Reading Time: 2 minutes Encouraging and protecting natural enemies can be an excellent way to control pest populations. “Everybody is familiar with ladybugs and lacewings as voracious, pest-consuming beneficial insects,” said Dustin Morton, commercial horticulture specialist with the Alberta Ag-Info Centre. “But fewer are familiar with how natural enemies such as hover flies, ground beetles, and even yellow-jacket wasps […] Read more
Getting the good bugs on your side
Tweaking your pesticide applications and field management can boost the populations of beneficial bugs
Ag groups launch bee initiative
Bees Matter is offering free seeds for pollinator-friendly gardens — and information on bees
Reading Time: < 1 minute A new program called Buzzing Gardens is offering Canadians free seeds to plant pollinator-friendly gardens. The program is an initiative of Bees Matter, a group consisting of chemical and agricultural groups including CropLife Canada, Bayer CropScience, Syngenta, the Canola Council of Canada, the Canadian Seed Trade Association, and the Canadian Honey Council. “The agricultural community […] Read more
Going ‘off label’ is a bad idea all around when it comes to pesticides
You can not only be fined, but also put your customers, the environment and your business at risk
Reading Time: 2 minutes The practice of ‘off-label’ spraying is not only illegal and can result in severe fines, but can also be very dangerous for your clients, your livelihood, and the environment, says a provincial commercial horticulture specialist. “Horticultural chemicals and pesticides often have the dubious distinction of being more expensive than their field crop cousins. In order […] Read more
U.S. EPA proposing temporary pesticide-free zones for honeybees
Reuters — U.S. environmental regulators on Thursday proposed a rule that would create temporary pesticide-free zones to protect commercial honeybees, which are critical to food production and have been dying off at alarming rates. The restrictions are aimed at protecting bees from “pesticides that are acutely toxic” to them, and would cover foliar applications when […] Read more
IPM: It’s all about combining pest management tools
The multi-pronged approach known as Integrated Pest Management can boost yields while reducing costs
Reading Time: 3 minutes While Integrated Pest Management (IPM) has become a catchphrase in agriculture today, there can be confusion as to what it actually is. “While the mechanics of the concept are discussed at workshops and lectures, many producers still don’t understand exactly what IPM is,” said Dustin Morton, a commercial horticulture specialist with the Alberta Ag-Info Centre […] Read more
Pesticides could lead to ‘pollination deficit,’ EU report says
Brussels | Reuters –– Evidence is mounting that widely-used pesticides harm moths, butterflies and birds as well as bees, adding to concerns crop production could be hit by a shortage of pollinators, according to a report drawn up for EU policymakers. The European Commission, the EU executive, placed restrictions on three neonicotinoid pesticides from Dec. […] Read more
More heat than light in neonicotinoid controversy
Reading Time: < 1 minute Neonics have become one of those issues that creates deep divides. Are neonicotinoid pesticides silently poisoning our world, with bees serving as the canaries in a toxic coal mine? Or is the whole thing just the latest cause célèbre promoted by radical environmentalists who have a hate on for “industrial” farming? The already rancorous debate […] Read more
Expert: Neonics are an issue — and also an easy target
Reading Time: 2 minutes Why are neonicotinoids attracting so much attention? The controversy around neonicotinoids is a global one. There are places where neonicotinoids are associated with bee kills and there are places where they are not. The science around neonics and their effects on bees has some inconsistent elements. There hasn’t been any strong colony-level field tests, for […] Read more
Alberta opts for better management to reduce bee deaths
Reading Time: 2 minutes What’s Alberta Beekeepers Commission response to Ontario’s move? Our stance hasn’t changed. We are still very much in favour of working towards a scientific conclusion or solution to what has happened. In Alberta, we just aren’t seeing the same things as they’re seeing out in Ontario. We were very interested in the Pest Management Regulatory […] Read more
USDA report says no risk from pesticide residues
Reuters — More than half of food tested by the U.S. government for pesticide residues last year showed detectable levels of pesticides, though most were within levels the government considers to be safe, according to a report issued Dec. 19 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The USDA looked at fresh and processed fruits and […] Read more
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