Corn at Bayer site, COFS 2025

Keep corn rootworm off balance

Hitting it with the same solution year-after-year will just create a new problem

Bayer Crop Science staff say corn production success for Ontario growers includes rotation out of corn, and rotating modes of action when fighting insect pests in the crop.

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

Bt-resistant corn borer concern grows

Critical tools for controlling corn borer could be lost

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.


Trials with the potato vine crusher have shown up to 94 per cent reduction in weed germination.  photo:

Old invention shows promise for weed control in potatoes

Originally designed for insect larvae, the potato vine crusher lowers germination rate of weed seeds

An invention originally designed to control European corn borer in potatoes has shown potential to reduce weed seeds during potato harvest. Dr. Andrew McKenzie-Gopsill, a research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, recently discussed the advantages of minimizing weed seeds during harvest to reduce pressure in potato crops. Then a colleague suggested an invention that

Editorial: A fine balance

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


The first case of Bt-resistant European corn borer is a reminder to Manitoba corn
growers to plant non-Bt refuge and select hybrids with at least two different Bt traits.

Heads-up on preserving corn borer-resistant corn

Bt breakdown highlights the importance of following refuge protocols

The first case of European corn borer resistance to Bt corn underscores the need for Manitoba corn growers to take steps to protect the technology, says Manitoba Agriculture’s entomologist John Gavloski. That development was recently confirmed in Nova Scotia. “If corn growers are growing Bt (corn borer)-resistant corn they need to be taking the refuge

European corn borer has been a sporadic problem in Manitoba since the pest was discovered here in 1948.

Fighting European corn borer? Manitoba Agriculture wants to hear from you

There’s been no Bt resistance yet in Manitoba’s European corn borer population, 
but entomologist John Gavloski is keeping a sharp eye out

John Gavloski is back on the hunt for European corn borer (ECB). The provincial entomologist hopes to collect 50-100 larvae from Carman-area fields this year, part of a long-standing project to monitor resistance to Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis), a toxin-producing bacteria and the most commonly cited ECB management method. Bt is either used as a spray,


Corn rootworm is in Manitoba, but there’s an easy solution — rotate.

More corn rootworm found in Manitoba

It’s already a major pest in the U.S. Corn Belt, but it can still be easily controlled here

There’s another reason not to grow corn on corn in Manitoba: corn rootworm. The insect, which as its name implies, feeds on corn roots and is a major pest in the American Corn Belt, is showing up in greater numbers in Manitoba. But Manitoba Agriculture entomologist John Gavloski says there’s an easy fix: crop rotation.

European corn borer might prefer grain crops normally, but it’s not opposed to settling into a potato crop too if conditions are right.

Corn borers develop taste for potatoes

Canadian potato growers found a new insect foe in the 2015 season — European corn borer. Ordinarily the pest prefers maize and other grain crops, but when conditions are right it will move on and hit other crops hard, including potatoes. Ian MacRae, an extension entomologist at Minnesota’s Northwest Research and Outreach Center, told Manitoba