The cabbage seedpod weevil continued its march into Saskatchewan this year, says an entomologist.
“To me, that one is one that producers really have to be watching for, being aware of, as it’s expanding its distribution in the province,” said Scott Hartley, insect specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture.
“Because that definitely is one that requires control if you have high enough numbers in it.”
Hartley said cabbage seedpod weevil and Swede midge are emerging insect pests in the province.
Officials have been watching the growing footprint of swede midge in northeastern Saskatchewan for the last few years.
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However, cabbage seedpod weevil has a longer history on the Prairies.
It was first found in Alberta in the late 1990s and has been known to producers in southwestern Sask-atchewan since the early 2000s. It has since moved across the province, feeding on host plants that include canola and mustard.
The provincial agriculture ministry conducts a survey every year to estimate the insect’s range.
“Its main movement has been west to east,” said Hartley.
“So from the southwest, now we’ve found it just about to the Manitoba border in Saskatchewan, whereas to the north it’s been a much more gradual move.”
Hartley said rangeland and the sand hills in southwestern Saskatchewan helped act as a buffer, but cabbage seedpod weevils have now been found as far north as Kindersley and Outlook.
Cabbage seedpod weevils are monitored with sweep nets during the growing season.
Spraying is recommended when three to four adult weevils are collected per sweep.
Spraying is recommended when at 10 to 20 percent flower.
“Crop rotation is always an option in one of these (insect pests), if it’s not a general feeder like grasshoppers,” said Hartley.
