The Growing Point Podcast

In this episode of The Growing Point Podcast we chat with Dr. Michael Harding (Pathologist with Alberta Agriculture & Forestry) about bacterial disease in western Canada. Harding breaks down the life cycle, various forms, impacts, management tactics, and environmental conditions conducive for bacterial blights to be of concern. For more information or if you suspect you may be dealing with bacteri...

In this episode of The Growing Point Podcast we chat with Laurel Thompson, a crop researcher at Lakeland College in Alberta, about her recent malt barley projects. The first project looks at the economics of producing malt barley varieties for feed end use. The second project investigated the effects of Moddus, a gibberellin inhibitor PGR, on malt barley varieties. These projects provide very prac...

Continuation of the conversation with Dr. Hugh Beckie. Loss of glyphosate as a tool in our toolbox is a growing concern. Countries around the globe are already planning on removing the product from use. In this podcast, I chat with Dr. Beckie about his recent research paper which outlines potential impacts that would come with the loss of glyphosate as well what can be done to maintain soil moistu...

Loss of glyphosate as a tool in our toolbox is a growing concern. Countries around the globe are already planning on removing the product from use. In this podcast, I chat with Dr. Beckie about his recent research paper which outlines potential impacts that would come with the loss of glyphosate as well what can be done to maintain soil moisture conservation and weed control if this valuable tool...

In this episode we talk with Dr. Anita Brûlé-Babel, a professor at the University of Manitoba, who focuses her research on breeding for disease resistance in wheat. We discuss the challenges of breeding for FHB, how it differs from other diseases, how resistant varieties play a role in disease management on farm, and what the future of FHB resistance looks like.

We chat with Dr. Kelly Turkington regarding how to best time fusarium head blight (FHB) applications in relation to crop staging, environment, and other risk factors. Recent research has shown that the infection window for FHB is wider than initially thought. How does this affect your in-field tactics and end grain quality?

In this episode of the podcast, we chat with Dr. Sheri Strydhorst regarding her research on early season fungicides in wheat. This practice, which is common in some areas of Alberta, likely doesn’t provide the value that some producers and agronomist hope it would. Sheri delves deep into her research, past research on the topic and discusses some of the implications of early fungicide application.

This episode of The Growing Point podcast includes 3 short interviews conducted in December 2019 at Prairie Cereals Summit (PCS) in Banff. Interviews include i) Dr. Brian Beres (AAFC Lethbridge) on the topic of ultra-early seeding ii) Dr. Hiroshi Kubota (AAFC Lacombe) on the topic of nitrogen rates on malt barley varieties and iii) Laurel Thompson crop researcher at Lakeland College on the topic o...

The episode includes a conversation with Carey and Kelly regarding how seed testing occurs and what that means for managing that seed lot and your crop. Germination rates, vigour, disease and more can all affect your crop establishment and in-crop concerns. We go into detail about how these tests are conducted, and how each result should play a role in your decision making. Heading into seeding se...

Dr. Meghan Vankosky of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada discusses the Prairie Pest Monitoring Network (PPMN). Who is involved, what information you can find, and how it can help with making on farm decisions. Meghan outlines why this is such a valuable tool for producers and agronomists in western Canada and how to start receiving it. The survey sign up page is now live and can be found here: http...

On this episode we chat with Dr. Richard Cuthbert (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada) about Falling Number (FN), a topic that is growing in attention and challenges it is bringing to prairie producers. Cuthbert is a wheat breeder from Swift Current, Saskatoon and brings a wealth of knowledge around the topic of FN. We discuss the differences between sprouting and FN, FN in the breeding process, the...

Dr. Breanne Tidemann(AAFC) joins us to talk about weed management in western Canada. We discuss challenges around wild oats, the Harrington Seed Destructor’s potential, weed resistance, and potential future tools in the weed management toolbox.

Dr. Brian Beres (AAFC) joins us the discuss the nuances of seeding for a successful winter wheat crop. We discuss moisture concerns, seeding best management practices, nitrogen management, new varieties, stubble options, and much more.

Fungicides, in-crop nitrogen, and PGRs can help increase yields. But do they always pay? What varieties respond? What environments are best for stacking agronomic practices. Dr. Sheri Strydhorst (AF) discusses her research on these topics.

Recent wet, delayed, and challenging harvests in Alberta increase the value of on-farm drying systems. But how much energy does it take and how efficient are they? Shannon Sereda from Team Alberta discusses an upcoming study to answer these questions.

In crop nitrogen application during early summer on spring wheat can be beneficial for yield. But what considerations around products, equipment, and timing need to be discussed. AAFC researcher Dr. Brian Beres give us some helpful tips.

Discussion with research scientist Dr. Haley Catton who focuses on cereal crop Entomology, plant-insect interactions, insect ecology, biological control and integrated pest management at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at the Lethbridge research station. Dr. Catton studies the lifecycle and population dynamics of wireworm species in Alberta. In this podcast we discuss current wireworm research, u...