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Whether you’re waiting to get into the field or already cutting your crop, having a proper storage facility is critical. If you had last year’s grain in your bins for longer than usual, and into the spring when grain temperatures were no longer cold enough over specific durations to kill most insects, you may want to confirm your storage locations…
Insects
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You may be sick of reading about it, but that’s better than being sick of finding it. Lygus bug continues to be a hot topic for growers in a number of locations across the prairies. While numbers are surprisingly high, they may still not be high enough to warrant the cost of spraying. Don’t let the idea of revenge influence… -
Lygus bugs are still at high numbers in some regions, mostly in Alberta. If sweep netting shows high lygus numbers, here are five considerations before spraying… -
Many canola fields are within 5 to 10 days of swathing, which limits the choices for insecticides based on pre-harvest intervals. Here are the pre-harvest intervals for insecticides registered for insect control in canola. Try the interactive PHI tool at www.spraytoswath.ca… -
To identify a problem, start with careful scouting. Use this checklist and then move on to the Canola Diagnostic Tool… -
Lygus hotspots: Lygus numbers are high in some regions, with reports of 70+ per 10 sweeps in some fields in central and northern Alberta. Some fields will warrant a spray, but seeing the plane next door does not mean all canola in the area should get sprayed. Assess each field. Bertha armyworm hotspots: Berthas are a very low numbers in… -
Threshold tables for lygus suggest, for example, that if canola is $12 per bushel and spray costs $8 per acre, the threshold at the early pod stage is 5 lygus adults or late instar nymphs per 10 sweeps. Current thinking is that 5 lygus per 10 sweeps (0.5 per sweep) is too few to warrant a spray, and that the… -
Bertha armyworm is one pest that can do a lot of damage in a short time. They’re large and eat a lot. Even within an area showing low risk on provincial maps, hot spots can flare up. (Photo credit: Roy Ellis)… -
Thresholds are 100-150 larvae per square metre in immature to flowering plants and 200-300 larvae per square metre (20-30 per square foot) in plants with flowers and pods. While these nominal thresholds are based on dense stands of 150-200 plants per square metre, plant population is not a major factor. Fewer plants will have more branching and more pods, so…
