A pest that was a blip on the radar screen in Saskatchewan has suddenly become a bright light.
Saskatchewan Agriculture started surveying for alfalfa weevil in 2009 and discovered noticeable populations of the newcomer to the province.
Regional forage specialist Lorne Klein said the infestation level rated a three on a scale of one to 10.
A year later, a survey of the same fields showed the pest had almost disappeared.
“In 2011, bingo, there they were again. They came right back to 2009 levels,” he said.
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And then came the 2012 survey.
“It really took us by surprise. Like holy cow, they just exploded.”
Klein said he’d rate this year’s outbreak an eight out of 10 on pure alfalfa stands in areas of southeastern Saskatchewan.
“It’s very, very significant,” he said.
“If you’re a hay grower, it’s kind of a big issue for you down here. People are certainly getting their hay bines out quicker than they intended to.”
Don Payak, an alfalfa seed grower near Weyburn, Sask., said the insect has inflicted severe damage in his area of the province.
“It’s kind of catching everybody by surprise. We’re starting to learn a lot.”
The damage is particularly severe in pure alfalfa stands, where yields could be reduced by 50 to 80 percent.
“Some of them are pretty much decimated. I don’t know what you could do. Maybe just cut them and hope for regrowth.”
Payak fared better than most. He sprays his fields for lygus bugs in the spring because he is a seed grower and inadvertently killed off the weevils in the process. However, even his farm didn’t escape unscathed.
“I have one hay field of my own that probably isn’t even up to my knees and it’s really brown and just a lot of damage,” he said.
Many alfalfa fields were late blooming last year. People blamed it on excess moisture and disease, but in retrospect Payak thinks it was probably due to the weevil.
Saskatchewan Agriculture advises growers to hay early to control the pest. They die as the vegetation dries up.
