Grasshoppers are filling more than the windshield and the field. They
are starting to fill the notebooks of scientists.
This year will go down as one of the largest grasshopper infestations
since 1988 in Saskatchewan and 1961 in Alberta.
Pastures near Consort, Alta., and some crops around Kindersley, Sask.,
are nearly wiped out, say agrologists.
Cereal crops are struggling to reach maturity with only the chlorophyll
in their stems to feed them after losing their leaves to the insects.
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Pasture already damaged by drought have been grazed off by the insects.
Dan Johnson, entomologist with Agriculture Canada’s research centre in
Lethbridge, Alta., spent a lot of time removing grasshoppers from his
windshield as he toured Saskatchewan and Alberta last week.
“I’m seeing a lot of eggs spread across the windshield right now. That
means breeding is well under way. But it also means it has been
delayed,” he said.
Johnson is not finding as many eggs in the soil as expected for this
time of year. Like the crops this season, grasshoppers have been slower
to mature. Their breeding and egg laying are behind schedule,
especially in the southern parts of Saskatchewan.
“If you were to blindfold me and drop me into a field right now without
telling me what month it was, and judging by grasshopper development, I
would have to say that it was the beginning of August, not the end,” he
said.
“Populations in Saskatchewan are higher than initially thought. We are
seeing more but also very different species here than in Alberta,” he
said as he passed Weyburn, Sask., on a late summer assessment tour.
Saskatchewan is seeing high populations of migratory, Packard and
two-striped grasshoppers. These species eat most types of commercial
grain.
The Alberta area hardest hit is the east-central region where the
dominant hopper is the clear-winged grasshopper, which doesn’t normally
eat canola and bean crops.
Johnson said drought has played a role in the bigger numbers of
grasshoppers. But another influence was the timing of moisture.
The dry, early spring allowed hatching and early growth to take place
unhindered by weather complications. Rain later in the season favoured
grasshopper predators and disease.
September weather will matter for next year’s forecast.
“If we have (an open fall) it will allow the later grasshoppers more of
a chance to continue laying eggs, and that may have a big impact on
Alberta and Saskatchewan populations next year. We won’t know of course
until we complete the fall survey.”
An open fall would also cause the hatch to be spread out longer, making
spraying timing difficult for producers.
Winter wheat seeding could also be affected unless cooler temperatures
arrive.
In 1985, winter wheat crops in Alberta and Saskatchewan were wiped out
in some areas due to continued late season grasshopper infestations,
according to crop records at the Universities of Saskatchewan and
Alberta.
With a grant from Alberta Agriculture, Johnson will be able to produce
his Alberta forecast earlier than February this year and he hopes to
deliver a report before December.
