ROSEMARY, Alta. — Alfalfa weevil control required as many as six insecticide applications for some southern Alberta alfalfa seed growers this year. Gerald Wiens was one of them. A sweep net revealed the need to spray for weevils, but a few days later another sweep showed yet another hatch of the damaging insects. “I kept […] Read more
Tag Archives pests — page 3
Ontario growers give up on canola
Swede midge pressure in northeastern Ontario has cut into canola acreage — the province once had up to 80,000 acres but this year it’s less than 30,000
Farmers in northeastern Ontario made a wise choice when they decided to stop growing canola this year, says the president of the Ontario Canola Growers Association. That’s because Swede midge pressure is higher than ever in the region. An association field agent found hundreds of Swede midge flies in pheremone traps during the second week […] Read more
Wanted: cutworms dead or alive
Study of species, distribution | Researchers want producers to scout fields and collect live specimens for biological analysis
It makes sense to attribute slow crop emergence to a late spring, but it might also be due to cutworms eating their way through nascent seedlings. Now is the time to scout for cutworms, identify the type and get advice on potential control measures, entomologists advise. It’s also time to call researchers with the western […] Read more
Wheat midge poses big risk for eastern Sask.
Increased moisture to blame | Cabbage seed pod weevil in canola is also expected to cause major problems this year
Wheat growers in eastern Saskatchewan will likely face significant wheat midge infestation this year, according to the provincial forecast. Surveys done last fall found that the regions of greatest risk will be the black and dark brown soil zones in east-central and southeastern areas. Wheat midge is commonly a problem in these regions but is […] Read more
Some insects worth protecting
Promoting beneficial insects | Industry officials advise farmers to spray only when economically necessary
John Gavloski pointed at a grey caterpillar resting on a round, plastic dish the size of a drink coaster. The caterpillar was easy to notice. Harder to spot were the dozens of tiny, grey larvae, smaller than a flaxseed, that were emerging from the larger insect. Gavloski, an entomologist with Manitoba Agriculture, said the diminutive […] Read more
Wasp eager to take on cereal leaf beetle
Wheat, oats and barley affected | Agriculture Canada says biological control is the best method
Growers concerned about the appearance of cereal leaf beetles in their region are advised to tread lightly. In most cases, growers shouldn’t turn to chemical controls, says Hector Carcamo, an Agriculture Canada research scientist who is working with one of the pest’s natural predators, a wasp that has been found to keep pest numbers in […] Read more
U.S. customs gets nasty surprise in shipping container
Where they’re found
U.S. customs officials have discovered one of the world’s nastiest grain storage pests in a box crossing the border from Canada. Officials at the Pembina port of entry in North Dakota found live khapra beetle larvae on the outside of a plastic bag of food items in a shipment declared as clothes and gifts being […] Read more
Experts reveal pest, plant, pathogen interaction
Bacteria called phytoplasmas alter a plant’s development so that it is attractive to leaf hoppers
LINDELL BEACH, B.C. — British scientists have shed new light on a plant pathogen that causes yield losses in crops worldwide. The research at the John Innes Centre shows how a plant, an insect and a bacterium have a three-way relationship to the detriment of the crop. Leaf hoppers are tiny sap-sucking, highly mobile and […] Read more
Hoppers expected this spring in Alberta
Grasshopper forecast | Saskatchewan, Manitoba predicted to have few troubles with grasshoppers this spring
EDMONTON — Saskatchewan and Manitoba look safe from grasshoppers this year, according to the 2012 forecast, but Alberta farmers need to beware. “Alberta gets to be the lucky contender with grasshoppers this year,” said Jennifer Otani, an Agriculture Canada entomologist. “The forecast in Alberta has pockets with severe populations, but that depends what happens in […] Read more
