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Tag Archives Agricultural pest insects

brussels sprouts
Columns, Fruit/Vegetables

Vegetable crop production on the Prairies

Part 2 of a series on Prairie farm gardens

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At the countless farm sites I have visited over almost 50 years from coast to coast in Canada, from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island, I have come across outstanding crop growing innovations and excellent crops as well as abject crop failures. To deal logically with the extensive range of crops, I put them, as described previously, […] Read more
Students Selena Delahunty and Jaydon Bick inspect an AAFC barley silage field in Saskatchewan. They noted the presence of spot-form net blotch, which they reported to the Prairie Crop Disease Monitoring Network using the Quick Disease Reporter Tool.
Crops, Features

Quick Disease Reporter Tool a game-changer for farmers

Farmers and consultants are alerted about emerging disease issues

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It’s a major frustration for farmers and crop advisers when they discover disease in a field and realize it’s too late to do anything about it. A new online tool developed by the Prairie Crop Disease Monitoring Network is designed to change that. The Quick Disease Reporter Tool allows users to electronically report disease outbreaks […] Read more
One of those curveballs nature can throw happened when Dan Johnson extracted the DNA from samples of Bruner’s spur-throated grasshopper (shown above) from areas of Alberta, British Columbia and Wyoming and found each region’s samples had very different DNA.
Crops, Features

Effective insect sampling tips

An entomologist offers recommendations and insights on pest population sampling

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As every farmer knows, insect pests of every kind and colour can — very literally — take a giant bite out of their crops. Limiting insect damage depends on timely control. That said, jumping too quickly to insecticides carries financial and long-term sustainability consequences. The key to good pest control is “all in the details,” […] Read more
Grasshoppers were one of the two biggest insect concerns in Manitoba last growing season.
Crops, News

Is your insect management plan ‘snug as a bug’ this year?

Grasshoppers weather winter better than you think. Scout early and often to gauge insect risks

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For farmers who live in areas of the Prairies that received above-average snowfall this past winter, one entomologist is cautioning them not to get lulled into a false sense of security about the threat posed by insects this growing season. “I’ve been cautioning people not to assume that there’s going to be any increased mortality […] Read more
Reports of spraying for diamond-back moths were very low in Alberta and Saskatchewan in 2020 and limited to only a few fields in Manitoba.
Canola, Crops

Your 2020 canola insect roundup

How big of a bite did pests take out of canola crops last year?

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Mother Nature rarely gives an easy ride on the Prairie pest front. And 2020 was no exception, said James Tansey, Saskatchewan Agriculture’s provincial insect and vertebrate pest specialist, at Canola Council of Canada’s Canola Week 2020 held last December. Though some key canola pest species showed relatively low population densities in 2020, other pests caused […] Read more
The nymph (juvenile) stage of 
the twice-stabbed stink bug.
Crops, News

New and notable Prairie crop pest insects

Haven’t heard of canola flower midge? Can’t identify those RED BUGS showing up in your fields? Didn’t know alfalfa weevil populations are developing insecticide resistance? Everything you need to know about new insect threats

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Most Prairie farmers know more than they might want to about common crop pests like grasshoppers, cutworms and flea beetles. However, nature likes to throw curveballs, and pests are no exception. Here’s what you need to know about several new-to-you pests currently catching Prairie farmers by surprise. Alfalfa weevil While alfalfa weevils are familiar to […] Read more
When scouting pea leaf weevil, it’s important to start looking early in the season, as newly
emerged peas are the most vulnerable to damage. Begin at field edges and work your way into the field. Typical damage includes “c”-shaped notches in the leaves.
Crops, Wheat & Chaff

Pea leaf weevil management: early identification key

Q & A with an expert

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Q: When and how should I scout for pea leaf weevils? A: The pea leaf weevil, an invasive species, has caused notable damage and yield loss in pulse crops across the Prairies. Identifying and managing the pea leaf weevil early in the growing season is key to minimizing damage and protecting your yield potential. Adults […] Read more
By controlling grasshoppers in the nymph stage, you can keep them from feasting on your fields later on when they reach adulthood.
Crops, Features

Higher grasshopper nymph populations expected this spring in Manitoba

Manage nymphs in hatching areas before they disperse into crops

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It’ll come as no surprise to Manitoba producers that the major pests to watch for this coming growing season are flea beetles in canola as well as grasshoppers and cutworms across all Prairie crops. All three are well established in Manitoba, all three overwinter in the province and all three showed high populations last year. […] Read more
Flea beetle.
Crops, Features

Expect flea beetle and cutworm issues in Alberta fields

Grasshopper population levels will depend on weather, for one

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Spring is finally coming to Alberta crop fields. Unfortunately, insect pests won’t be far behind. Weather, natural population cycles and wind conditions are just a few factors influencing insect pest numbers this season. Grasshopper Alberta is home to 85 species of grasshoppers, three of which caused economic damage to Alberta fields last year. In the […] Read more
Two-striped grasshopper and wheat midge numbers on the rise in Saskatchewan
Crops, News

Two-striped grasshopper and wheat midge numbers on the rise in Saskatchewan

Another dry spring could also increase flea beetle pressure

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Exactly which insect pests will chomp their way into your crops this year and how much damage they’ll do depends on wind, weather and, above all, your scouting and management choices. This year, Saskatchewan growers should keep an eye out for rising populations of two-stripe grasshopper and wheat midge, meanwhile dry spring conditions will increase […] Read more

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