Among the pests he cited were grasshoppers, flea beetles and pea leaf weevils. 

Tansey said the grasshopper hatch is well underway in Saskatchewan, but recent rains could change how much of a problem they become. 

“We’ve had some rain in the south of the province and we are still waiting to see what… that has done with these grasshopper nests. The moisture can contribute to disease in these animals and contribute to direct mortality,” he said, noting there have been some reports already of crop damage, 

Tansey stressed the need for vigilance with farmers checking their crops and the surrounding areas for signs of grasshoppers and other pests. He said there has been estimates of 50 to 70 grasshopper nymphs per square meter in ditches, which normal rates tend to be around 40. 

There have also been reports of striped and crucifer flea beetles in the province, especially in the central area. 

“We are hearing about damage to seedling canola in the Saskatoon area,” Tansey said, also noting large numbers of striped flea beetles in the province’s northeast. That said, he cautioned there are still few reports to go on at this time and there was still something of a chance the problem might not be as bad as expected. 

“There’s no replacement for getting out and seeing what’s happening,” he said. 

Pea leaf weevils have been reported as well, though it’s still on the early side to fully know how much of a problem they could become this year. 

“There was a pretty dramatic increase in the number of pea leaf weevil numbers in the northeast last year,” he said, noting monitoring just recently started for this year. 

Some farmers recently began spraying for different insect pests in the province, he said, but added that when reports and numbers have firmed up, the province will make the insect situation well known to them. 

— Glen Hallick reports for MarketsFarm from Winnipeg.

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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, he said it depends on conditions, especially for flea beetles and canola.

“Canola growers should definitely be scouting for flea beetles. A large degree of how much damage they cause will be determined by how quickly the plants are germinating and growing through those seedling stages,” he said.

“If we get weather conditions where there is quick germination and quick seedling growth, the seed treatments might be all that we need to protect from the flea beetles. If growth seems to stall in that seedling stage, that can sometimes result in the seed treatment wearing out and people are having to spray.”

Gavloski also advised to watch for signs of cutworms in canola, wheat, sunflowers and other crops.

“A couple of years ago we had some really high levels. Things seem to be tailing off a bit, but there are probably still areas where cutworms could be economical,” he said.

Grasshoppers are another potential pest that need to be high on one’s scouting list. Gavloski noted the last few years have been “conducive for grasshopper populations to build.”

Besides the above three pests, the entomologist said there’s always a chance of the winds carrying in other pests — something that cannot be predetermined. Besides scouting for insects, he suggested farmers review the Manitoba crop pest updates.

— Glen Hallick reports for MarketsFarm from Winnipeg.

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The company had said last November it wasn’t yet sure those products would be available this year under an approaching deadline following a 2021 re-evaluation of lambda-cy by Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA).

The PMRA’s re-evaluation decision cancelled the product’s uses on all feed crops, condiment-type mustard, bulb vegetables, lettuce and some oilseeds effective 24 months from its decision date, thus setting a deadline of April 29, 2023.

The list of affected oilseed crops does not include canola/rapeseed, flax or oilseed mustard — but the ruling would prohibit those crops’ use as livestock feed.

Adama said Wednesday its decision to relabel the products “comes after several months of consulting with retailers, farmers and industry organizations on the implications” of the PMRA re-evaluation.

“After a great deal of discussion and consideration, we have confidence in our retail partners to provide good advice to growers and we trust growers themselves to use the product responsibly and within permitted guidelines,” Adama Canada general manager Cornie Thiessen said in a release.

“The bottom line for growers is to read the labeling guidelines carefully. Talk to your full-service input retailer and to your crop buyers so you can make an informed decision about if and when to apply the product.”

Adama had said in November the cancellation of lambda-cy’s use on crops destined for feed was especially raising red flags for farmers, who “have questioned whether it is feasible to use the product at all considering how difficult it is to trace where crops will be used after they leave the farm.”

READ MORE:

• How to manage without lambda-cyhalothrin in 2023
• Farmers discuss how lambda-cyhalothrin regulation changes will affect them in 2023
• Insecticide restriction pushes growers to older chemistries

Lambda-cy is a Group 3 synthetic pyrethroid contact insecticide used to control a broad range of pests at their small larvae nymph and adult stages.

Other products affected by the PMRA’s ruling include Syngenta’s insecticides Matador, Voliam Xpress, Endigo, Warrior and Demand CS, Intervet Canada’s Saber pour-on and ear tag products and Sharda Cropchem’s Labamba insecticide.

Syngenta, like Adama, launched a product recall to “amend existing labels” ahead of the April 29, 2023 deadline.

However, Syngenta also said in November it has decided not to sell lambda-cy products at all in Western Canada in 2023, though it will continue to sell Matador in “horticultural markets” in Eastern Canada.

Syngenta said via email that decision was meant “to avoid any confusion and to support 2023 business planning with our customers.”

It also said it had filed a submission to PMRA seeking reinstatement of as many livestock feed crop uses as possible and “will continue to support this submission until completed.”

Provincial agriculture ministers from Saskatchewan and Alberta last month also called for PMRA to reconsider its re-evaluation decision, saying it “leaves farmers with one fewer tool to address potentially destructive pests.”

Grasshoppers, in particular, are likely to be a significant concern again this year following “continued drought” in parts of those provinces, ministers David Marit and Nate Horner said in a statement.

The PMRA decision “could also mean the inability for canola producers to sell their products as livestock feed, which could impact availability for cattle and lamb producers,” the ministers said.

Horner and Marit said they have written to the federal health and agriculture ministers urging them to encourage the PMRA to reconsider.

“It is possible for the PMRA to enact an emergency reinstatement of the product’s use to ensure our farmers can use it for the coming growing season and give it time to make a more informed decision, but we would need that immediately,” the ministers said.

“With extreme flea beetle pressure, hotspots for grasshoppers and cutworms across the Prairies and forecasted outbreaks, the lambda-cyhalothrin decision could severely impact our yields, our livelihoods, feedstocks and food prices,” Alberta Canola chair Roger Chevraux and SaskCanola chair Keith Fournier said in the provinces’ joint release on Feb. 24.

“Lambda-cyhalothrin has a significant market share, and it will strain farmers to source alternative products.”

Noting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not imposed similar restrictions on lambda-cy use, the canola grower commission chairs said PMRA “needs to base its decisions on sound science and be aligned with our largest trading partner.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Canola crops that were planted later than normal are suffering from flea beetles, he said. Extremely late-seeded canola has been relatively free from them, however, as infestation depends on the stage canola plants are in.

“Crops in that static state can be pretty vulnerable to flea beetle feeding,” Tansey said, noting that once canola reaches the four leave stage they become rather tolerant of the pests.

The Tisdale area in the northeast has been particularly hard hit, with farmers spraying multiple times in an effort to control the beetles, he said. All regions of Saskatchewan have reported flea beetles, but with the northeast and southwest experiencing the highest levels.

Tansey said two varieties of flea beetles are at work this year: the striped and crucifer types. The males of both varieties produce pheromones attracting other flea beetles to feed and mate — in turn creating areas of localized damage.

What’s more, canola — through hydrolysis — produces allyl isothiocyanate (AITC), which also attracts flea beetles.

AITC normally acts as a defensive substance that’s effective against most insects, but not flea beetles, Tansey said, adding there have been high levels of AITC this year which helped to intensify gatherings of the pest.

— Glen Hallick reports for MarketsFarm from Winnipeg.

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For example, Gavloski cited flea beetles, which could damage canola. “If [canola] plants sit in that seedling stage for a long time, the seed treatment wears out,” and farmers would then need to apply a foliar spray, he said.

“If seeding into ground that is warmer and has good soil moisture, you may get quicker germination and quicker seedling growth. That might reduce the risk of excessive flea beetle damage.”

Overly wet soil could hinder plant growth, which would lead to a greater chance for insect pests to do damage, he said. However, the soil going into mid-May would be warmer than in late April/early May, giving crops a chance to germinate quicker.

The entomologist cautioned that grasshoppers could be another pest this year, but the varieties that do pose a risk are currently in the egg stage.

“The eggs can handle being under water for days, but juveniles after being hatched cannot sit in water or they will drown,” Gavloski said.

Soggy conditions in Manitoba coupled with cooler-than normal temperatures could slow grasshopper emergence, he said, but stressed the need to always be vigilant.

“We still want to be on guard just in case we do get that big hatch,” he warned.

While bertha armyworms were not a problem in Manitoba last year, he said traps will still be set and monitoring is important.

“They often go in cycles where they build up and are bad for a few years, and then levels drop off,” Gavloski said.

No insecticides were used in the provinces last year for bertha armyworm, he said, and there’s nothing suggesting a large outbreak ahead.

Gavloski also advised growers to keep watch for diamondback moths blowing in with winds out of the south, and for armyworms migrating from the south.

— Glen Hallick reports for MarketsFarm from Winnipeg.

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*Across the Prairies, flea beetles are an oft-seen pest that feeds on both canola and mustard seedlings, damaging crops and, in some cases, forcing growers to re-seed.

There are two main species: the striped flea beetle which thrives in cooler, wetter conditions, and the crucifer flea beetle which enjoys warm and dry weather. Adult populations are also known to feed on crops in late summer and early fall, but damage past the four-leaf stage is not considered as serious.

“A percentage of the acres in Western Canada have flea beetle pressure, enough that causes concern. If you’re in an area that has high populations and you also have poor growing conditions or something else is wrong with your crop, flea beetles really become a management challenge,” Keith Gabert, agronomy specialist for the Canola Council of Canada, said.

Current hot spots for flea beetles, he said, are in north-central and east-central Saskatchewan as well as southern Manitoba. However, it’s difficult to predict where they may appear.

“It’s simply a numbers game,” he added. “If you have far too many flea beetles for the number of plants you’re trying to offer them or the leaf material that’s there, then the amount of damage that they do is pretty substantial.”

Temperatures between 17 and 25 C are when flea beetles can do the most damage. Anything else, they will move closer to the soil and underneath plants, according to Gabert.

In Saskatchewan and Alberta, flea beetles are prevalent in some areas. Near Regina, the crucifer type — a rarity in those parts — has been spotted. Northeastern Alberta has also been identified as a hot spot.

Growers are urged to scout fields for damage and to keep track of leaf area loss. Insecticides can be used in-crop once numbers pass the economic threshold.

“Folks need to start doing a little scouting, especially in the fall when the adults emerge before overwintering, to see what those numbers look like. That may give some perspective as to what’s coming in the spring,” Alberta’s acting provincial entomologist Doug MacAulay said.

— Adam Peleshaty reports for MarketsFarm from Stonewall, Man.

*Update: An earlier version of this story said flea beetle larvae feed on canola and mustard seedings. In fact it’s adult flea beetles.

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Considering the high prices of many crops this season, the potential damage would be more costly.

John Gavloski, entomologist for Manitoba Agriculture, said there is a greater risk for flea beetles in canola crops.

“We’ve had chronically high populations in recent years and what’s making the risk even greater this year is anything that keeps the plant in the seedling stage for a prolonged period will increase the risk,” he said.

“So (because of) the dry conditions we’ve been having, if the crop emerges but isn’t advancing quickly, it makes it a lot more susceptible to flea beetle feeding.”

Cutworms, which can feed on a wide variety of field crops, are also appearing in higher-than-normal populations, Gavloski said. Certain types of grasshoppers can also feed on crops, but dense, lush vegetation outside of fields can prevent them from encroachment.

Those grasshoppers who fly before June, that have hind wings visible in flight or make noise are not considered pests. Other beneficial insects include ladybugs, ground and rove beetles, aphids and flies.

“We encourage farmers to only use broad-spectrum insecticides when needed, because you’re killing off all the good bugs and sometimes the good bugs will help keep some of the potential pests in check,” Gavloski said, adding that growers should adhere to an economic threshold.

James Tansey, insect and vertebrate management specialist for Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Agriculture, said dry conditions and delayed seeding are helping increase insect populations in farmers’ fields.

While grasshoppers and flea beetles are still major threats across the Prairies, another pest to watch out for is wheat midge, an orange fly which can reduce yields and grades of non-resistant wheat varieties.

“We have a lot of heavy populations stacked up in different parts of the province,” Tansey said. “(However), this is an animal who doesn’t do well in hot, dry conditions. It needs 25 millimetres of rain before the end of May. Otherwise, its emergence gets interrupted.”

The pea leaf weevil is also a pest of interest, according to Doug Macaulay, acting provincial entomologist for Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. The insect, as a larva and an adult, feeds on peas and other legumes and is concentrated in areas surrounding Edmonton and Lethbridge.

“The wintering adults are now starting to show up in fields now that the peas are popping out of the ground,” he said. “If there’s a heavy population and (growers) don’t have treated seed, it’s going to be very hard to control them.”

Macaulay also cautions growers to watch for wheat stem sawfly, which feeds on wheat, rye and certain types of barley, but can be attacked by the parasitic wasp Bracon cephi.

He also urges growers to scout early and act quickly against pests.

“The earlier you can take action on any insect, the better,” Macaulay said. “Smaller, younger nymphs and larvae are more susceptible and it takes less insecticide to deal with them.”

— Adam Peleshaty reports for MarketsFarm from Stonewall, Man.

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Small-seeded crops, such as canola, have garnered particular concern from agronomists and producers worried about germination, given power dry topsoil across much of the province.

Why it matters: Canola timing has created a dilemma this year as producers don’t want to waste their seed treatment window in soil too dry to germinate, but there’s little in the forecast to suggest a more moist seed bed in coming weeks.

According to SMOS satellite data, reported as part of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Canadian Drought Monitor, saturated surface soil moisture sat over 10 per cent below normal across much of Manitoba during the month of April. Almost all agricultural regions in the province were in severe to extreme drought, the monitor reported, as of the end of April.

Conditions have led some agronomists to urge producers to wait for better moisture or risk running out the clock on their seed treatment.

Common best practice puts effective seed treatment window at three weeks post-seeding — stretching perhaps to four, under poor feeding conditions for flea beetles, according to Manitoba provincial extension entomologist John Gavloksi.

Plants that have not yet reached the three- to four-leaf stage at that point are still vulnerable to economic levels of damage.

It’s an issue Manitoba producers have run into in the not-so-distant past. In 2019, Manitoba Agricultural Services Corp. reported a spike in reseed claims, partially driven by flea beetle damage in early-seeded canola. Cold, dry weather that spring hindered germination and stressed plants with frost.

“The reality is anything that really is going to keep the plants either from germinating or from growing vigorously as a seedling is going to increase the risk of flea beetle injury,” Gavloski said.

Weather models, however, have cast doubt on the chance of rain should farmers choose to wait.

“That’s making it very tough this year to make that call,” Gavloski said. “At some point, you have to get the canola in the ground. In an ideal world, you would get a rain within a few days of that seeding, but that may not happen this year.”

Justine Cornelsen, agronomist with the Canola Council of Canada at Virden, Man., says producers are starting to chase moisture when seeding, and the first priority for many is to simply get it in the ground.

“I’ve kind of been telling people that we are still the middle of the month. We’ve got an open forecast. If you can, try to time it with the rainfall,” she said, although she acknowledged rain is far from certain.

Producers should also scout to know how far down moisture is on their specific fields.

“For canola seed, if you can set it on moisture, it will still germinate and get going,” she said. “We’re at the point now in the province where our soil temperatures are nice. If you’re into moisture and you’re seeding now, that canola should come up and out of the ground relatively quickly.”

From there, though, growth will slow if crops do not get rain, she added.

“It’s going to take a little while for that rooting system to really reach down,” she said. “My other concern is, if you look at the forecast, we’re supposed to be like 30 C, so really, really hot in already-dry conditions is going to stress out that crop.”

Into that, she added, flea beetles are “here and ready to eat.”

Producers can, however, set themselves up for success with the right plant population, according to the agronomist.

The Canola Council of Canada recommends a target of five to eight plants per square foot.

Cornelsen urged producers to proactively scout and know their plant stand to know how much grace they have before plant losses fall below that range.

“Look at the damage,” she said. “If you’re seeing extreme damage, if they’re starting to take plants or you’ve reached that 25 per cent defoliation, that’s where that (foliar) application should happen.”

It is difficult to gauge how heavy flea beetle pressure will be this year, Gavloski added, since little crop is out of the ground. At the same time, however, he added, the province has seen chronically high levels of the pest regularly, and it is reasonable to assume that similar challenges wait this year.

— Alexis Stockford is a reporter for the Manitoba Co-operator at Brandon, Man.

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“Flea beetles are common throughout the Prairies, everywhere we grow canola. We haven’t been able to predict in advance where they’re going to be the worst or which fields. We really lack the ability to predict this particular insect,” said Keith Gabert, an Alberta agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada.

“A sheer number of flea beetles aren’t always the problem,” he said, adding the damage is most often in combination with a crop that isn’t doing well for various reasons. Those include a slow-growing crop because of drought, excessive trash on a field, pounding rain, crusting soil, and other types of pests.

That’s been in the case in Alberta with flea beetles where damage has so far gone hand-in-hand with damage caused by gophers, according to Alberta Agriculture’s latest crop report on Friday.

James Tansey, an entomologist with Saskatchewan Agriculture, said some flea beetles have been seen in that province.

“There’s a lot of discussion about flea beetles this year, but the damage level is not extraordinary. I would consider it to be on the moderate side,” he said, noting cooler-than-normal spring weather helped to delay the beetle’s development.

Crop damage created by the beetles has been in conjunction with cutworms, plus strong winds and dry topsoil conditions, according to Thursday’s crop report from Saskatchewan Agriculture.

In Manitoba, “there’s been a fair bit of canola that had to be sprayed or even reseeded because there have been flea beetles feeding,” according to provincial entomologist John Gavloski.

Though strong winds hampered spraying, canola has reached the point where it’s outgrowing the damage caused by the beetles, Manitoba Agriculture reported Tuesday.

In Saskatchewan, Tansey said there have been a good many reports of bertha armyworms, along with some reports of yellow cutworms.

“However, no reports of the usual suspects. No reports of western cutworm or redbacked cutworm, to date,” he said, noting those two could become an issue.

Damage from cutworms also required some fields in Manitoba to be replanted, Gavloski said. Traps for bertha armyworms were set up across the province’s growing areas as well.

As for diamondback moths, Gavloski said they are definitely present in Manitoba this year, but “they haven’t been much of an economic problem this far.”

In Saskatchewan, Tansey said traps have caught a significant number of adult diamondbacks in some regions. He suggested farmers keep an eye out for the moths, as they arrived early this spring.

“The direct correlation between catch numbers and resulting damage is pretty loose,” he cautioned.

Gabert said moth larvae in Alberta have been 200 to 300 per square metre. Farmers need to look for holes in the leaves of their crops as a warning sign. A few holes should mean the moths shouldn’t be much of a problem, but a lot of holes could mean trouble ahead.

— Glen Hallick reports for MarketsFarm from Winnipeg.

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Be the insects grasshoppers, flea beetles, cutworms, or a few other types, their potential to cause significant damage to Prairie crops will partly depend on how dry and warm this coming spring will be.

Grasshoppers could be quite an issue in some parts of Saskatchewan this year, said James Tansey, the provincial specialist for insects/invertebrate pest management in Regina.

For the vast majority of Saskatchewan, grasshopper numbers should be very light, with some greater numbers in the Estevan area. The Kindersley area is expected to see light to severe populations.

Grasshopper nymphs are susceptible to raindrops as well as cooler temperatures that permit bacteria, fungi and viruses, he said.

Manitoba’s provincial entomologist John Gavloski noted a warm, dry spring would increase grasshopper populations, but also boost populations of their natural predators. He said bee flies, field crickets and blister beetles like to feed on grasshopper eggs.

“Weather and natural enemies will be the two things capable of reducing levels,” Gavloski said.

Manitoba is looking at higher grasshopper populations in the Arborg area of the Interlake, and in the Brandon-to-Russell area in the province’s west.

Alberta provincial entomologist Scott Meers pointed to the province’s south as most likely to have problems later this year with grasshoppers, especially in its south-central and southwest areas. The Peace region may also see increased numbers, he said.

As for flea beetles, Meers said they’ve been a problem in Alberta for the last two years and sees “no reason why they wouldn’t be a problem in 2020.”

If winter should continue to be cold with poor snow cover, he said that could help to bring down their numbers.

Gavloski noted flea beetles caused significant issues in 2019 for Manitoba farmers, and too the beetles’ effect on this year’s crops will be dependent on how well they overwinter.

“I encourage farmers and agronomists to be out early with their crop scouting,” he said.

Saskatchewan doesn’t monitor flea beetles, Tansey said, and there are two naturalized species: the crucifer flea beetle and the striped flea beetle.

Tansey also noted two types of weevils have been problems in the past in the province: the pea-leaf weevil and the cabbage seedpod weevil. Both types have diminished in numbers, but he stressed they are spreading to the north and east, into Manitoba.

As for cutworms, Meers said Alberta doesn’t monitor them and there are always cutworms somewhere in Alberta. Also, Gavloski reiterated the need for early scouting.

— Glen Hallick reports for MarketsFarm, a Glacier FarmMedia division specializing in grain and commodity market analysis and reporting.

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