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Bt-resistant European corn borer on a corn plant in Nova Scotia in 2018.
News

Bt-resistant corn borer concern grows

Critical tools for controlling corn borer could be lost

By
Glacier FarmMedia – Bt-resistant populations of European corn borer pose a significant risk to Canadian crop producers. With multiple resistance uncovered, it’s possible Bt-based control technologies will cease to work for the problem pest. Older and more environmentally costly methods of pest control – including repeated in-season insecticide applications – might make a comeback as a result.
A parasitoid wasp settles 
on a flower.
Crops

Army in place to fight crop insect pests

There’s a natural defence insect force guarding grain fields

By
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
Pterostichus melanarius ground beetles have garnered interest as possible predators for pea leaf weevil.
Crops, News

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

By
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
Clear-winged grasshoppers were also present but mostly gave crops a pass in favour of pasture.
Crops, News

Flea beetles, grasshoppers poised for reprises in Manitoba fields

These insects did a lot of damage last year, and could return this season

By
Flea beetles and grasshoppers were amongst the biggest insect challenges last season, and they could be set to surge again this year, if conditions are right. John Gavloski, Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development entomologist, said both were a huge issue throughout the province. “They were major concerns over the past season, and when I say
Two pest species, the clear-winged grasshopper (left) and two-striped grasshopper have caused damage for farmers this year.
Crops, News

Grasshoppers in Manitoba are hungry, and plentiful

After a string of dry summers helping their populations, producers are encouraged to scout for pest grasshoppers

By
Manitoba’s pest grasshopper species are out, and with the heat and dry weather they’re having a good time. “There’s some control currently going on,” provincial entomologist John Gavloski said. “A lot of it is edge spraying, so people doing their ditches and their field edges, but there has been some full-field spraying.” Why it matters:
Wolf spiders, robber flies, coyotes and burrowing owls are happy to dine on grasshoppers.
Crops

Predators line up for grasshoppers

Grasshoppers might be voracious — but so are the many things that consume them

By
Farmers fear grasshoppers because, according to legend, they eat everything. There’s a flip side to this and farmers can use it to their advantage. In the grand scheme of Prairie ecology everything eats grasshoppers. “They do have a positive side,” Dan Johnson of the University of Lethbridge told the Manitoba Agronomists Conference earlier this winter.
Prairie pest report says grasshopper risk low
Crops

Prairie pest report says grasshopper risk low

This despite general upward trend in the populations across Manitoba and Saskatchewan

By
This year’s grasshopper threat remains light to very light across Manitoba, according to survey data released by the Prairie Pest Monitoring Network on April 27. The data is based on surveys done in 2019. These included nearly 3,200 grasshopper counts across the Prairie provinces between May 1 and August 31. Maps in the report show
Common insecticides are having less of an impact on potato beetles in recent years.
Crops

Potato beetle resistance on the rise

This long-standing challenge is growing as less response to foliar insecticides is being observed

By
Manitoba potato growers may need to get more comfortable with leaf damage. According to Tracy Shinners-Carnelley, vice-president of research and quality with Peak of the Market, growing insecticide resistance in Colorado potato beetles means it’s something they’ll likely see more of. Much like flea beetles in canola, potato producers are being urged to hold off
Currently available crop protection products can only knock back wireworms, not eliminate them.
Crops, News

Are wireworms’ days numbered?

Once you have wireworms, it’s hard to get rid of them, but that might be changing once BASF’s new seed treatment launches in 2021

By
Growers will soon be able to knock back wireworm populations rather than just holding the line. BASF says it is two years away from launching its new cereal seed treatment, Teraxxa, on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border. The seed treatment will introduce a new chemistry to the market. Teraxxa will be a Group 30
Editorial, Opinion

Editorial: A fine balance

By
Where does one individual’s rights end, and another’s begin? One famous definition runs like this: “The right to swing my arms in any direction ends where your nose begins.” It’s a straightforward common-sense approach that attempts to balance individual liberty with the rights of others. However, it’s also a very simplistic black-or-white view. The reality

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