Flea beetles and grasshoppers topped provincial entomologist John Gavloski’s list as the peskiest insects on Manitoba farms this past season and he said producers should be on the lookout for them next year. In addition, “we’ve got three aphid species this year along with your army worms, lygus and cutworms, but our biggest surprise of the year
![“[Flea beetle] seem to overwinter well under our Prairie conditions and we don’t have the natural enemies that seem to knock a population out, the way it does to other insects.” – John Gavloski.](https://static.manitobacooperator.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/09102252/Flea-beetles_Brent-Schram_cmyk-660x420.jpeg)
The year in pest insects on Manitoba fields
There were many of the usual suspects and some strange new issues in Manitoba fields last season
Soil acidity a growing issue
Over time a natural chemical reaction to nitrogen can cause an acidic band to develop
Most of Manitoba’s soils are considered to be neutral, with pH around 7.0 and being neither acid nor alkaline. If anything there’s a tendency towards the alkaline. That’s why North Dakota State University cropping systems specialist Ryan Buetow’s warning at the recent Manitoba Agronomists’ Conference was unexpected. He says there are pockets of acidity showing
SCN: The new tough guy on the block
Soybean cyst nematode’s survival mechanisms make it difficult to monitor and control
Soybeans arrived in Manitoba in the early 20th century, but it took another 100 years for them to become a major crop. Now, almost two decades into the 21st century, an old enemy from the homeland has finally followed. Soybean cyst nematode (SCN) is already a serious pest in the soybean belt of the American Midwest. It is
Tracing roots for a strategy against soybean cyst nematode
How soybean ancestors helped scientists tease out SCN resistance
If there’s an answer to soybean cyst nematode, it may lie in the soybean family tree. Soybean cyst nematode (SCN) has been a tough problem since it first appeared in North America back in the 1950s. It’s a soil-bound pest so it can’t be sprayed. Instead, the solution must be found through biology—finding a weak
Expanded speaking slate announced for Ag Days
71 speakers and a gamut of industry topics to take the stage at Ag Days 2023
How do you come back from a last-minute cancellation that sidelined 31 speakers in 2022? If you ask Manitoba Ag Days program chair Stephanie Cruickshanks, you do it by exceeding that roster in 2023. Why it matters: Ag Days speakers range from geopolitical analysts and an in-depth look at fertilizer market to social media and
‘Ag Days Gives Back’ funding the future
Health, wellness and safety will be the theme of this year’s Ag Days Gives Back community grants
Manitoba’s Ag Days is back and in person at Brandon’s Keystone Centre, and so is the show’s premiere initiative to pay back the community. Ag Days Gives Back has been an integral part of the annual Ag Days celebration and, over the last decade, has awarded thousands of dollars to programs and community groups throughout
Ag Days Innovation Showcase highlights bright ideas
From farm tinkerers to high-tech A.I. drones, it’s all at the show this year
Brad Crammond lights up when he talks about the annual showcase that runs during Manitoba Ag Days at the Keystone Centre. As Ag Innovations Committee chair, he knows the showcase is a favourite attraction at Canada’s largest indoor farm show. This year it features 32 entries that can all be seen in person. “I think
Health and wellness front and centre at Manitoba Ag Days 2023
Organizers are focusing on encouraging farmers to care for themselves and others
The last two years have been strange ones, as the pandemic played havoc with people’s health and tested the world’s economy. Production of goods and commodities slowed and stopped, supply chains were strained and farmers now find that inputs are scarce and expensive. Given the strain of living in strange times, the overarching theme for this year’s Ag Days Agricultural show is farmer health and wellness. “We’ve had some challenging
Welcome back – again – to Manitoba Ag Days
Just as the show was set to go last year, COVID quashed it
It was full steam ahead for Ag Days last January, and after a year of COVID hiatus, the board was eager to throw open the Keystone Centre doors for a huge “welcome back” celebration. But then another wave of pandemic hit, with its own set of crippling restrictions, and the show was closed for another
Pea leaf weevil a tough pest to control
Uneven emergence and unpredictable life cycle make it a worthy opponent
The pea leaf weevil has a biology that’s a real pain in the anatomy when growing field peas or faba beans. Whatever the management strategy, the beetle shrugs and walks away pretty much unscathed. Agriculture Canada entomologist Meghan Vankosky in Saskatoon has spent the last few years looking at the weevil’s biology to find a
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
