Reading Time: < 1 minute Farmers are being asked to share their strategies on how to manage weed, insect and disease resistance. The contest offers prizes (iPads and Tim Hortons gift cards) for winning entries. “The Pest Management Challenge is an opportunity to get people talking and to encourage the adoption of resistance management best practices,” said Jennifer Hubert, an […] Read more
How do you manage resistant pests?
Resistant insect populations growing in southern Alberta
Insecticide-resistant alfalfa weevils are cropping up in alfalfa seed-growing regions, and beneficial bugs may be the answer
Reading Time: 3 minutes Insecticide-resistant insects have flown under the radar on the Canadian Prairies — but researchers are keeping an eye on a growing population of them in southern Alberta. “We don’t have very many insects that are resistant to insecticides here on the Prairies, so luckily, it’s not that widespread of an issue,” said Boyd Mori, researcher […] Read more
Crop protection Blue Book is popular, but not fully appreciated
Co-author says annual crop protection manual has valuable info on modes of action, resistance, and other topics
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Blue Book is known for its comprehensive list of pesticide products for use on major field crops, but the crop protection manual has “vast amounts of additional information,” says its co-editor. “These pages contain the hidden gems of information that are valuable to producers,” said provincial crop specialist Harry Brook. One example is herbicide […] Read more
No ordinary herbicide — glyphosate keeps making headlines
The world’s most widely used herbicide will continue to be one of agriculture’s biggest newsmakers
Reading Time: 4 minutes Two things happened to glyphosate over the past 15 years — it got a lot more popular and a lot more unpopular at the same time. There’s no question that most farmers love it. Although the most recent estimates are a few years old, farm use of glyphosate soared in this century. A major European […] Read more
Millions of Alberta acres have resistant weeds
Kochia and wild oats top a long list of resistant weeds that are now present in Alberta, says crop specialist
Reading Time: 2 minutes When it comes to herbicide resistance, producers should be looking for trouble. The ongoing spread of resistant weeds means producers should be actively scouting for it, said provincial crop specialist Harry Brook. “We now have glyphosate resistance in kochia in southern Alberta and it continues to spread,” said Brook. “These should serve as a wake-up […] Read more
Saskatchewan herbicide resistance a heads-up for Alberta
More than half of fields surveyed had a resistant weed, with Group 1-resistant wild oat at the top of the list
Reading Time: 3 minutes Alberta’s herbicide-resistant weed survey is underway this summer, but the results from Saskatchewan paint a grim picture of what to expect here. “Since 2009, there’s been an 89 per cent increase in the land area affected by herbicide-resistant weeds,” said federal research scientist Breanne Tidemann. “We are in a fairly steep incline in terms of […] Read more
‘Wake-up call’ needed for resistance
Provincial crop expert says it’s time to stop pretending it’s not ‘a huge issue’
Reading Time: 3 minutes Weed resistance has been an issue in crop production for many years, but is coming to the forefront as increasing numbers of weeds are no longer responding to herbicides. “Most producers are aware of the issue, but unless it affects them directly, don’t see it as a huge issue,” said provincial crop specialist Harry Brook. […] Read more
This is not good — triple-resistant kochia has entered Alberta
Glyphosate-resistant kochia was bad but there’s a new strain that’s much worse
Reading Time: 3 minutes Kochia, one of Western Canada’s most abundant and economically devastating weed species, has won another major battle in overcoming herbicide. This summer, the first known Group 4 herbicide-resistant kochia was identified in a durum wheat field in southwestern Saskatchewan. And samples currently being tested from a farm in southern Alberta are also suspected to be […] Read more
Did your spraying do the trick?
If weeds survived, you need to figure out what went wrong so you can avoid a repeat
Reading Time: < 1 minute Field scouting after herbicide application can lead to more successful crop production. “In the majority of cases, producers will find that the chemicals have done their job” said provincial crop specialist Mark Cutt. “However, in certain situations, field scouting may show the weeds weren’t properly controlled.” If so, figure out what went wrong. “A difference […] Read more
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