LETHBRIDGE – Wheat midge, which is responsible for millions of dollars of wheat damage in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, is set to become a serious problem in Alberta for the first time.
“It has never looked like this in Alberta,” Alberta Agriculture insect specialist Scott Meers told producers attending an Irrigated Crop Production Update meeting in Lethbridge.
“These are extreme numbers we’re counting.”
Soil samples taken from fields after last year’s harvest showed high levels of wheat midge from Westlock to Three Hills.
“What our survey has shown very clearly is we now have the insect in levels that could become damaging,” he said. “We’re going to have to be watching for midge all through central Alberta.”
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Meers said a random sample in the County of Newell, where the midge wasn’t expected to be a problem, showed levels that could cause serious damage.
“I think we’re just lucky it hasn’t established itself here. We may be missing an undiagnosed problem.”
Wheat midge needs a combination of the right development of the insect matched with the development of the wheat. Adult midge lay eggs that feed on the developing kernels.
Heavy wheat midge populations can shrivel and damage kernels. Lighter infestations cause downgrading.
Meers said because the insect is new to the province, farmers will have to scout their fields when the cereal heads first emerge and watch for the insect.
