Reading Time: 5 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Winter isn’t exactly prime time to scout for insects, diseases and weeds, but last year’s pests may provide a baseline to help prepare for the next canola crop, agronomists say. “Review the challenges you had last year and have a plan in place as to how you’re going to handle them this […] Read more
Prepping for the 2024 canola crop
Planning for crop stresses now will set growers up for success when it is time to act: agronomists
Drought and infestation woes grow throughout province
Special Areas is latest jurisdiction to declare agricultural state of emergency
Reading Time: 6 minutes Grasshoppers have been chewing their way through hay and other crops all over southern and central Alberta. But in some areas, even grasshoppers have nothing to eat in dry pastures and hay fields. That’s the case with southeast Alberta rancher Brad Osadczuk. And he’s not alone. “I think grasshoppers are looking for green vegetation and […] Read more
Insects posing problems in Saskatchewan crops
Grasshopper, flea beetle damage already reported
MarketsFarm – Although it’s still early in the growing season, some insect pests have already posed a threat to crops in Saskatchewan or could do so in the near future, according to James Tansey, provincial specialist for insects/invertebrate pest management. Among the pests he cited were grasshoppers, flea beetles and pea leaf weevils. Tansey said […] Read more
Best to be scouting for insect pests
'Definitely' watch canola for flea beetles
MarketsFarm — Although it is still relatively early in the crop year, Manitoba entomologist John Gavloski strongly advises farmers to carefully watch their fields for any signs of insect pests. Gavloski couldn’t say for sure if insect damage was going to be bad this year but based on what’s transpired over the last three years, […] Read more
Adama’s lambda-cy products to be available this year
Company to continue selling Silencer, Zivata after recall
The Canadian arm of ag chem firm Adama says it’s relabelled its inventories of lambda-cyhalothrin insecticide products Silencer and Zivata and will have them available for sale to farmers in 2023. The company had said last November it wasn’t yet sure those products would be available this year under an approaching deadline following a 2021 […] Read more
The autumn weather was lovely — especially for grasshoppers
Those areas that had the pests last year will likely see more this year, but there are ways to reduce their numbers
Reading Time: 4 minutes Compare Alberta grasshopper survey maps from the past two years and one thing becomes clear: If you had grasshoppers last year, there’s a good chance you will this year, too — and likely in higher numbers. “When you look at the map from 2021 and compare it to the survey that was done last year, […] Read more
Pest survey results and maps now available
There’s extensive information available on high-risk insect pest species in Alberta
Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta’s agriculture ministry has begun posting 2022 insect population maps and 2023 forecast information. The counts are based on extensive sampling by agricultural fieldmen and applied research groups across the province last year, and the reports from Alberta Agriculture highlight survey findings by region. They also provide info on identification, life cycle, damage and pest […] Read more
Eastern Prairies’ wet conditions may curb insect pest risk
Late-seeded crops may germinate more quickly in warmer soils
MarketsFarm — If there could be one benefit to the excessive moisture across much of southern Manitoba and the Interlake region, that would be a potentially reduced risk for insect pests, according to John Gavloski, entomologist for Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Resource Development. For example, Gavloski cited flea beetles, which could damage canola. “If [canola] […] Read more
Grasshopper numbers up last year, but outbreak may not occur
Hopper numbers tend to go in a two-year cycle and so this may be a ‘low’ year, says forecast
Reading Time: 2 minutes Not surprisingly, grasshoppers loved last year’s dry conditions, especially in the south, says a provincial outlook for the pest. “In southern Alberta, dry summers are resulting in increasing grasshopper numbers,” says an article from the provincial Ag Ministry detailing last year’s grasshopper survey and this year’s outlook. “This is especially true in the counties south […] Read more
Watch out for grasshoppers and wheat stem sawfly this year
Some pests do just fine when it’s hot and dry while others suffer, and all try to adapt
Reading Time: 3 minutes Last summer’s drought and brutal heat was a game changer for insect pests across the Prairies. Some got knocked back, others managed just fine and many acted in new ways as they tried to adapt. “Every pest species we deal with could be responding to these hot and dry conditions differently,” said Meghan Vankosky, a […] Read more
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