Stable insect populations are expected for 2012, unless weather causes issues.
Scott Hartley told a recent canola industry meeting in Saskatoon that slugs were a significant problem this year for cereals and canola because of wet conditions.
Control is difficult and expensive, costing farmers $50 to $60 an acre.
He said flea beetles were not a serious issue in southern Saskatchewan this year, and populations are expected to be low in 2012.
Weather conditions over the past three years have favoured root maggots, which is likely to continue.
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Based on the increase of the Bertha armyworm this year, canola farmers should watch for them next year because of their increasing populations this year.
“We will be setting up pheromone traps again to give a better idea of what we are looking at for populations,” he said. “Cutworms, I think, would also be a good idea to keep watching for, but it appears that they are on their downward trend.”
Cutworm populations have been up over the last three years and have affected a number of crops, he added. Flea beetles might be a problem, depending on the location, but he said nothing more than a seed treatment should be necessary unless populations are high.
Hartley said he worries about cabbage seedpod weevils in canola and pea leaf weevils in peas in southwestern Saskatchewan.
He said it’s hard to predict the severity of diamondback moth outbreaks until infestation reports from the United States are received or the moth starts to show up in local insect traps.
He said it is possible to monitor wind trajectories, but that’s not the most reliable way to obtain moth infestation data.
Diamondback populations were last high in 2001, Hartley said.
Wheat midge populations have been increasing recently because of moist weather conditions, he said. The wheat midge forecast will be ready by the Crop Production Show in January.
