Prairie scientists conducting research into field crop pests can always use more help from producers — whether it’s by granting access to farmland, or just by reporting what they see in the field.
Tag Archives Pesticide resistance
How farmers can help map, monitor and forecast pest outbreaks
Researchers can help producers develop pest management plans — but farmers’ help is needed to know which pests are where, and how many
Avoiding herbicide mis-use
Herbicides have made it easier to feed the world, but beware of residuals and improper use
Herbicides are an integral and essential aspect of modern productive farming. Without our effective and efficient herbicides our dollar costs for food production would be double or triple what we now pay. Can your even visualize hand weeding agricultural and horticultural crops? As a youth I earned pocket money hand hoeing turnips and beets and […] Read more
Beetle-resistant potato varieties
Potato growers could soon be growing Colorado potato beetle-resistant plants
New potato varieties that are naturally resistant to Colorado potato beetle could be on the market in five years, according to Helen Tai, a potato breeder at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Potato Research Centre in Fredericton. Tai is the lead on the breeding project, which has been underway for 30 years, she says, since AAFC […] Read more
Four things to know about herbicide layering
Layer your herbicides to increase your odds of avoiding resistant weeds
Herbicide layering was on the agenda at Saskatchewan Agriculture’s Crop Diagnostic School near Indian Head this past summer. Cory Jacob, regional crop specialist in Saskatchewan Agriculture’s Watrous office, walked participants through the process. 1. What is herbicide layering? “We’re basically talking about layering on multiple herbicide modes of action and groups in sequential application. So, mainly your pre-seed and […] Read more
Developing resistance: Group 2 herbicides
Each herbicide group kills weeds differently. Weed resistance differs by herbicide group
When talking about herbicide resistance, Bryce Geisel likes to make sure people realize that spraying herbicides doesn’t cause resistance in a weed. Instead there are individual plants that, by chance, resist the herbicide. Those plants survive and pass on their resistance traits. “And with Group 2s in particular, it’s just altering the target site,” says […] Read more
Managing fungicide resistance
Your risk of resistance will depend on the disease you have and the fungicide you spray
Should western Canadian farmers be concerned about fungicide resistance? And if so, how should they manage it? Fungicide resistance shares some fundamentals with herbicides, says Jared Veness, field marketing manager at Bayer Crop Science. By applying fungicide, farmers are applying selection pressure to a pest. Within that pest’s population, there are likely individuals with mutations […] Read more
Kochia not confirmed ‘triple resistant’ — yet
Producers should take action against kochia based on threat severity
Triple-resistant” kochia — kochia resistant to herbicides in Groups 2, 4 and 9 — hasn’t yet been confirmed in Alberta despite recent media reports, says Hugh Beckie, a weed scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Surveys have turned up two-way resistant kochia, specifically Group 2 plus Group 4, and Group 2 plus Group 9 resistant weeds, but […] Read more
Are there resistant weeds in your fields?
The answer to this question is probably yes. Testing can give you a definite answer
Every season more farmers face the challenge of herbicide-resistant weeds. “Herbicide resistance is the genetic capacity of a weed population to survive a herbicide treatment that, under normal use conditions, would effectively control that weed population,” said Dr. Jeanette Gaultier, weed specialist with Manitoba Agriculture. It’s sometimes described as evolution happening at an accelerated pace […] Read more
Old, new products deliver multi-modes of action
The challenge is to hit weeds with two or more active ingredients to reduce resistance
Old chemistry, new formulations, multiple modes of action — these are all elements farmers can include in their weed control toolbox heading into 2017, say weed researchers and crop protection specialists. One of the most important elements these days for either preventing or managing herbicide resistance in weeds is to approach control with multiple modes […] Read more
Costs of disease and weed resistance
In Western Canada, a number of factors have helped keep disease resistance low, including variability of hosts, pathogens, environmental conditions, crop rotation and judicial use of fungicides. However, there is resistance. Weed resistance in both grass and broadleaf weeds has been identified in fields since 1988. Resistance has been identified to many herbicide groups including […] Read more
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