Reading Time: 2 minutes Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is looking for six to 10 sites to monitor for insects in bins in southern Alberta this fall. It is an opportunity to further understand what is in the bins and how insects can be controlled. Participants who volunteer can ask for the results from their own bins and bin yard. […] Read more
AAFC seeks southern Alberta bins for insect testing
The goal is to help detect potentially new invasive pests to the area
Scout your fields to keep on top of this year’s pest insects
Drought followed by moisture has created unique pest situations in many parts of the province
Reading Time: 4 minutes If there’s one message to keep in mind this growing season, it’s to scout fields for pests. Last year’s drought, followed by this year’s wet conditions, made for some interesting insect problems on the Prairies. Cabbage seedpod weevils are active again, said Keith Gabert, an agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada who covers […] Read more
Ectoparasite help available for cattle
Reading Time: < 1 minute It’s getting to be peak season for ectoparasites and the Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) has a number of resources that can help. Ectoparasite is just a $10 word for lice, flies, ticks and other external parasites. The research council’s web resource zeros in on lice (both the sucking and chewing varieties with four species […] Read more
Flea beetles an issue in parts of Saskatchewan
MarketsFarm — Delays to spring seeding in some regions of Saskatchewan, such as the northeast, have opened the door for infestations of flea beetles, according to provincial pest management specialist James Tansey. Canola crops that were planted later than normal are suffering from flea beetles, he said. Extremely late-seeded canola has been relatively free from […] Read more
Thistle control program on hold
Reading Time: < 1 minute The West-Central Forage Association won’t be bringing in Canada thistle stem-gall flies this year. The flies lay their eggs on the tips of thistle shoots in the early summer, with the larvae burrowing into the shoots and triggering gall formation, which stresses the plant by stealing nutrients. The association said it is discontinuing the program […] 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
This hidden crop menace is stealthy, destructive and a devil to get rid of
There’s a wide variety of wireworms, their impact varies greatly, and there’s no effective control
Reading Time: 4 minutes Joe Ripley knew something was up in his wheat field — but he had no idea what. “We just had patches where it was very poor quality and there was hardly anything there,” said the grain and cattle producer from the Spring Coulee area in southern Alberta. “We didn’t realize what it was for a […] Read more
Seedpod weevil numbers down in 2021
Reading Time: < 1 minute Cabbage seedpod weevil numbers in 2021 were lower than normal for the fourth year in a row, but canola growers in southern and south-central Alberta should still be on guard. A survey of 225 fields last summer (when canola was at 20 to 25 per cent flower) found that even in the south, numbers were […] 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
Pea weevil damage dropped in 2021
Reading Time: < 1 minute Pea leaf weevils don’t like drought either, last year’s survey of the pest suggests. “The highest damage ratings were in a few fields around Edmonton,” Alberta Agriculture reports. “There were a couple of hot spots in southern Alberta, but nothing like we have seen in previous years.” But spring conditions are key and a stretch […] Read more
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