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Tag Archives Agricultural pest insects

Crop advisor casebook: Crop circles in Manitoba soybeans
Crops, Features

Crop advisor casebook: Crop circles in Manitoba soybeans

A Crop Advisor's Solution from the April 21, 2020 issue of Grainews

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Like most people, I’ve heard of those mysterious formations in farmers’ fields known as crop circles, but I never thought I’d run into one. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it when I got a call last June from a farmer who said he’d spotted some circular patches in one of his soybean […] Read more
Grasshopper isolated on white background
Crops, Features

Saskatchewan bugs to watch for in 2019

Low survey results in 2018 could be good news for Saskatchewan farmers this season

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The 2018 pest survey results for Saskatchewan look like good news for the 2019 season. Grasshopper, pea leaf weevil and diamondback moth populations were all low in 2018. Large numbers of Bertha armyworm moths were caught in the Outlook and Watrous areas, but these do not necessarily predict 2019 populations. Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture integrated […] Read more
An insect was causing these pinholes in Lenny’s crop. But which one? Not all corn varieties were impacted.
Crops, Features

Crop advisor casebook: Pest leaves puzzling pinholes in corn silage

A Crop Advisor's Solution from the January 8, 2019 issue of Grainews

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Lenny is a central Alberta producer who owns a farm west of Irma where he grows corn silage for his purebred Simmental cattle herd. We have been working with Lenny and his corn silage plot for three years now, and I examine the plot about once every week during the growing season to monitor its […] Read more
If there are high levels of cutworms in your fields, control them before they do a lot of damage.
Crops, Features, Soybeans

Dealing with soybean aphids and cutworms

Hot, dry summer weather can bring soybean aphids into your fields


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Soybean aphids tend to come along with hot, dry weather, says Cassandra Tkachuk, production specialist for Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers (MPSG). “Moist conditions mean fungal pathogens can help take down populations of soybean aphid. Hot, dry conditions are conducive to them reproducing rapidly.” While this year’s harvest weather wasn’t hot and dry in most […] Read more
This aphid parasitoid died trying to emerge from the aphid mummy.
Crops, Features

New Cereal Aphid Manager app

Take this app on scouting and let it help you decide if you need to spray

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Aphids can be a big problem in cereal crops, and populations can build quickly. Knowing if and when to spray can be tricky. Decisions are driven by estimated aphid populations and factors can impact them — weather and natural predators. The new Cereal Aphid Manager app can help. This app uses considers these factors to […] Read more
Flea beetle damage on a canola leaf.
Crops, Wheat & Chaff

Insect economic thresholds: what do they mean?

Q & A with CPS

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Q: What do insect economic thresholds mean? A: Insects can eat into your profits. They can appear at any time during the growing season and can cause damage that is patchy, scattered and difficult to gauge. Accurate estimation of both pest population and potential crop damage levels can only be obtained by thorough field scouting. […] Read more
The diamondback moth is capable of producing as many as four generations each year. The earlier they arrive and the better the conditions, they more they reproduce.
Canola, Features

Why was 2017 an unprecedented year for diamondback moth?

Reviewing economic thresholds and 
action plans to control this insect pest

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Last year’s growing season was a freakish one for diamondback moth in Western Canada, and while the probability that an outbreak of this calibre will be seen in 2018 is very low, the possibility is always there. Knowing what to do and when to act can help you to get this insect pest under better […] Read more
Lygus bug: Profile of a crop pest
Canola, Crops, Features

Lygus bug: Profile of a crop pest

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The lygus bug is an interesting pest. Native to Canada, adult insects overwinter under plant debris and migrate into crops, including canola, alfalfa, soybeans and sunflowers. Arriving in spring and summer, they lay their eggs on crop stems. Lygus is a complex that refers to four species: L. elisus (pale legume bug), L. lineolaris (tarnished […] Read more
Pea Leaf Weevil 2017.
Crops, Features

Alberta insect forecasts for 2018

Alberta’s three new pest maps can help you choose your seed varieties for 2018

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Alberta Agriculture and Forestry has added its latest 2018 insect population forecast maps to its website. “We usually post two forecast maps in December for wheat pests — wheat midge and wheat stem saw fly — so that growers can make appropriate variety decisions,” says Scott Meers, insect management specialist in Alberta Ag’s Pest Surveillance […] Read more
Black beetles on canola buds.
Crops, Wheat & Chaff

Looking back on 2017’s biggest growing challenges

Agronomy tips... from the field

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Looking back on issues that growers had to deal with during the 2017 growing season, two things come to mind: insects and weather. In the spring, several regions across the Prairies experienced heavy flea beetle and cutworm pressure in their canola crops, along with some diamondback moth pressure later in the season. Keep in mind […] Read more

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