Canada Day weekend (though humidity did remain elevated throughout), before rains and cooler weather persisted throughout the rest of July. That dry spell mitigated Sclerotinia damage to a degree before hitting us on the back-end in some areas, while earlier fungicide applications halted it in others.
Not so this year as the graphs below suggest. J-MAS Sclerotinia recommendations have already started based on some of the details highlighted below but continued weather station monitoring in early July may still alter some recommendations.
Click here for the J-MAS WeatherStation Data page.
Monthly WeatherStation Report – June 2014
J-MAS has embarked on an aggressive weather monitoring plan for our local area. It is designed to help facilitate our agronomic recommendations – especially with regards to Fungicides.
Seven “high-end” weather stations went live on Jun 10th, 2014 and are connected to us through JD Link, enabling connectivity to all customers wishing access – once all the bugs are out, that is.
Year 1 – is a learning year and our specific goals for the stations are to help determine the need for Sclerotinia and Fusarium applications which are quite sensitive to weather factors, which can silently increase or decrease the need for Fungicide applications. There will also be correlations between Durum/Wheat staging, Growing Degree Days and Wheat Midge.
Below is the station map (start page for those with password access) of all 7 of our weather stations. Continue reading to access some station by station screen shots with notes.
Average Station Information (over all 7 stations – minus anomalies)
Growing Degree Days (since May 22nd crop emergence) – 100.3
At Depth Soil Moisture %
10cm Depth -29% Jun 10th 32% Jun 30th
20cm Depth -36% Jun 10th 33% Jun 30th
30cm Depth -37% Jun 10th 37% Jun 30th
50cm Depth -38% Jun 10th 38% Jun 30th
100cm Depth -43% Jun 10th 44% Jun 30th
Jun 10 – 30th Rainfall Total – 49mm
Jun 10th Soil Temp – 13.8 degrees
Jun 30th Soil Temp – 15.3 degrees
Dry Leaf Days (<5000 rv’s) – 1.7 days
Consecutive Dry Leaf Days – 1.1 days
We are still working out some bugs, so here are some notes on each station and a few of the kinks associated with each. As we enter critical Sclerotinia, Fusarium and Midge season, we have most of the bugs worked out – or soon to be.
Station 1 – Kincaid North
Kincaid North Station has been running relatively smoothly, though has still not come down from “full point” (noted as Blue on location map) where it was put artificially via the dirt/water solution used to ensure probe contact with soil at start-up. Readings are behaving normal. Kincaid north possibly had 2 consecutive dry days, which was the most of any station but still below what could nullify Sclerotinia and this event happened prior to bolting anyhow. Readings going into July should be normal and should prove very useful in assessing Sclerotinia, Fusarium, Cereal Leaf Disease, Midge and Drydown application needs going forward.
Station 2 – Gravelbourg East
Gravelbourg East Station has been running smoothly except for a Soil Temperature anomaly that was addressed today. It also has still not come down from “full point” (noted as Blue on location map) where it was put artificially via the dirt/water solution used to ensure probe contact with soil at start-up. Readings are behaving normal. Gravelbourg East also possibly had 2 consecutive dry days, which was 2nd most of any station but still below what could nullify Sclerotinia and this event happened prior to bolting anyhow. Readings going into July should be normal and should prove very useful in assessing Sclerotinia, Fusarium, Cereal Leaf Disease, Midge and Drydown application needs going forward.
Station 3 – Limerick North
Limerick North had been running smoothly until it stopped sending signals on Jun 25th. It was examined today and should be pushing the missing data shortly. It came off of “Full Point” as expected. Readings had been behaving normally. Once fixed, readings going into July should be normal and should prove very useful in assessing Sclerotinia, Fusarium, Cereal Leaf Disease, Midge and Drydown application needs going forward.
Station 4 – Mazenod East
Mazenod East Station has been running smoothly though it also has still not come down from “full point” (noted as Blue on location map) where it was put artificially via the dirt/water solution used to ensure probe contact with soil at start-up. Readings are behaving normal and going into July should prove very useful in assessing Sclerotinia, Fusarium, Cereal Leaf Disease, Midge and Drydown application needs going forward.
Station 5 – Mazenod North
Mazenod North Station has been running smoothly and it came down from “full point” as expected from where it was put artificially via the dirt/water solution used to ensure probe contact with soil at start-up. Readings are behaving normal and going into July should prove very useful in assessing Sclerotinia, Fusarium, Cereal Leaf Disease, Midge and Drydown application needs going forward.
Station 6 – Mossbank West
Mossbank West Station has been running smoothly except for a Soil Depth anomaly at 10 and 20mm which will be addressed this week. It came down from “full point” as expected from where it was put artificially via the dirt/water solution used to ensure probe contact with soil at start-up. Readings are behaving normal and going into July should prove very useful in assessing Sclerotinia, Fusarium, Cereal Leaf Disease, Midge and Drydown application needs going forward.
Station 7 – Mossbank East
Mossbank East Station has been running smoothly though it also has still not come down from “full point” (noted as Blue on location map) where it was put artificially via the dirt/water solution used to ensure probe contact with soil at start-up. Readings are behaving normal and going into July should prove very useful in assessing Sclerotinia, Fusarium, Cereal Leaf Disease, Midge and Drydown application needs going forward.
