Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — With most Prairie growers’ newly seeded crops already up against dry conditions, growers remain on the lookout for insects which further threaten the health of those seedlings. Considering the high prices of many crops this season, the potential damage would be more costly. John Gavloski, entomologist for Manitoba Agriculture, said there is a […] Read more
Prairie growers on lookout as insects seize opportunity
Dry conditions, delayed seeding lift pest counts
Getting to the root of corn rootworm
How alarmed should you be about the threat of corn rootworm due to the expansion of continuous corn acres?
Reading Time: 6 minutes For a large percentage of growers in Eastern Canada, corn production isn’t just one crop in the rotation, it’s the main crop in that rotation. For others — mostly livestock producers — it’s the only crop. That dominance is creating concerns as the incidence of resistance of corn rootworm becomes a more-pressing issue. Even so, […] Read more
ADM, InnovaFeed to build world’s biggest insect protein plant in Illinois
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain trader and processor Archer Daniels Midland and French biotech company InnovaFeed announced plans on Thursday to build the world’s largest insect protein plant at Decatur, Illinois. The announcement comes amid rising global feed grain prices and tightening supplies, and as more companies work toward reducing the carbon footprint of […] Read more
What’s going to ‘bug’ you in 2020?
Western bean cutworm is quickly climbing the ranks as our biggest threat
Reading Time: 6 minutes Insect pests never seem to get the respect they deserve. If they present a threat during a growing season, they move front and centre, but more often they’re a much lower concern than fertility, weeds and diseases. Some of that is thanks to today’s improved genetics and commercial varieties and hybrids that produce their hardier, […] Read more
Nine pests to watch for if you’re growing flax
Dr. James Tansey, Saskatchewan Agriculture’s insect specialist, reminded farmers at a Saskatchewan Agriculture conference in Weyburn, Sask., that “plants are not a passive part of the environment.” Flax produces poison in the form of cyanogenic glycoside (cyanide) that is toxic to several insects. However, your flax crop may still need some help protecting itself from[...]
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Five insect pests for Manitoba farmers to watch
Cutworms, grasshoppers, flea beetles and bertha armyworm are all on top of the watch list for 2019, as numbers were higher in 2018. All four overwinter well in Manitoba provided there’s enough insulation for them.
Weed control with small critters
Insects, birds and worms are a free – and resistance-free – method of controlling weeds before they get a chance to germinate
Reading Time: 4 minutes The dominance of zero- or minimum-tillage practices on the Prairies means lots of weed seeds are left on the soil after harvest, but it turns out that there’s help available to stop them from germinating next spring, and you don’t have to buy it at your local chemical dealer. “Lowering the deposits into the weed[...]
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Guide Health: Bed bugs – yuck!
Bed bugs are very resilient and can go without feeding for up to 11 months
Reading Time: 3 minutes Bed bugs of the species Cimex lectularius are certainly unpleasant. However, they are not harmful. Bed bugs are parasites, and different types of bed bugs are specific to different species of animals. They feed on blood, and when they do, they inject some of their saliva into the bite. It is this saliva that causes[...]
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Farming insects may solve one problem, create others
Reading Time: 2 minutes Rome | Thomson Reuters Foundation — Insects have great potential as an alternative source of protein, but further research is urgently needed before mass production begins in order to avoid environmental disaster, Swedish researchers warned Monday. There is currently an “overwhelming lack of knowledge” on basic questions such as suitable species, their housing and feed[...]
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Protect the mighty Microgastrinae
More and more, we’re learning that farmers can save a lot of money in both the short and long term by taking advantage of opportunities to help the insect world police itself
Reading Time: 5 minutes Hector Carcamo was in a southern Alberta canola field in 2018 sweep-netting for cabbage seedpod weevils when what did he find? Little black wasps. Lots of them. Same thing in the next sample site. And then the next. Field to field. “We were consistently finding them. With every set of sweeps we found three, five,[...]
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A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
