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Wireworms bore into a plant stem.
Crops

Wireworms a persistent insect pest on the Prairies

Nestled in the soil and hard to kill, wireworms are a headache for Manitoba growers

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They’ll survive what would kill other crop pests. Some species will eat each other. If food is scarce, they might reverse molt to become smaller and harder to starve. They’ll go after grain crops, potatoes, onions, carrots, strawberries or almost any other field crop. Their tendency to feast on germinating seeds and young shoots under
Wireworms have historically been a challenge when it comes to chemical control.
Crops

Wireworm survival behaviour unearthed

Wireworms travelled deep into the soil for winter, research out of Atlantic Canada found

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Wireworms can dig deep into the soil to avoid frost and survive cold temperatures, according to research out of Prince Edward Island. Christine Noronha, an entomologist with Agriculture Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) in Charlottetown, recently studied how deep, and at what times, wireworms were on the move in the soil. There are no in-season chemical options
Cereals show the damage from munching wireworms, something BASF hopes its new seed insecticide will help avoid.
News

BASF’s ‘novel’ wireworm seed treatment makes pitch to PMRA

Teraxxa could be available in Western Canada next year if approved by Canadian regulatory authorities

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BASF hopes Teraxxa F4, its new cereal seed insecticide for wireworm control, will be available in Western Canada next year. Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) is reviewing Teraxxa and must approve it before it can be used commercially in Canada. The seed treatment is now in the public consultation period after getting handed
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

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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
Dingy cutworms show the species’ tire-like back markings, compared to the more unbroken strips seen in redbacked or darksided cutworms.
Crops

Unearth the pests lurking in your soil

No clipped-off plants yet? You may still have cutworms

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You’ll need to get your hands a little dirty. Otherwise you may have no idea what’s about to chomp your crop — until it’s too late. John Gavloski, Manitoba Agriculture entomologist, says farmers should watch for cutworm and wireworm damage, something that, in both cases, will require digging in the soil around plants. The three
Wireworm are set to take a bite out of potato fields and can be tough to control.
Crops, Local news

Manitoba potato growers brace for wireworm issue

The loss of Lindane then Thimet has resulted in growing and booming wireworm populations across Canada

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A budding wireworm problem for Prairie potato growers is the result of losing two key chemical control products. According to Bob Vernon, a research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Agassiz, B.C., that lack of control options makes it a question of when, not if, the problem shows up. First the organophochlorine pesticide Lindane
This wheat was seeded three weeks ago, but hasn’t germinated. MDA’s Lionel Kaskiw says farmers shouldn’t plant too deeply trying to hit moisture, especially with small seeded crops such as canola and flax, because if the seed germinates it might not survive emergence or be weak.
Crops

Manitoba farmers hope for rainy May long

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While most city folk are looking forward to a warm, sunny long weekend, many Manitoba farmers are praying for rain. In the meantime, farmers should avoid the temptation to seed deeply to reach moisture, according to Lionel Kaskiw, a Manitoba Department of Agriculture (MDA) farm production advisor based in Souris. ‘I still think if you
flea beetles
Crops, Local news

Be on the lookout for three early-season crop pests

MAFRD entomologist John Gavloski has advice on flea beetles, 
cutworms and wireworms for Manitoba farmers

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Be on the lookout for flea beetles, cutworms and wireworms, all of which can take a bite out of yields early in the growing season, says John Gavloski, entomologist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (MAFRD). Canola is especially vulnerable to flea beetle damage during the cotyledon to second true-leaf stage, Gavloski said during
flea beetle damage on a leaf
Crops, News, Oilseeds

Later canola seeding could mean less flea beetle damage

In addition to flea beetles, farmers should be scouting for cutworms, wireworms and grasshoppers

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Flea beetles are munching on Manitoba canola crops but a provincial entomologist says the damage may look worse than it is. If there’s more than 25 per cent feeding damage after the canola crop has been planted for at least three weeks, an insecticide application could be economic, John Gavloski said in a Manitoba Agriculture,
Wireworm crawling out of soil.
Crops

Researchers need wireworm samples

Wireworm numbers are on the rise and Ag Canada researchers need samples to develop control methods

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Producers can help in the effort to find a wireworm control solution by submitting samples to Canada’s wireworm research team. “Lindane (such as Vitavax Dual) insecticide kept wireworm numbers low for several decades on the Prairies,” says Neil Whatley, crop specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. “(But) since the ban of this organochlorine pesticide

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