Ignore fall cleanup at your peril, prairie agronomists caution.
“It’s important that people take preliminary action to deal with pests of various sorts in their cropping or farming regimes,” said Dave Risula, an integrated cropping management systems specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture.
The results could be disastrous if they don’t, added Robert Spencer, an irrigated and specialty crops specialist with Alberta Agriculture.
“The idea is to just kind of move things a little more in your own favour, in terms of making the diseases or the pests a little less happy.”
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Pest and disease problems are similar in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Risula said grain stored over winter is a main target for insect infestation. The rusty grain, red flour and saw-toothed grain beetles are common causes of spoilage.
He said chaff, dust and old grain should be removed from bins before harvest, but also need attention in the fall. Tall grass around bins or old, scattered grain can also attract insects and disease.
There is zero tolerance for insects in grain delivered to elevators under the Canada Grain Act, highlighting the importance of cleaning practices.
“If there are insects in there already, then they have to be controlled before you put any new grain into those bins,” Risula said.
Even if bins are cleaned, he added, pest outbreaks are sometimes beyond a farmer’s control. He said excessive rain during harvest this year could wreak havoc on grain storage.
“Yeah, there’s potential for problems this year,” Risula said.
Frost is looming and farmers are anxious to get grain in the bin, which can often mean harvesting crops out of condition. In that case, Risula recommended aerating bins or treating them with chemicals or gas.
“But in a year like this, I would expect, drying is going to be at an absolute minimum this year because of the cost of fuel,” Risula said. “It’s going to be awfully expensive to dry anything using heated grain dryers.”
It’s also a good idea to control weeds in the fall with herbicides because that’s when winter annuals germinate. Ingrid Kristjanson, a farm production adviser with Red River Go Team, said quackgrass and Canada thistle are common perennials to watch for this time of year.
“Make sure you have good regrowth (of weeds) after harvest,” Kristjanson said.
Risula said that’s because weeds are young and easier to kill now than they will be in the spring.
“And also, that’s a time when workloads tend to be more intense. So spraying them now makes more time for other things in the spring.”
There are steps that can be taken throughout the year to make fall cleanup faster and easier.
“Right to begin with, if you place weed seeds into your cropping regime, you’re going to have a problem,”
Risula said.
“So ensuring that the seed is clean to begin with will prevent that action.”
Spencer said crop rotation also helps eliminate weed problems.
“They will continually return and thrive in a field that they like if the same crop is repeatedly providing for them,” he said. “If the crop isn’t there, the disease or pests may not develop and levels will likely reduce over time.”
Farmers should assess potential problems after harvest, Spencer said. Fall cleanup could save time, effort and cost in the spring or summer.
“I think it’s just one of those things you need to incorporate into typical farming practices where you throw it in every year. Good sanitation doesn’t hurt and it doesn’t take that long really.”
