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Tag Archives crop pests — page 3

A juvenile gray garden slug munches on a soybean plant, from the presentation John Tooker gave at FarmSmart recently in Guelph.
Crops

Taking out slugs without more insecticides

Slugs can be a challenge in minimal and no-till fields, where greater tillage isn’t an option

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Most of the acreage in Pennsylvania is no-till and that means slugs can be a huge issue. This has become such an issue that growers are reverting to using more tillage, said John Tooker, of the department of entomology at Penn State University He spoke at the recent FarmSmart Conference at the University of Guelph. […] Read more
Wheat plants that overexpress a corn methyltransferase gene cannot regulate their defence adequately and become susceptible to aphid attack.
Crops, News

Cereals use chemical defences against insects

Science Notes: Plants rely on their toxins not only to fend off caterpillars but also to regulate defence mechanisms against aphids

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A team of scientists from the University of Bern in Switzerland and the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology and partners have characterized multiple functions of benzoxazinoids in wheat. The toxic form of the substances makes the plant directly resistant to lepidopteran larvae, whereas a less toxic form regulates indirect defence mechanisms against aphids. Scientists […] Read more
There are numerous updated images used in the app.
Crops

Aphid Advisor crop-scouting app updated

The app now makes it easier for crowd-sourced data to help make decisions on whether to spray

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There’s been an evolution over the past few years in the way Ontario’s soybean farmers view the sharing of data online, say developers of some just-released updates to the Ontario-based Aphid Advisor crop-scouting app. Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) Field Crops Entomologist Tracey Baute says there are now fully updated versions […] Read more
Edible bean fields close to corn fields with high levels of Western Bean Cutworm will often be infected too. Photo: Courtesy Jennifer Bruggeman and UGRC
Crops

Western Bean Cutworm taking on more than corn

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Western Bean Cutworm is now the most economically significant pest in corn, but it’s quickly becoming a challenge in other nearby crops, especially dry beans. Why it matters: Scouting for Western Bean Cutworm (WBC) is much more challenging in dry beans than corn, so knowing the status of nearby corn fields and increasing moth trap […] Read more
Soybean aphids in a field near Portage la Prairie photographed July 26, 2017. Photo: Taralea Simpson, Munro Farm Supplies
Crops

Some soybean aphids showing up so scout your fields

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Soybean aphids are being found in some soybean fields near Portage la Prairie and some fields have been sprayed, while others are being monitored, Red Beard Farms aerial applicator Chris McCallister said in an interview July 27. The threshold for applying an insecticide to control soybean aphids is 250 and rising. The “rising” part is […] Read more

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