A man in a yellow golf shirt holds a soybean plant upside down, highlighting its root, while speaking to farmers during a farm tour.

Soybeans, peas flag under drought conditions

Manitoba’s lack of rain is stressing crops, fuelling pest pressure and slicing yield potential in soybean and pea fields

Manitoba’s pea and soybean acres are suffering in drought-stricken regions like the Interlake. Dry conditions are stressing crops, fuelling pest pressure and slicing yield potential.



Crucifer flea beetles on a canola plant at the Ian N. Morrison Research Farm in Carman, Manitoba.

Crucifer still dominant flea beetle species eating Manitoba canola

Striped flea beetles have also made inroads in Manitoba canola fields, but crucifer flea beetles have been the bigger insect pest causing farmers crop damage in 2025

Striped flea beetles have also made inroads in Manitoba canola fields, but crucifer flea beetles have been the bigger insect pest causing farmers crop damage in 2025.

A ground spray rig applies nematodes to a corn field.

Using nematodes to control crop pests

Alberta research and U.S. commercialization suggest soil-dwelling nematodes could become a practical option for Prairie pest control

Alberta research and U.S. commercialization suggest soil-dwelling nematodes could become a practical option for Prairie pest control.



Two adult two-striped grasshoppers stand face-to-face on a green surface..

What pests are bugging your forage crops?

Grasshoppers, cutworms and armyworms can cause major damage if left unchecked. Learn how to scout and manage them

Manitoba Agriculture entomologist John Gavloski highlights several key insect pests that can affect forage crop production and shares strategies for managing them.

A lygus bug in nymph form.

Could trap crops help fend off lygus in faba beans?

A study explores how bracketing crops such as safflower or sunflower could help manage lygus in faba fields

The idea under study here is simple: plant something even more attractive than faba beans along the field edge, draw lygus in and hit them with an insecticide before they move on.


A canola cotyledon shows damage from flea beetles feeding.

Canola can be protected from flea beetle threat

Following best practices can help producers beat back flea beetles and prevent financially damaging crop stress

Flea beetles wreak around $300 million in damages annually across the Prairies and were named the greatest economic risk to canola by last year’s Canola Council of Canada grower survey.

Close-up of the damaged leaves of a potato plant with Colorado potato beetle larvae on them.

Insecticides losing ground against potato pests

Resistance to insecticides is complicating pest control, prompting experts to advocate for farmers in North America to use more integrated pest management strategies in their potato fields

Resistance to insecticides is complicating pest control in potatoes, prompting experts to urge farmers in North America to use more integrated pest management strategies in their potato fields.