Lupins are more common in flower gardens than fields. That could change due to growing attention in Western Canada on pulse development and plant-based protein. Why it matters: Pulses are a hot commodity given the burgeoning plant-protein market, and that includes new footholds for not-so-familiar crops. Lupins have been put to the test in crop
Making lupins work as a Prairie pulse option
Lupin trials underway at the Westman Agricultural Diversification Centre in Melita, Man.
Army in place to fight crop insect pests
There’s a natural defence insect force guarding grain fields
It was the year of the armyworm in Manitoba when a high numbers of adults blew in this spring. But farmers have their own army, plus an air force, ready to meet the invaders and possibly keep their numbers below economic thresholds. “I don’t have enough time to talk about the enormous number of different
The under-recognized aphid eaters
The larvae of lady beetles are less commonly identified, but take just as big a bite out of crop pest populations
The insect experts say that every farmer across the Prairies should have a huge picture of coccinellidae larvae on their machine shop wall. If the scientific name doesn’t sound familiar, the common name certainly will. It’s the family of beetles that includes ladybugs and Asian lady beetles. “Everybody recognizes the adults and everyone knows they’re
VIDEO: Goss’s wilt bears watching for corn growers
The relatively new bacterial infection of corn has moved north from the U.S. Midwest in recent years
A corn disease that gained a foothold in Manitoba a few years ago is one to watch, according to a provincial crops specialist. Veronica Owusu, crop production extension specialist with Manitoba Agriculture out of Gimli, says agronomists and farmers should check for Goss’s wilt. The bacterial disease has moved north from the American Midwest and
The aerodynamics of crop spraying
Air disturbance from the sprayer itself may be affecting your drift risk
We’ve come a long way with sprayers. We’ve made them bigger, we’ve made them faster and with new visual technology and artificial intelligence, we’ve even made them smarter. Now, research by the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute (PAMI) along with the College of Agriculture at the University of Saskatchewan and Agrimetrix in Saskatoon is asking, ‘Can
On the ropes against kochia
Growers face a formidable foe. Fast mutations and efficient seed spread are a tough one-two combination
Kill it with fire. That was the gist in 2018, after a photo of post-spray kochia in Saskatchewan made the rounds on social media. The image showed a swath of dead, brown plants. That made the single, green plant right in the centre stand out even more. There was a collective recoil from farmers in
Rainfall 101: a refresher on how it makes or breaks your crop
Revisiting the basics of how plants use that moisture top-up
In the Prairies, spring meltwater may give emerging crops a good start, but the finish is up to the rain. “If you had your clay soils filled to their maximum water-holding capacity and then it doesn’t rain on them for the rest of the crop season, you’re going to have a crop failure,” said Paul
Ground beetle biocontrol against pea leaf weevil
Management of pea leaf weevil is tricky, since by the time the farmer knows they have a problem, it’s often too late to spray
Pea leaf weevil is a nasty pest of peas and faba bean and its quirky behaviour makes it almost impossible to manage. The weevils are small and difficult to see. The farmer often doesn’t know they’re in the field until they find nicks in the leaves of their crop. By that time, it’s too late
Verticillium gains ground on blackleg, sclerotinia in Manitoba
Survey numbers sum up Manitoba’s top canola disease issues last year
Farmers preparing to seed canola might want to take a minute to visit the Canola Council of Canada’s website. The national group, drawing on data from the 2022 Manitoba Canola Disease Survey, has summed up the most significant disease threats growers faced last year. Posted through the council’s Canola Research Hub, the information also covers
Long-term plot experiment yields new insights
RESEARCH Ninety-year-old rotations show compounding nature of systemic production changes
When one part of an agricultural system is changed, the effects are frequently found in unexpected places. For example, the earliest no-till farmers were hoping for soil conservation benefits. Research now shows fields in long-term no-till require less fertilizer. Miles Dyck, a University of Alberta soil scientist, provided that information at the Manitoba Agronomists’ ConferenceCyber-Savvy Farmer
