According to Hector Carcamo of AAFC, low populations of lygus bugs can actually benefit canola crops.

When a pest isn’t a pest

Finding flea beetles and lygus bugs in canola fields doesn’t necessarily mean they’re a problem. Sometimes lygus bugs can even benefit the crop

Insect pests aren’t always true pests. Hard as it may be for farmers to imagine, sometimes the insects do more good than harm. That was a key message from an April online seminar on insect control in canola organized by the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences. The three panelists — Alejandro […] Read more

Cross-section of an infected canola plant root. Verticillium fungus spreads upward through a plant’s vascular tissues and can create this sort of discolouration, which looks somewhat similar to blackleg.

Keep verticillium stripe in focus this year

Practical Research: Don't let the fungi hitchhike between fields on your equipment -- or anyone else's

Where did such a destructive disease come from? Verticillium stripe was first reported in Manitoba in 2014, some 10 years ago. The fungus, Verticillium longisporum, has now been confirmed present in six provinces: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. In a survey in 2023 across Manitoba, verticillium stripe was found in 38 per […] Read more


Photo: Canstock

Canola net short position edges lower

The managed money net short position in canola futures edged lower in the latest reporting period, as fund traders covered some of their bearish bets, according to the latest Commitments of Traders report from the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

canola stems showing blackleg infection

Machine learning may help get a leg up on blackleg

AI-backed research results may help growers better manage the risk of blackleg in canola crops

Results of a recent study by researchers in Manitoba and Alberta could help growers fight blackleg disease in canola more effectively. The study was done by a team of researchers at the University of Manitoba led by Dilantha Fernando, a professor in the school’s plant science department. They were joined by Michael Harding, a plant […] Read more


aster leafhopper

Leafhoppers remain a cause for concern

Aster yellows can quickly wipe out canola and other crops

Aster leafhoppers may be small but they pose a huge risk to canola and other crops on the Prairies. The aster leafhopper (Macrosteles quadrilineatus) typically measures 3.5 to six millimetres in length. It is straw-coloured and is sometimes referred to as the four-lined leafhopper because of the four dark lines on its forehead. While aster […] Read more




Crucifer flea beetles, shown here on cabbage, are considered by growers to be among the greatest economic risks to canola crops.

Canola’s least wanted

Experts discuss pests and pathogens canola growers will want to watch for in 2024

Flea beetles pose one of the greatest risks to yields for canola growers in Western Canada. A 2022 survey conducted on behalf of the Canola Council of Canada bore that out. Some 91 per cent of growers who participated in the survey identified flea beetles as the greatest economic risk to their crops. That’s likely […] Read more