Tracey Baute May 9, 2017 2952 Comments Off on Time to Join the 2017 Western Bean Cutworm Trap NetworkCalling all WBC Trap Participants! The WBC Trap Network website is now up and running and ready for you to add your trap sites and join our trapping network. Anyone wishing to join must login and create a new user account at www.cornpest.ca. Click on the “Login” menu from the top left of the page (on a computer) or from…
Tracey Baute April 28, 2017 3823 Comments Off on Conditions are Ideal for Wireworm and Grub AssessmentsSoil temperatures are at 10 degrees C which means that wireworms and grubs are active near the soil surface. So it is also a great time to set up wireworm baits or dig for grubs. For the 2017 planting season, growers wanting to purchase and plant neonic treated corn and soybean seed require a pest assessment report (PAR) through an…
Tracey Baute April 27, 2017 2607 Comments Off on 2017 Bt Corn Traits Table for Products Currently Available in Canada – English and French**UPDATE APRIL 27, 2017: Corrections have been made to these tables. Specifically, the Agrisure Products 3110, 3111 and 3122 are now approved in the EU. See links provided below. Many of you have been asking for the 2017 Bt Traits tables for Canada so here they are. Bt Corn Products/Traits Currently Available in Canada – As of April 27, 2017…
Tracey Baute April 5, 2017 1845 Comments Off on Consultation for the Plant and Animal Health Strategy for Canada – Ends April 30thLearn, participate and have your say The proposed Plant and Animal Health Strategy for Canada was drafted together by governments, industry and others who play a role in safeguarding plant and animal health. The strategy will protect plants and animals from new and emerging risks by focusing efforts more on prevention and increasing partner collaboration and coordination. You are invited…
Cereal leaf beetle is starting to show up in some fields in Ontario. A few locations tend to experience a higher frequency of infestations including fields near Dresden, Bolton, Stayner, Seaforth, and Clinton. But this does not mean that other fields in Ontario are not at risk. Cereal leaf beetle (CLB) adults are beetles with metallic blue-green wings and a…
Tracey Baute May 17, 2016 2119 Comments Off on Stand Loss Assessments for Ontario’s Neonic RegulationsOnce corn and soybeans emerge, keep an eye out for crop injury. If you experience stand loss from wireworms, grubs, seedcorn maggot, bean leaf beetle (in soybeans only) or corn rootworm (in corn only), then you can choose to have an Inspection of Crop Pest Assessment done this spring. If the stand loss thresholds are reached (see below), then a…
Now is a great time to scout for wireworms and grubs. With the recent warm weather, soil temperatures have reached 10oC, which means that wireworm baits will be most effective right now and grubs will also be feeding close the soil surface. How much time there is to scout for these pests depends on how quickly the soil warms up…
Tracey Baute April 26, 2016 2099 Comments Off on What Growers Can Do to Mitigate Dust Drift at PlantingBefore this brief cold wet weather some planting got started over the last week in some areas. The warmer weather had brought spring on into full bloom including dandelions, coltsfoot and some trees including maples, willows, popular and even fruit trees. With the flowers come the bees to forage, setting up the potential for the interaction of bees and neonicotinoids…
I’m big on “To Do Lists”. Some may even say I am obsessed with them. But they help me get things done. With the 2016 growing season approaching, it is a good time to review what the requirements are for using Class 12 pesticides (neonic treated corn and soybean seeds) in Ontario. Here is a “To Do” list for anyone…
Tracey Baute September 16, 2015 2341 Comments Off on Neonics and What Corn and Soybean Growers Need to Know NowAs of July 1, 2015, new requirements for buying and using neonicotinoid-treated corn and/or soybean seed are being phased in to allow growers to adapt to new requirements. This fall (2015) – to prepare for the 2016 growing season Required for Seed Order To purchase and plant 50% or less of your total grain corn or total soybean crop for a farm operation with a neonicotinoid…
Tracey Baute August 6, 2015 2102 Comments Off on Western Bean Cutworm – Still Scout Corn and Now Dry Beans TooTrap counts are still quite high this week in Ontario which indicates that peak flight hasn’t plateaued yet. So there is likely still lots of egg laying happening. Moths will prefer to lay eggs in later planted corn that is still in pre to early tassel stages or will find dry bean fields nearby. Just because a trap is catching…
Lots of people have been sending in pics of eggs, nymphs or adult stink bugs and asking which stink bug it is. So I thought I’d try to help sort them out for you. There are predatory stink bugs and then there are plant feeding stink bugs. It is important to make sure you can ID the good ones from…
With the exception of the last few hot days, these slightly cooler than norm July temps are ideal for soybean aphid development. They can double their populations in a matter of days when temperatures are moderate. There haven’t been many reports of threshold levels being found in the fields so I am a little worried that not everyone is taking…
A few tweets, text messages and reports from our scouts have indicated that WBC egg masses are being found in corn this week. The next two to three weeks are key for scouting and managing WBC for the bulk of the corn crop. Though the typical hot spots (eg. Bothwell area) are more prone to significant populations, last year taught…