The best option for canola producers in the current market environment may be to apply agronomy practices that can improve profits for little to no added cost, the Canola Council of Canada says.
Tag Archives flea beetles
Concerned over canola? Focus on agronomy
In a stressful market environment, best practices can reduce risk and drive profit
Leveling the crop protection playing field for mustard
The challenges of growing mustard in the shadow of canola
While mustard growers face many of the same agronomic challenges as canola growers, they often find themselves with fewer crop protection options than canola growers do. So when Bayer recently announced its Buteo Start seed treatment for flea beetles would be available for mustard seed, mustard farmers welcomed the news. “That’s going to help us […] Read more
Western mustard growers get new flea beetle seed treatment option
Mustard has been added to Bayer's Buteo start label to beat back flea beetles
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
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
Seeding rate may help manage flea beetle populations
A recent study investigated the effect of plant density on flea beetle populations in canola crops
Flea beetles have become Public Enemy No. 1 when it comes to canola. Yield losses of 10 per cent are common and it’s estimated the troublesome pest costs growers in North America more than $300 million annually. Results of a study recently conducted in Western Canada could help growers better manage flea beetle populations in […] Read more
Efficacies of insecticide seed treatments on flea beetles
The latest findings on flea beetle control products
The 2022 growing season was a “monstrous” year for canola farmers battling flea beetles in some parts of the Prairies. James Tansey, an entomologist with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, shared that assessment with a crowd of producers, agronomists, agri-retailers and other industry representatives at Saskatchewan’s Agronomy Research Update 2022, held last December in Saskatoon. […] Read more
Flea beetles: how to improve spray results
Five important tips when applying foliar insecticides
You’ve probably heard this before: the best defence against flea beetles is a canola crop that emerges uniformly, with five to eight plants per square foot, and grows quickly to the four-leaf stage. Weather conditions often conspire against these best laid plans, pushing canola growers to plan B: foliar insecticide. Farmers get particularly frustrated when […] Read more
Prairie insect pest outlook for 2023
Grasshoppers top the threat list but flea beetles, wheat midge, lygus bug, cutworms, bertha army worm and wheat stem sawfly are also risks in some areas
The Prairie Pest Monitoring Network (PPMN) warns grasshoppers could be a problem for producers in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta if hot, dry conditions during the growing season persist into 2023. The network’s annual grasshopper survey is conducted in late summer and early fall by estimating the density of adult insects, usually in ditches along cereal […] Read more
Tips for flea beetle control
The pros and cons of insecticide seed treatments and in-season foliar sprays, application advice and a concerning trend
On average, more than 22 million acres of canola are planted in Western Canada each spring. Flea beetles will damage or destroy a significant portion of those cropped acres in any given year. What can farmers do to best protect their crops? The two most common options are treated seed and insecticide sprays. Insecticide seed […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
