Reading Time: 3 minutes Do near-north canola growers have to stop growing the crop? This is the challenge facing canola growers in the Ontario’s Temiskaming district as they battle increasing pressure from swede midge. The pest, which wasn’t a huge issue in Ontario until 2011, is now causing large-scale yield loss in parts of Ontario’s near north. Terry Phillips, […] Read more
Out-thinking the swede midge
What happens when the best recommendation is to stop growing the crop?
Grasshoppers, aphids top crop pests in 2015
There were some of the usual suspects, but also some welcome parasitic visitors
Reading Time: 5 minutes At what point is it too late for control? This is a question Prairie producers ask every year, and every year the answer is slightly different, depending on weather and the state of the crop. This year, many producers had to decide how firmly to respond to pest pressures hovering around the economic threshold. Scott […] Read more
A busy year for flea beetles in canola
Beetles galore! Best practices for 2016 remain seed treatment and good stand establishment
Reading Time: 4 minutes The new generation of adult flea beetles was thick on canola fields in August, nibbling pods and capping off what had been a busy year for the costly insect pest. Bob Elliott, integrated pest management scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) in Saskatoon, saw a fivefold increase in adults captured in sticky traps in […] Read more
Beneficial insects can reduce the economic threat if wheat midge arrives
Two natural predators can help with wheat midge problems if you foster their populations
Reading Time: 2 minutes Wheat midge, a non-native pest that feeds on developing wheat kernels, is a serious economic threat to farmers, especially in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. But the pest is now a growing problem in Alberta, including Peace River country, and starting to attack Montana’s wheat crops. However, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada researchers know ways to reduce its […] Read more
VIDEO: “Old soil-applied” solutions for herbicide resistance weeds
Crop Diagnostic School: Know your target weed issues before choosing a herbicide
Reading Time: < 1 minute To help keep herbicide-resistant weeds at bay, some older soil-applied products are rejoining the fight. At the 2015 Crop Diagnostic School, Jeanette Gaultier, pesticide use specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, talks about which herbicide-resistant weeds producers should watch for and what they need to consider before choosing a herbicide for their situation.
Beneficial insects can fight in your corner, if you let them
A new field guide will be available both electronically and in print in time for you to use through the upcoming crop year
Reading Time: 6 minutes Farmers are only hurting themselves if they aren’t giving a helping hand to the natural allies in the fields that can assist them in controlling pests. Nature not only provides, as the old proverb says. Research proves that it also pays. In fact, new research even tells us how much it pays. Natural pest suppression […] Read more
Controlling crop weeds with beneficial insects
Flea beetles that eat leafy spurge are only the first wave of biological weed control
Reading Time: 5 minutes What is it about weeds? No matter how hard you try to eradicate them, they always come back. Worse still, each method of weed control has its drawbacks. Spraying with herbicides can lead to weed resistance if the same product is used continuously. Tillage can result in soil erosion (remember the Dirty ’30s?), and although […] Read more
Pest Patrol: Why are stink bugs in Ontario?
Stink bug damage found on two apple farms near Hamilton and Waterdown
Reading Time: 2 minutes Question: A couple of years ago there was a lot of talk about a new invasive insect, some sort of stink bug. I was told that it could take a few years before this insect reached populations that would negatively affect crops. What are populations of this insect doing in Ontario? For our answer, I […] Read more
Five years of midge tolerance
As its acreage continues to climb, the message is to keep protecting the unique Sm1 gene
Reading Time: 3 minutes This summer marks the fifth anniversary of producers in Western Canada growing and protecting midge-tolerant wheat. Since the launch of the first commercial varieties in 2010, the industry has witnessed strong uptake of the technology that helps producers defend against orange blossom wheat midge, a pest that can significantly reduce crop yield and grade. Not […] Read more
Drift versus volatility when spraying your crop
Spraying on a quiet, still morning is the best way to cut your drift risk, right? (Answer: No!)
Reading Time: 7 minutes Just when farming already seemed complicated enough, here are more misconceptions that science is disproving. Except this time, the new findings will help more growers get more value from their crop protection dollar. The best part is, you’re probably one of those growers too. Drift — Physical Trying to paint drift as worse than volatility, […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
