Reading Time: 2 minutes Are there any herbicides that I could use to control garlic mustard on the farm? Garlic mustard is an early flowering weed that’s highly visible at the edge of farm woodlots and around buildings and grain bins in the spring. Although garlic mustard is rarely found competing in agricultural crops, it can invade forests and […] Read more
Pest Patrol: Garlic mustard control
#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA
Pest Patrol: Have genetically engineered (GE) crops resulted in more herbicide-resistant weeds in Ontario?
#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA
Reading Time: 2 minutes There is a belief that the increased acreage planted to genetically engineered (GE) crops has led to an increase in herbicide-resistant weeds. However, results from the University of Guelph’s herbicide-resistant weed-testing laboratory indicate otherwise. Table 1 (below) summarizes the number of species confirmed as resistant to common herbicides used in Ontario during the past 40 […] Read more
Pest Patrol: Farmers are reducing weed seed return after cereal harvest
#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA
Reading Time: 3 minutes I was driving down a long country road and noticed two large fields where winter wheat had been harvested almost eight weeks earlier. Each had a beautiful thick canopy of oats. Figure 1 (at top). An oat cover crop planted almost eight weeks ago following winter wheat harvest. That same day, when I came across […] Read more
Pest Patrol: What is the best strategy for managing perennial sow thistle?
#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA
Reading Time: 3 minutes With lateral roots that go as deep as two metres and seed production approaching 10,000 per plant, perennial sow thistle is extremely difficult to eradicate. Its impact can be minimized, however. Management that reduces top growth will lower seed production and root mass over time. But be forewarned. If you decide to take a year […] Read more
Pest Patrol: A refresher on fall weed control
#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA
Reading Time: 2 minutes Many farmers know the benefits of applying herbicides to perennial weeds in the fall, especially with perennial sow-thistle and dandelion (Figure 1 at top of page). Often, producers will see a reduction in the population of these weeds the next year as well as a delay in their shoot emergence, with both effects providing a […] Read more
Pest Patrol: What can be done about field horsetail?
#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA
Reading Time: 3 minutes I get asked about field horsetail management more than any other weed, and it’s the one that I have the least amount of effective solutions for. Sure, you can get reasonably good top-growth control with the right herbicide, but the success is short-lived due to field horsetail’s tenacity. I often joke that the best way […] Read more
Pest Patrol: Are there any new insect pests that we should be alert for?
#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA
Reading Time: 2 minutes The following information was provided by Tracey Baute, field crop entomologist, OMAFRA. Cereal leaf beetles feed on wheat, oat, corn, forages and grassy weeds. Spring plantings are most attractive, particularly late plantings, though some winter wheat can be infested in the spring. Both adults and larvae cause damage by chewing long strips of tissue between […] Read more
Pest Patrol: Do weeds support growth of disease?
#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA
Reading Time: 2 minutes I have been asked whether it is true that some weeds can increase the prevalence of certain diseases. Yes, it is true, which is why it can be especially important to control these species. Henbit, purple deadnettle and stinkweed (field pennycress) are alternate hosts for soybean cyst nematode (SCN) and should be controlled. A study […] Read more
Pest Patrol: If you see the leaves of these plants this spring, let them be
#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA
Reading Time: 2 minutes Grain farmers don’t often concern themselves with plants that are poisonous to the touch since such plants are rarely found competing with corn, soybean or cereals. But during field work, maybe you need to take a “bathroom break” and since the corn is yet to be knee-high you seek privacy at the field edges or […] Read more
Pest Patrol: Any updates on vetch control in soybeans?
#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA
Reading Time: 2 minutes In a 2014 column, I expressed my optimism for a herbicide treatment to control vetch (Viccia cracca) before planting soybeans. I wrote, “2,4-D Ester 700 applied seven days prior to soybean planting looks like a promising tool for the control of vetch in soybeans provided vetch has emerged at the time of application. More trial […] Read more
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