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According to a meta-analysis of 58 published studies, spiders suppressed agricultural pest insects in 79 per cent of studies, which resulted in improved crop performance.
Comment, Op/Ed

Comment: Lessons learned from spider guts

Spider stomach contents can sharpen our understanding of their role in agricultural pest control

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Spiders are important insect predators, and understanding what’s in their gut could help agriculture deploy them against pests. That’s easier said than done. Spider diet, and how much they actually target crop pest species, is crucial to determine how effective spiders are at biocontrol. However, since spiders liquefy the remains of prey with digestive enzymes,
Bachus flavenses.
Farmit Manitoba

Beneficial insects bring farmer benefit

They’re an often overlooked limiting factor for crop eating pests

By
Insecticides do a lot of good work in fields but they’re also a measure of last resort. The first line of defence is frequently an unpaid and overlooked army of beneficial insects that protect the crop by feasting on its insect foes. John Gavloski, Manitoba’s provincial entomologist, told a recent Crop Talk webinar that often when pest populations
Hoverfly.
Farmit Manitoba

Protecting insect workers

A little management can go a long way towards keeping this unpaid workforce on your farm

By
It’s a big challenge to control insect pests while doing the minimum harm to beneficial insects. Manitoba entomologist John Gavloski has a few pointers. First, trust and use the economic thresholds that are available. “If you are spraying for insects when you don’t need to, especially with some broad-spectrum insecticide, there can be a lot
Flea beetles are showing signs of resistance to pyrethroids in Europe, where neonics have been banned for years.
Crops, Oilseeds

Neonics still best flea beetle option

There’s mounting evidence the European ban has significant unintended consequences, entomologist says

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Neonicotinoids used as a seed treatment remain the safest and most effective tool for managing flea beetles, an entomologist says. Neonicotinoids are a widely used class of insecticides available since the 1990s. Concerns about their environmental impact emerged in the early 2000s, when studies showed they caused harm to honeybees and other pollinators. These findings
Clumps of grasshoppers, killed by a fungus, are scattered throughout a field.
Crops, News

Weird pest phenomena a boon for farmers

They might sound creepy, but aphid ‘mummies’ and ‘summit disease’ are signs friendly fungi, insects are at hand

By
For once, it’s not a bad thing if the mummy returns – unless you’re an aphid. In 2022, pea aphids plagued many Manitoba farmers, said John Gavloski, entomologist with Manitoba Agriculture. Aphids on soybeans also hit economic levels, particularly in the central, east and Interlake regions. “Some people were caught in a dilemma,” Gavloski told
The European honeybee, vital to pollination and the honey industry but not suitable for all crops such as seed alfalfa or some fruit or greenhouse crops.
Farmit Manitoba

A multitude of bees are your tireless workers

You might be surprised to find out just how much extra canola a few more pollinators can bring to your bins

By
Canola growers like what happens when they enlist hives of honeybees to help tend their crops. According to figures presented to the Manitoba Agronomist Conference earlier this winter by Melanie Dubois of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, pollination increases production by as much as 46 per cent. And the quality of the seed set is significantly
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

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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.
Flea beetle is one of the pests a Manitoba researcher is targeting with biotechnology.
Crops, News

Targeting your crop enemies

Is the future of crop protection environmentally friendly biotechnology?

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So far biotechnology in agriculture has driven the use of crop protection products through genetically engineered herbicide resistance. But the next wave could displace at least some of those applications by opening up another front in the war on two familiar canola concerns — sclerotinia and flea beetle. Mark Belmonte, a professor of biological science
Lady beetle making a meal out of aphids.
Crops, Local news

Participants wanted for on-farm study of flowering habitats

Study will look at impact of flowering habitats for pollinators, natural enemies of pests

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Pollinators and natural enemies of pests may improve the health of agroecosystems. Have you considered practices to enhance them on your farm? If so, we want to partner with you for an on-farm project. Project Establish flowering plants at crop field margins to determine if this habitat increases crop productivity by increasing pollinators and natural
Pollinator study looks for producer buy-in
Local news, News, Other

Pollinator study looks for producer buy-in

A University of Manitoba researcher is looking for land to measure the impact of pollinator strips

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Jason Gibbs of the University of Manitoba wants to know more about how pollinator strips impact the field, and he’s hoping local producers will help him. The professor of entomology has put the call out for producers willing to volunteer about one acre for pollinator habitat. Gibbs plans to plant a strip of flowering plants

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