June 18, 2014
Striped flea beetles, shown above, seem to have become the dominant species in many regions, with crucifer species harder to find. This has been observed in fields in central Alberta, in particular. Research shows that striped flea beetles emerge earlier than crucifer flea beetles, so one thought is that the crucifers have not emerged, yet. However entomologists expect that most,…
June 18, 2014
Cutworm scouting begins with a walk through the field looking for bare patches, chewing damage in foliage, or clipped plants. If you find patches of missing or damaged plants, dig around healthy plants next to the missing of damaged plants. Cutworms have likely moved on to these nearby healthy plants. Many cutworms are underground during the day or feed only…
June 11, 2014
High winds may force flea beetles off leaf tops and down to leaf undersides and leaf stems. Stem feeding could make the flea beetle situation worse, since it takes just a few bites on a stem to nip off a whole cotyledon or sever the stem. Stem feeding, if it’s happening on a lot of plants, has a lower control…
June 4, 2014
Canola is advancing quickly, often emerging in 5 days and starting to sprout its first true leaf in just over a week. Flea beetles are also out in big numbers — enough to warrant a few walks through each field. Seed treatments will provide 3 to 4 weeks of protection for canola that emerges within a week of seeding. Flea…
May 27, 2014
The Canola Council of Canada has produced four videos showing how beekeepers and canola growers can work together. Click the image above to see the video called "Canola and Bees: A sweet relationship."…
May 22, 2014
Growers face many weed, insect and disease management decisions throughout a growing season. In many cases, these applications provide a clear return on investment. In other cases, they do not. Here are a few examples where applications have a very low chance of providing a return…
May 14, 2014
While checking your seeding depth, take a look for cutworms at the same time. Another good time to look is around bare patches that show up after emergence. Cutworms could be the cause. Entomologists from across the Prairies are conducting cutworms surveys and are looking for help digging them up…
February 4, 2014
Crop diagnostics often come down to good photography skills, especially since so many people have smart phones with cameras, and since agronomists cannot get to all fields in a timely manner. The rules to agronomy by phone and photograph are…
February 4, 2014
Canola Watch Live! had two key agronomy messages with regard to bertha armyworm management in 2014: 1. Lower canola prices will mean higher thresholds for bertha armyworm. Click "read more" to see the table. 2. Bertha armyworm populations tend to build for three years, then drop due to disease or beneficial insects. Areas that have had three years of building…
Return to Canola Council Home