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Flea beetle. (Photo courtesy Canola Council of Canada)
Crops, Weather

Best to be scouting for insect pests

'Definitely' watch canola for flea beetles

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MarketsFarm — Although it is still relatively early in the crop year, Manitoba entomologist John Gavloski strongly advises farmers to carefully watch their fields for any signs of insect pests. Gavloski couldn’t say for sure if insect damage was going to be bad this year but based on what’s transpired over the last three years, […] Read more
In high-risk areas where a crop is stalled and flea beetles are feeding aggressively, the action threshold of 25 per cent may be met and surpassed within hours. In a situation like this, growers may want to spray at less than 25 per cent leaf area loss, giving the crop a chance to get through the day a little stronger, offers CCC’s Curtis Rempel.
Canola, Crops

Flea beetles: how to improve spray results

Five important tips when applying foliar insecticides

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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
Wheat midge could be a concern this year in both Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Crops

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

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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
The grasshopper species that damage crops
Crops, Wheat & Chaff

The grasshopper species that damage crops

Q & A with an expert

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Q: Are all grasshoppers crop pests?  A: In Canada, there are approximately 200 different species of grasshoppers. Of these 200 species, more than 85 are found in fields and pastures on the Prairies. With so many species, it can be difficult to know which ones to be concerned about.  On the Prairies, there are four […] Read more
An adult lygus bug. (Photo courtesy Canola Council of Canada)
Crops

Matador, Voliam insecticides back in ‘limited’ release

Revised labels prohibit feeding, foraging of treated crops

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Syngenta Canada no longer plans to keep its lambda-cyhalothrin insecticide products off the market in Western Canada this year — but it’s planning to have a smaller supply. The crop chem and seed company announced Friday it will have a “limited amount” of its lambda-cy-based products Matador 120EC and Voliam Xpress available in the West […] Read more
File photo of grain silos and other buildings at harbourside at Saint Nazaire on France’s west coast. (Sissoupitch/iStock/Getty Images)
Crops, Reuters

French agency drops fumigant ban on non-EU grain exports

Limit on phosphine won't apply if use required for export

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Paris | Reuters — French health safety agency ANSES on Thursday cleared the use of phosphine pesticide in contact with grains exported outside the European Union when importing countries require the process, averting a halt to shipments from the EU’s top grain exporter. In late October ANSES cleared the use of phosphine tablets used for […] Read more
File photo of grain silos and other buildings at harbourside at Saint Nazaire on France’s west coast. (Sissoupitch/iStock/Getty Images)
Crops, Reuters

France says pesticide ban will not hit grain exports

Fumigant can't be in 'direct contact' with grains

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Paris | Reuters — France will ensure that a decision by health and safety agency ANSES to ban the use of a pesticide in direct contact with grains does not hamper its exports outside the European Union, its trade and agriculture ministers told Parliament on Tuesday. In late October ANSES cleared the use of phosphine […] Read more
A look at the damage flea beetles can cause to otherwise healthy canola plants.
Canola, Crops, Features

Tips for flea beetle control

The pros and cons of insecticide seed treatments and in-season foliar sprays, application advice and a concerning trend

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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
A senior manager for the Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions, says the PMRA ruling that lambda-cyhalothrin can’t be used on crops for livestock feed is unworkable.
Crops, News

How to manage without lambda-cyhalothrin in 2023

Alternatives to control most insect pests exist but attention to label recommendations, product rates and timing is important

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As of mid-February, if western Canadian farmers want to control common crop insect pests such as grasshoppers and flea beetles in 2023, they should plan to do it without the use of popular lambda-cyhalothrin products such as Matador and Silencer. Those products and others based on the lambda-cy active ingredient aren’t banned, but Health Canada’s […] Read more
News that a cost-effective insecticide that controls a wide range of pests will no longer be available this April is causing disbelief among farmers.
Crops, Features

Farmers discuss how lambda-cyhalothrin regulation changes will affect them in 2023

Concerns include the loss of another crop protection tool, lack of science-based reasons for excluding feed crops from the label and costs and availability of alternative insecticides

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Western Canadian farmers are hoping that common sense prevails in Ottawa before a potentially serious outbreak of insect crop pests play havoc with grain, oilseed and pulse crops across the Prairies this growing season. News that a cost-effective insecticide that controls a wide range of pests like grasshoppers and flea beetles won’t be available to […] Read more

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