pesticides Archives - Page 11 of 14

German chemical firm Lanxess to buy Chemtura

By Reuters, GFM Network News September 26, 2016

Reuters — Lanxess AG said on Sunday it would buy specialty chemical company Chemtura Corp. for about US$2.5 billion, to improve the German company’s additives business. Lanxess’s offer of US$33.50 for each Chemtura share represents a premium of about 19 per cent to the Philadelphia-based company’s close on Friday. The world’s largest synthetic rubber maker […] Read more

Herbicide resistance is a global problem that requires a local solution, says Kate Sanford Mitchell. Farmers, researchers and industry from North America  to Australia are trying to find effective ways to control resistant weeds.

Crops, Features

Resist herbicide resistance

Farmers don’t create herbicide resistance, but management practices can encourage it

By Grainews Staff September 20, 2016

While many farmers think about herbicide resistance in Australia, the U.K. and the U.S., the reality is that it’s a Canadian problem, too, says Kate Sanford Mitchell. We need to listen to extension specialists who are sounding the alarm about herbicide resistance, she adds. “Weed resistance is a global problem that requires a local solution,” […] Read more

Agrifac’s Condor sprayer took part in a field test recently at the DLG (German Agriculture Society) Field Days in Hassfurt, Germany.

Machinery

Sprayer aims at Canadian market

Grainews checked out an in-field demonstration of Agrifac sprayers

By Mark Moore August 2, 2016

If you’ve seen a different coloured sprayer moving through the Prairies, it’s not a custom paint job. Agrifac, a Dutch company with more than 30 years of experience in the design and manufacture of self-propelled sprayers, is taking direct aim at the self-propelled sprayer market with two versions of high-capacity, high-clearance sprayers with features and […] Read more

Livestock

Leading insecticide cuts bee sperm by almost 40 per cent

By Grainews Staff, GFM Network News July 28, 2016

The world’s most widely used insecticide is an inadvertent contraceptive for bees, cutting live sperm in males by almost 40 per cent, The Guardian in the UK is reporting. Citing research led by Lars Straub at the University of Bern, Switzerland, the report says neonicotinoid pesticides were found to cut the lifespan of the drones […] Read more

Crops

Costs of disease and weed resistance

By Glenda Clezy July 18, 2016

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

A canola field blooms west of Fairholme, in north-western Saskatchewan. Crops are generally even and lush in the areas around Glaslyn and Mervin, according to the local ag retailers.

Crops, News, Weather

Farmers crossing their fingers as crops seen very healthy

Risk for sclerotinia seen as very high for some canola growers

By Grainews Staff July 1, 2016

The crops bordering Highway 3, between Glaslyn and Turtleford, are even and lush. Canola is blooming. Peas are flowering. Crops look so good, “it’s kind of scary,” said Geoff Schick, assistant location manager at AgriTeam in Glaslyn, Sask. And it’s not only farmers in north-western Saskatchewan who are crossing their fingers for a bumper crop. […] Read more

Crescent-shaped notches on pea leaves are evidence of the presence of pea leaf weevils.

Crops, Pulses

Keep a watchful eye for pea leaf weevil

Be ready to scout your fields. This pest is headed north 

By Marianne Stamm May 24, 2016

There’s a new pest heading north in Alberta and it’s eersoving fast. Although a regular in southern Alberta and southern Saskatchewan, the pea leaf weevil has now been sighted as far north as Athabasca, Alberta. “There’s been a real range expansion,” says Scott Meers, insect management specialist with Alberta Agriculture. “It’s a concerning issue for […] Read more

Growers should only use an insecticide when an economic threshold for a pest is reached.

Features

Don’t jump the gun on pest control

By Angela Lovell May 20, 2016

It’s never a good idea to overreact when you see insects on your crops because jumping the gun, and spraying if it’s not really necessary, can do more harm than good. “Seldom, if ever, do preventative insecticides actually pay us,” says Scott Meers, insect specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. “When we spray just to […] Read more

Corn, Crops

What to watch for in young corn

A strong start to your corn crop will ensure you a rewarding harvest

By Glenda Clezy May 11, 2016

The first step in guaranteeing a profitable harvest is ensuring corn plants are thriving in the early stages of growth. At the planting to seedling stage, corn is most susceptible to seed and root rot diseases. Disease such as seedling blight, and root rots caused by pythium, fusarium or rhizoctonia could affect seedlings, particularly in […] Read more

Wild oat is the most abundant weed in Saskatchewan. Researcher Hugh Beckie says it’s safe to assume that wild oat in your field is resistant to Group 1 herbicides.

Crops

Fighting herbicide-resistance

Herbicide resistant weeds aren’t a novelty anymore — now they’re just the norm

By Lisa Guenther April 6, 2016

While herbicide resistance isn’t a new problem, it is a growing one. Today 80 countries report herbicide-resistant weeds, says a researcher. And Canada is near the top of that list. Dr. Ian Heap heads the international survey on herbicide-resistant weeds, and reported those findings at the Herbicide Resistance Summit in Saskatoon this March. “North America […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Hog futures hit contract highs on shock herd decline

Alberta Crop Report: Harvest more than three-quarters finished

NFU says proposed plant breeders’ rights come at farmers’ expense

GFM Network News