Due to the large infestation of grasshoppers this past summer, many farmers are finding high numbers of this insect in their harvested grain.
“The problem that most producers are concerned with is how the grasshoppers will affect the moisture levels in the grain,” says Lisa Adam, a crop intern at Alberta Agriculture’s Ag-Info Centre in Stettler.
“It takes a very high number of grasshoppers to raise the moisture level of a bushel of grain by even one percent.”
Assuming that grasshoppers are 70 percent moisture, it is possible to calculate the approximate number that it will take to raise the moisture level of one bushel of grain by one percent. That number depends on the size of the grasshopper, which varies with species. The range for barley and canola is 300-800 grasshoppers per bu., and 400-1,000 per bu. in peas and wheat. Such numbers are not often found in harvesting situations, even in areas of severe infestation.
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“Dockage may be more of a problem for producers with high grasshopper numbers than moisture in storage, but the grain can easily be cleaned if high numbers are found,” Adam said.
Producers are also wondering if tillage, such as harrowing, discing, cultivating and plowing, will control grasshoppers next year.
Research scientist Dan Johnson with Agriculture Canada has done some laboratory work that indicates grasshopper eggs buried seven centimetres deep will still hatch and allow healthy grasshopper development. Even when eggs are buried up to 15 cm deep, 50 percent of the grasshoppers can still emerge.
“Environmental conditions play a large part in grasshopper hatching and can influence the numbers of eggs that hatch, whether they are buried or not,” Adam said. “Grasshopper eggs are laid in pod structures that contain many eggs cemented together. Tillage will not physically damage or kill the eggs, as they are protected by a very tough coating that makes them almost indestructible, but it may break them apart and spread them in the field. With the potential for erosion, tillage is not considered an effective way of controlling grasshoppers.”
