David Bexte, Conservative MP for Bow River, Alta., introduced Bill C-273, the Facilitating Agricultural Regulatory Modernization Act.

If enacted, it would allow provisional approval within 90 days of feeds, seeds, fertilizers and pest control products if they are already approved in at least two trusted jurisdictions.

“Farmers in Canada are currently stuck waiting years to access products that are already proven safe and widely used around the world in countries like the E.U., the U.K., the United States, Australia (and) New Zealand,” Bexte said to reporters in Ottawa on Wednesday.

WHY IT MATTERS: Federal regulators have faced criticism for the lengthy approval process for new products like pesticides.

“In some cases, these products never come to Canada,” he said. “The consequences hit hard: higher costs for producers, fewer tools to fight pests, diseases, lower yields, lower productivity.”

“This is the reality I want to fix in Ottawa.”

Bexte said Canada’s science-based review system will stay in place and full reviews may continue in parallel. The proposed approvals will be time-limited and conditional.

“This is about cutting unnecessary duplication,” he said,” not lowering standards.

The bill would also “speed up access to veterinary drugs by recognizing trusted international regulators.”

Bexte said the measures would ease costs and regulatory burdens without compromising health.

“This bill is about standing up for farmers, standing up for Canadians who are tired of paying more for less.”

In a Wednesday written statement, Fertilizer Canada president and CEO Michael Bourque called the bill “a practical step toward modernizing Canada’s regulatory framework and ensuring farmers have the tools they need to grow healthy, hearty crops.”

The post Conservative MP introduces bill to speed approvals of seeds, fertilizers appeared first on Farmtario.

The new directorate consolidates the resources and responsibilities of pesticide regulation of the PMRA. It operates under the Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch of Health Canada.

When asked about the implications of the change, a Health Canada spokesperson redirected Glacier FarmMedia to the directorate’s main webpage. The page does not specify if the change will mean any significant differences within Canada’s pest management system.

Health Canada’s 2025-25 Departmental Plan outlined several measures to strengthen pesticide regulation and transparency, including upgrading the PMRA website and using plain language in communications to improve public accessibility and advancing “initiatives to modernize the regulatory oversight of pesticides, including focusing review efforts on higher-risk pesticides.”

The post PMRA renamed as Pesticides Regulatory Directorate appeared first on Farmtario.

Health Canada, which oversees the federal Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), announced Monday evening it has authorized a “time-limited and controlled” emergency-use registration for the rodent poison for those two provinces, running until November 2027.

WHY IT MATTERS: Other pest controls are available for use against gophers but farmers find strychnine both more effective and easier to use.

The new decision follows the federal government’s cancellations of all registered uses of strychnine in recent years, and a joint application for the product’s emergency use filed by the two provinces’ agriculture ministries last October.

PMRA had rejected that joint application in February, saying its proposals “did not provide sufficient means to address the risks of concern identified in the re-evaluation that led to strychnine’s cancellation.”

The earlier cancellations had been based on an updated environmental risk assessment, which had found no “practical risk-reduction measures to protect non-target animals” if they fed on strychnine-poisoned pest or predator animal carcasses or directly on poisoned gopher bait.

However, Health Canada said Monday, the two provinces last week filed a revised joint emergency-use request which includes “additional restrictions and mitigations … to lower the environmental risk to an acceptable level.”

The “significant” added measures in the new plan include a “reduced geographical scope” and “revised product stewardship program,” among others, Health Canada said.

Since strychnine’s uses were cancelled, farmers and ranchers have been raising concerns about on-farm efficacy of other products still registered for use against gophers.

The temporary use of strychnine will help farmers address “multi-million dollars worth of damage” in various crops from a recent spike in populations of gophers, a.k.a. Richardson’s ground squirrels, Health Canada said Monday.

Health Canada noted the Prairies have been experiencing “abnormally dry conditions, which (affect) the sustainability and quality of farmlands and allowed the population of these gophers to increase significantly.”

Reaction so far

“Saskatchewan producers have been clear about the challenges they face in managing gophers with the limited tools currently available,” provincial Agriculture Minister David Marit said Monday in Health Canada’s release. “We’re pleased to see the emergency use request granted as a practical opportunity for producers to demonstrate how strychnine can help protect their crops and pastures from continued damage.”

“Alberta’s producers have faced significant challenges managing (gophers) and the loss of this control method was difficult and costly for many in the ag sector,” RJ Sigurdson, Alberta’s minister for agriculture and irrigation, said in the same release.

“I’m confident that, with this effective tool back in the hands of our producers, they will be able to better manage their operations and reduce excessive crop and grassland losses due to the overpopulation of (Richardson’s ground squirrels) throughout the Prairies.”

“Innovative and collaborative efforts by all levels of government are needed to support the domestic agriculture industry especially during this period of uncertainty,” federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel and Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald said in the same release. “Our governments’ shared commitment of supporting Canadian farmers, our economy, and food security led us to work together to address a compounding threat.”

The post Saskatchewan, Alberta farmers get strychnine against gophers until late 2027 appeared first on Farmtario.

“Is canola flower midge using canola as a host plant in Ontario?” Hallett asked Ontario Canola Growers members during the annual general meeting on Feb. 5. “Ten days ago, I would have said, ‘Doesn’t look like it.’”

The University of Guelph entomologist’s research manager informed her that, of 5,513 larvae collected from 23 infected plants in July 2025, about 32 could be CFM. The rest are confirmed swede midge.

The distinct DNA bands indicating CFM in the testing pool are faint, Hallett explained, and require individual testing to confirm the numbers.

WHY IT MATTERS: While canola flower midge crop damage isn’t an immediate concern, the potential detection of CFM larvae allows growers to prepare for early monitoring and management.

This isn’t the first curveball Hallett’s research has been thrown.

In 2021, Hallett’s swede midge and CFM pheromone traps in Ontario canola fields confirmed the presence of both pests.

In 2022, morphological IDs initially indicated that 692 of the nearly 5,800 adult midges emerging from infected canola plants were CFM. However, molecular IDs barcoded a subset of the CFM-identified adults, showing they were all swede midge.

“This was the start of a big effort to do some molecular identifications to really get to the bottom of what was going on with canola flower midge,” she stated, leading to a CFM-specific molecular DNA assay and primer designs for both species.

The technology has 100 per cent efficacy and specificity, ensuring a clear delineation between CFM and swede midge, Hallett explained.

From 2022 to 2025, pheromone trap placement expanded to include canola- and non-canola-growing regions to assess provincial distribution, whether and how the pests’ life-cycle events converge, and the potential impact on the crop.

“Figuring out what species is feeding where is important in terms of determining the economic impact of the species and also figuring out management strategies,” she said.

Low CFM populations

The traps confirmed widespread distribution of both midges and potential coexistence. Weekly plant collections from 2022 to 2024 indicated swede midge populations were greatest in canola fields, while CFM was more abundant in non-canola fields.

In 2024, approximately 17,355 larvae were collected from 130 infected canola plants and four other brassica plants; half were tested for DNA from 58 canola plants, and 20 larvae from the other plants. None were CFM.

“The only (CFM) bands that showed up were positive controls that we included to make sure that things were running properly,” noted Hallett.

She suggested that low population density in 2024 made CFM undetectable during testing, whereas the larger pool of 28,510 larvae in 2025 highlighted potentially limited numbers.

Hallett won’t rule out CFM becoming a provincial issue in the future, saying it’s likely a native species that, as seen in Western Canada, adapted to canola over time as crop acres increased.

Yield impact

“We know it’s a concern in the West,” she confirmed, and despite Western Canadian experts’ research on the pest since 2012, including defining it as a species unique to swede midge in 2016, its potential impact on yield remains unquantified.

Referring to her original question about CFM’s use of canola as a host plant, Hallett theorized Ontario’s population still prefers other landscape hosts, for now.

“It’s a relatively low population density here in Ontario, but it’s at high density in or near canola fields,” she admitted. “We don’t know what those alternate hosts are, but right now it doesn’t seem like this is an issue of any economic concern for canola growers in Ontario.

Higher swede midge damage reported in 2025 may align with higher pheromone trap counts from late June to mid-July.

“I think damage could be higher as a result of that timing because it’s hitting those younger plants and probably causing damage to the meristem,” Rebecca Hallett said during the Ontario Canola Growers annual general meeting

Emergence timing

Unusual springs in eastern and southern Ontario affected insect populations, with March 2024’s unseasonal highs triggering early development of species, followed by a cold snap that reduced populations.

“That might have been the case for swede midge,” Hallett said, adding that it requires a rainfall trigger to exit diapause and emerge as adults.

Weather also greatly impacts pest overwintering, increasing the potential risk of infestation for Ontario’s winter canola throughout early fall.

Hallett noted that winter canola’s early growth provides an advantage, despite potential pest pressure, because it has already passed the most vulnerable stage for spring damage.

“That, as well as degree day accumulation in the spring, may affect when it (swede midge) emerges,” she explained.

The insect specializes in canola, so if spring and winter canola are consistently planted near each other, population buildup could change the damage potential, Hallett clarified, adding that “crop rotation is absolutely key.”

Synopeas myles, the parasitoid wasp targeting the swede midge, is widespread throughout the province.

While it doesn’t control population levels, it certainly has a consistent impact, according to Hallett.

Reducing insecticide use can be beneficial; however, she warned that traps to monitor populations are necessary, including in areas where early spraying might be recommended.

“You need to have traps to monitor,” she stated. “I don’t advise just going in the spring without knowing what your numbers are, because I think it’s best to keep the parasitoids.”

The post Ontario’s canola flower midge is abundant but not currently a threat appeared first on Farmtario.

“When I first started, we were selling into Canada like crazy,” Craig Duhr, BCG’s regional sales manager for the Americas, said of the market in 2020. “Agriculture, all your vineyards, whatever it took.”

Suddenly, Health Canada told them that the 487-milliwatt Class 3 B laser was no longer eligible for import, despite certifications from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Agriculture, among others that allow its sale in 100 countries — including the Netherlands, where it was developed.

WHY IT MATTERS: The Canadian Food Inspection Agency estimates 1.3 million domestic birds have died or been humanely depopulated due to avian flu in Ontario since 2021; nationwide, the total climbs to 17.2 million.

Canada’s current Pest Control Product Act deems laser devices such as the Avix to be a pest repellent, requiring registration.

However, Health Canada said Feb. 3 via email, a proposal to exempt certain specific laser devices from the registration requirement — if they meet certain regulatory requirements for low-energy emissions — was published last March.

A 90-day pre-consultation on that proposal ended in June, ahead of a formal consultation that’s expected to be announced later this year, Health Canada said.

‘Would recommend’

The laser has been successfully tested in various sectors and under different weather conditions worldwide to ensure the non-lethal, animal-friendly bird control solution remains effective over the long term.

BCG didn’t fly off without a fight, Duhr said. The small start-up company employed attorneys and submitted to every Health Canada request over a two- to three-year period, before costs and constant government hurdles forced them to walk away.

Duhr said requests from Canadian producers run into the thousands, with increased interest particularly since avian influenza began to spike in 2021.

“Every show we got to that is poultry,” he said. “We’re inundated with (interested) Canadian people; it’s very unfortunate.”

Wade Stark, vineyard operations manager for Andrew Peller Ltd., was among the operations fortunate enough to purchase the system before the moratorium took effect.

Stark told Farmtario via email he’s been pleased with the Avix’s performance since installing the units at the vineyard in August 2020. Aside from replacing a control box and a few cables due to environmental exposure, the units have had no issues, he added.

Stark indicated he intends to follow up with Health Canada on the laser’s import availability status.

“We would certainly recommend their use and would like to order more units for other farms where we have bird pressure and have to use netting, which is labour-intensive and expensive,” Stark wrote. “Not to mention birds actually getting trapped in the netting from time to time.”

Highly efficient

In 2021, Wageningen University published data on the effectiveness of BCG’s Avix Autonomic Mark II Class III B laser on a free-range layer farm next to a poultry barn in a Dutch region heavily impacted by avian flu.

The study collected video footage for a month before installing the lasers, which operated from 5 p.m. to 10 a.m. within the 1.5-hectare free-range area when poultry were inside, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the surrounding grass pasture when the birds were outside.

It found the laser had a 98.3 per cent efficacy at reducing wild bird interactions within the free-range area and concluded the laser was “highly proficient at keeping wild birds, in particular waterfowl” away from farms along the winter migration flyway.

While the study focused on free-range operations, researcher Armin Elbers speculated on the BCG website that, during high-risk periods, laser use could help on strictly-indoor operations that had experienced or were at risk of avian influenza, by keeping wild fowl away from barns.

Cattle sector applications

When highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was detected in U.S. dairy cattle in March 2024, leading to a significant drop in production and spikes in fever, lethargy and decreased appetite, calls began to roll in.

“When that happened, then we got really busy in the dairy industry and feedlots,” Duhr said, adding that while HPAI doesn’t kill cattle, it’s a drain on those operations.

He said BCG will continue to focus on expanding its U.S. as well as Central and South American markets — but Canada isn’t completely off the table.

The post Canada’s import ban on Avix bird control system ruffles feathers appeared first on Farmtario.

Macrosteles quadrilineatus injects a phytoplasma into the plant that affects its hormones; where you get green things where you should have yellow things in canola and you get leaves instead of seeds.

The leafhoppers spread aster yellows which affects over 300 plants including crops like canola, wheat and carrots as a generalist pest. Testing for leafhopper aster yellows infection using laboratory and field-adaptable DNA extraction has improved by leaps and bounds. Confirmation comes within a half-an-hour compared to a week previously.

WHY IT MATTERS: The speed at which Western Canadian pests can be identified and the conditions and best practices used in combating them are crucial in saving yields in various crops including canola.

“Where do the leafhoppers come from, and when they come in, how infected are they? This is the key to the outbreaks,” said Dr. Tyler Wist, a research scientist in field crop entomology during his Pest-Side Story presentation at the 2026 Irrigated Crop Production Update in Lethbridge, Alta.

“There are a few different hypotheses going around. One, they come all the way up from Texas. Two, they come up and they hang around in Nebraska, Kansas, and then they come up. Some years they don’t even get all the way to Canada on this northward (wind) migration.”

Aster yellows affect on canola yields seem to be linked to water/moisture levels according to some of Wist’s and his colleagues research. Wist showed graphs of big outbreaks in May 2012 and May 2023, with a wide variance of moisture levels at the time. The much drier season in 2023 resulted in less damage overall, backed by an 2015 Elliott/Olivier study of leafhopper feeding density with corresponding canola seed yield in dry and wet conditions.

“It was really hot and dry in 2023. The canola wasn’t as trashed as I expected. I was catching leafhoppers that were infected over 61 per cent of the population, which is completely unheard of for aster yellows hoppers coming up here,” said Wist.

A working hypothesis is with canola seed treated with insecticide, it kills the leaf hopper alongside the flea beetle. Under dry soil conditions, most of the leafhoppers died with 24 hours and did not affect the plants.

Under the wet soil conditions, only about half of the leafhoppers died with the rest remaining to hang around and feed on the plant.

Most conditions cut down on the impact of the insecticides by taking a lot out of the root zone, where the plant does not pick it up, allowing the leafhopper to survive longer as a vector and increasing the chance of aster yellows infestation.

“Aster yellows went down under these dry soil conditions in 2023. Things that didn’t have a seed treatment, like carrots, peas, sunflowers and the whole cut flower industry in northern Alberta were just absolutely hammered by aster yellows,” said Wist.

The post Aster leafhoppers: An unwanted guest migrating from U.S. for canola appeared first on Farmtario.

Vulnerable bees have cascading effects on beekeepers and food security in the apiculture industry.

A team of researchers from the University of Strathclyde and Japan’s National Agriculture and Food Research Organization are exploiting the unusual hearing of wax moths to develop a sustainable and efficient pest control technique that does not harm bees.

Wax moths take advantage of weakened bee colonies, tunnelling through the hive and feeding on the honeycomb and bee eggs. Removing infestations is labour-intensive — beekeepers must remove individual frames affected by the infestation and catch any remaining wax moths with sticky traps.

These moths can hear sounds four octaves higher than a human can, and this ultrasonic hearing helps them avoid becoming tasty bat food and hear male moth calls. They tell these calls apart based on the timing of the signal and the loudness of the sound.

By analyzing which patterns of bat echolocation calls elicited a stronger neural response in the moths, the researchers determined the best ultrasonic deterrent. Because bees have no sense of hearing, this pest control mechanism does not harm them.

“The technique can be adapted to different moth species; it would require some work for tuning to the most sensitive range to their particular hearing, and then targeting that range, but once that initial part is done, the technique should be applicable to any other moth species capable of hearing — which is the majority of them,” said Lara Díaz García, a postdoctoral researcher at Strathclyde.

The team also developed a simplified model of the lesser wax moth eardrum, capturing its essential features to explain its directional hearing. They hope to generalize their method for other moth species and to develop a commercial pest control device or acoustic sensors inspired by moth ears.

“Nature is truly impressive and inspiring for technological development,” said Díaz García. “It’s also great to contribute to a very tangible outcome of very real problems that we’re seeing due to the climate crisis.”

The post Ultrasonic pest control to protect beehives appeared first on Farmtario.

Dr. Rebecca Hallett, the principal investigator for the University of Guelph’s Colorado potato beetle and potato volatiles research, hopes so.

WHY IT MATTERS: The research’s investigation of pheromones and volatile kairomones as attractants/repellents, if unlocked, could provide an effective tool to mitigate the impacts of the Colorado potato beetle.

After securing further research funding through to 2027, Hallet recruited master’s students, Chloe El Hani and Natalie Savoia, in September to further develop Colorado potato beetle control methods.

Hallet is also collaborating with two researchers from Simon Fraser University, with whom she worked during her PhD, to expand antenna research.

She said U of G’s research has achieved a high-purity Colorado Potato Beetle pheromone, but is struggling to identify equally effective host-plant volatile combinations to create an irresistible attractant that draws the pest out of a field.

“They are some of the world’s best chemical ecologists,” she explained of her SFU colleagues.

“And in terms of looking for additional compounds that might help us really crack this nut — they’re top people to work with.”

The presence of natural enemies in the traps sparked El Hani’s novel approach to conservation biological control, aimed at identifying volatiles that attract the predators, specifically the pink lady beetle and the spined soldier bug, into fields.

“Natural enemies may use the beetle pheromone and some combination of host volatiles to find where their host insects are,” explained Hallett, adding it’s been several decades since the last research on Colorado potato beetle’s natural enemies in Ontario.

El Hani’s work could lead to two separate control options: the Colorado potato beetle-specific trap already underway and isolating plant volatile and pheromone attractants to lure the predators into fields where the beetle is present.

“Conservation, biological control, is seen as a growing part of integrated pest management, where we want to know what natural enemies are out there that could be helping us out,” Hallet said.

“What can we do so we don’t inadvertently kill them, and what can we do to make the agricultural fields more attractive?”

The research may include planting nectar-producing plants along the field border to provide extra resources to the pink lady beetle and spined soldier bug, such as sweet alyssum, to increase survival when Colorado potato beetle isn’t present.

“She’s starting with looking at the volatiles (in the lab) … figuring out ways of making the fields attractive,” said Hallett. “Then we might want to do experiments on plants and more behavioural assays in a slightly more natural setting than a plexiglass container.”

Savoia’s work will identify more effective host-plant volatiles and determine the best trap timing to enhance the effectiveness of mass-trapping lures.

Over two years of field research, including overwintering emergence, degree days, plant development, disease pressure, and stressors, were monitored, providing insights into the optimal timing for Colorado potato beetle trap and lure application without disrupting operational activities, said Hallett.

“The pheromone on its own was pretty good this year compared to the blank trap, but we haven’t got the host volatiles right yet,” she said.

“The potato beetle tends to be more attracted to plants that are damaged. It likes those volatiles, and we know smaller plants are less attractive than bigger plants, probably because of the volume of volatiles they’re releasing.”

She said Savoia’s work offers a novel approach to examining the “very fine-tuning” of when volatiles are released and how those conditions affect the profile of the released volatiles.

“Colorado potato beetle is a global pest. If we can figure this out, then the research will be important for growers of other solanaceous crops as well,” Hallet said, adding there may be some trials in field tomatoes, where Colorado potato beetle is sporadic, to test the attractants there too.

The post Natural enemies can help control Colorado potato beetle appeared first on Farmtario.

He used his ingenuity to solve the problem.

To discourage crows, he placed fishing lines above the rows of bales. As soon as the birds try to land, they get tangled in the line and refuse to come back.

To install the lines, 30-inch plastic silage wrapping cylinders were salvaged, cut in half, and taped to every 15 or 20 bales above the silage bag. A hole was drilled in the topmost part of the post, and a fishing line was attached.

“So when you put out the fishing line, especially for crows, they come to land and the line gets tangled in their feet,” said Denis.

“They don’t understand what’s happening. It scares them and they don’t come back afterwards.”

This simple action has reduced the rate of perforations in silage bags since the farm came up with this solution three years ago.

It works, but it takes time, said Denis. It’s not installed on all the rows, but only on those most frequented by birds, namely those at the ends.

Denis believes that birds choose these for better visibility and protection.

“That’s what we’ve noticed. It’s often the sausages at the ends that get attacked,” he said.

That’s why they install one on the first silage bag and another on the last silage bag made during the week before the next mowing. So, every three to four silage bags, there is a wire placed above the silage bags to keep the crows away.

Fishing line does not, however, solve problems created by voles and cats, said Denis.

The post How a Quebec farmer uses fishing lines to solve his crow problem appeared first on Farmtario.

Why it matters: Soybean cyst nematode is a soil-borne parasitic roundworm that infects soybeans and thrives best in sandy or loamy soils, where movement is easiest.

Over the last decade, Owen Wally, PhD., a field crop pathologist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, has studied SCN infestation and adaptation across Ontario, and calls the disease endemic. He’s concerned that the effects of SCN are accumulating.

Wally estimates at least an overall two per cent yield loss annually in Ontario, and easily upwards of 30 per cent in fields with moderate to high infestations, without any obvious signs of infection above ground.

“When you get it, you’ve got it for good,” said Wally, stating that once SCN is established, there’s no way to eliminate it.

“Managing SCN-infested soils comes down to selecting resistant varieties, crop rotation and supplementing with chemical seed treatments.”

The pest feeds on soybean roots, restricting a plant’s ability to access necessary water and nutrients. SCN populations replicate throughout the growing season, with up to three reproduction cycles per year, and have the potential for population multiplication of five to 20 times over the course of a growing season, according to Wally.

The biggest challenge is that the disease doesn’t present any obvious symptoms and may appear as plant stress or mimic potassium deficiency, with SCN effects coming as a shock at harvest for farmers unaware of its presence.

Widespread and growing

Over the years, Wally has had a front-row seat to the increasing prevalence and destruction of SCN on Ontario soybean acres. While 40 per cent of high to extreme populations (2,000 to 10,000+ SCN population per 100 grams of soil) are in southwestern Ontario fields, 10 per cent of Ottawa Valley soybean acres are reporting high or extreme populations.

“SCN is no longer a southwestern Ontario issue,” confirms Wally. “From west to east, the numbers are increasing across the province, and farmers need to be aware.”

Wally and the AAFC Harrow lab team monitor SCN presence through ongoing research, focusing on mitigating the risks of SCN and other soil-borne pathogens that affect soybeans, including sudden death syndrome (SDS). This includes tracking the spread of SCN and its adaptation in soils.

“SCN populations are becoming more widespread and destructive as they adapt to soils and existing resistant soybean varieties, our most effective management tool,” explains Wally.

Research trials this season continue exploration of SCN population changes, including levels of infestation in test sites across the province and in soil samples submitted to the lab. By simulating test site growing conditions with increasing SCN populations, Wally observes the pathogen’s evolution, and, alongside monitoring, tests disease management techniques and chemical treatments.

SCN fights back

Since SCN was first identified in Ontario over 30 years ago, advances in genetically resistant soybean varieties have become the first line of defence against the disease. Today, 95 per cent of soybean varieties available in Ontario have resistance, but it’s derived from only two genetic lines: PI 88788 (the main source of genetic SCN resistance) and Peking (found in only five to 10 per cent of Ontario soybean varieties).

“SCN populations are on the rise, and it’s getting scary,” he says. “Currently, 80 per cent of Ontario’s SCN population have adapted to our genetically resistant varieties and are able to infect more fields at a higher rate and at a greater degree of infestation.”

The adaptations are categorized into SCN types, or HG types, which describe the nematode’s ability to overcome the resistance genes. Wally’s research evaluates the ongoing adaptation and the resulting effectiveness of the resistant genetics.

In 2010, 30 per cent of southwestern Ontario SCN populations had adapted to the PI 88788 gene. By 2024, 80 percent of the disease population in that same area had developed some form of resistance. Wally notes that Ontario is following the same trend observed by northern U.S. soybean farmers — a rapid adaptation of SCN to genetically resistant lines.

“We continue to observe that SCN-resistant varieties are becoming less effective, but they remain functional for now,” says Wally. “I predict that, in 20 years, these current resistant genetics will largely be nonfunctional here in Ontario.”

Soybean farmers can still leverage a range of effective management tools, including rotating SCN-resistant varieties by alternating between the two genetic sources, PI 88788 and Peking, said Wally. Crop rotation can slow SCN population growth, particularly when farmers leave a three-year gap or longer between soybean crops on the same field. Some chemical and biological seed treatments can be effective, said Wally, especially on fields with moderate to low SCN populations.

“We need new solutions to manage SCN, otherwise it will become a forever war as the disease continues to evolve and outsmart us,” said Wally, who keeps a close eye on the genetic and crop protection technology pipeline.

Later this year, Syngenta Canada is expected to introduce Tymirium technology, a new tool to manage SCN and SDS. The novel active ingredient is said to act as a nematicide and fungicide, protecting the root zone from nematode feeding, which is the main cause of SCN and SDS. Tymirium technology is currently under review for registration under the Pest Control Products Act as a soybean seed treatment.

“This new active ingredient will offer another tool for managing SCN for Ontario soybean growers, along with genetic resistant sources and using new and existing seed treatments,” notes Wally.

Know your risk

“Of course, knowing whether or not your field has SCN is the first step to managing the disease,” Wally reminds farmers, adding that digging up plants can easily confirm SCN in soils.

The easiest way to confirm SCN in soil is to dig up plants, which Wally recommends producers do throughout the growing season as populations continuously grow and die off over the year. The nematodes appear as roughly one millimetre ovoid, lemon-shaped growths on the roots, “appearing like lights on a Christmas tree while they are actively growing.”

The soil testing method is most effective for confirming SCN disease and can be performed at any time, however, Wally recommends testing immediately after harvest, so farmers can make better-informed planting and crop management decisions for the following year. He suggests that farmers at least consider soil testing to assess their potential SCN risk or to measure the level of SCN populations in their fields.

“If you don’t know whether or not you have SCN, give yourself peace of mind by planting and rotating resistant varieties,” reminds Wally.

It’s clear that SCN is here to stay in Ontario soils, as is Wally’s ongoing disease monitoring and research.

“This silent yield robber may not show its face, but it’s already taking its toll,” he said, reminding Ontario farmers to be proactive by incorporating SCN considerations into next year’s crop management plan.

The post Soybean cyst nematode on the rise appeared first on Farmtario.