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Tag Archives crop pests

Ontario canola flower midge uses canola differently than its prairie counterpart.
Crops

Research suggests canola flower midge are native species

Ontario is the only province to deal with two canola midge pests

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Ontario has the dubious honour of being the only province that battles both swede midge and canola flower midge. Worse yet, the two species may work together. “It’s possible there is a competitive interaction, and one midge will displace the other in terms of successful development,” Rebecca Hallett told attendees of the Ontario Canola Growers […] Read more
Bt-resistant European corn borer on a corn plant in Nova Scotia in 2018.
Crops

Bt-resistant corn borer concern grows

Critical tools for controlling corn borer could be lost

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Bt-resistant populations of European corn borer pose a significant risk to Canadian crop producers. With multiple resistance uncovered, it’s possible Bt-based control technologies will cease to work for the problem pest, say extension staff at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Older and more environmentally costly methods of pest control – including […] Read more
Pea leaf weevil. (Alberta Agriculture photo)
Crops

Insects posing problems in Saskatchewan crops

Grasshopper, flea beetle damage already reported

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MarketsFarm – Although it’s still early in the growing season, some insect pests have already posed a threat to crops in Saskatchewan or could do so in the near future, according to James Tansey, provincial specialist for insects/invertebrate pest management. Among the pests he cited were grasshoppers, flea beetles and pea leaf weevils.  Tansey said […] Read more
A winged green peach aphid (Myzus persicae).
Crops, News

Controlling insect pests without harming beneficial insect species

Science Notes: Horizontally transferred genes in insect genomes can selectively kill green peach aphids

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Killing crop-damaging insects by targeting genes essential to their survival is a promising approach to pest control. Because essential genes are often conserved across multiple insect species, the challenge is finding targets whose silencing kills the pests but not beneficial insects. Led by Georg Jander, a professor at the Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI), a team of […] Read more
The rusty grain beetle is a pest that feeds on stored wheat, rye, corn, barley and millet. Owners of stored products including grain, processing facilities and warehouses may be able to use other insects to control the damage done by this pest.
Crops, News

Beneficial bugs protect stored grain 

Biocontrols prevent bug infestations in processing and grain facilities

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Glacier FarmMedia – Intentionally placing bugs in grain and food processing facilities to help manage pests is a tough idea to swallow in Canada, but the practice has been used in Central Europe since the mid-1990s. Vincent Hervet, an entomologist with Ag Canada in Winnipeg, conducted a literature review on the use of biological controls […] Read more
Bt-resistant corn rootworm is causing yield loss for silage growers.
Forage and crops

Silage growers urged to protect feed supply from Bt-resistant corn rootworm

Pest has caused significant yield loss in both Canada and the U.S.

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Some livestock producers in the U.S. corn belt have had to make a difficult and costly decision. They’ve harvested their silage corn for grain to salvage some financial return. Now a provincial entomologist says Ontario producers may face the same decision if resistance to the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) trait in corn continues to grow. Bt-resistant […] Read more
The difference in damage to flower galls by the Canola Flower Midge and Swede Midge.
Crops, News

Ontario confirms canola flower midge populations

New midge species could be native to North America

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The emergence of a new canola gall midge in Ontario in 2021 has prompted researchers to re-assess swede midge data. The canola flower midge (CFM) was first noted in Western Canada in 2016. Researchers saw a significant number of midges bypass pheromone lures but also saw distinct canola gall injury. It was not the damage […] Read more
One of the weather stations from Maesos Technologies at Schuyler Farms in Norfolk County. Farm manager Dave Petheram uses the climate data it collects to manage frost risk, and also uses the temperature, rainfall and leaf wetness data it provides to make decisions on when to spray fungicides.
Crops

Local data useful for better crop management decisions

Engineering graduates develop technology that helps vineyards and orchards manage fungal and pest pressures

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A Niagara-region start-up is offering field-specific, real-time weather data and spore collection to help farmers with smart fungicide scheduling for orchards and vineyards.  Founded by three University of Waterloo mechatronics engineering graduates, Maesos Technologies Inc. uses a two-part approach of climate sensors and airborne fungal spore samplers to help growers make decisions on when and […] Read more
The western bean cutworm (WBC) research plot in Exeter. M.Sc. student Josee Kelly is currently completing her second year of field trials, where she has been infesting plots with WBC larvae at different stages and applying insecticides at different times to determine the most effective time for application.
Crops

Pest management research in dry beans largely grower-led

White mould and western bean cutworm control among top priorities

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Research results from the University of Guelph’s Ridgetown campus are equipping bean growers with new knowledge to make informed pest management decisions.  Chris Gillard, associate professor in the department of plant agriculture, leads an agronomy and pest management program and is focused on collaborating with growers to ensure the research is in line with their […] Read more
Mature corn is where most of the damage shows up from European corn borer.
Crops

National group launches standardized corn borer scouting protocol

Goal is to address lack of knowledge about ECB in non-corn hosts

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A nationwide entomologist working group is promoting a new online scouting tool for farmers, crop advisors and researchers with the aim to broaden knowledge about European corn borer (ECB) damage in new and emerging crops like quinoa and hemp,  “The recent confirmation of ECB resistance to Cry1F Bt corn in Nova Scotia has increased the […] Read more

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