Before I jump into the pest alert, I want to welcome John Fluttert, the new Edible Bean and Oilseed Specialist on the Field Crop Team based at Ridgetown. He is getting his feet wet pretty quickly, managing calls about cabbage seedpod weevil (CSPW) infestations in winter canola fields in Essex and Chatham Kent. Despite the […]
The Corn Rootworm Trap Network is 5 years old! We have learned a lot about corn rootworm populations here in Ontario and we value the efforts of all trap participants who have monitored sites each season. A special thanks goes to Dan Bihari, Senior GIS Specialist, OMAFA for maintaining the trap network platform and to […]
As seed orders are being finalized, it’s a good time to reassess whether insecticide seed treatments are truly needed. A comprehensive 4-year study led by Dr. Jocelyn Smith at the University of Guelph – Ridgetown Campus evaluated 129 corn and 31 soybean field trials across Ontario. The study compared fungicide-only seed treatments (FST) with neonicotinoid […]
Lack of rains and hot temperatures have two spotted spider mites (TSSM) exploding in some fields. Scouting soybeans and dry beans frequently for TSSM this time of year is important, as infestations tend to be noticed too late from the road when management was required much earlier. Mite infestations typically start on the fields edge, […]
Soybean aphids (SBA) have been spotted in a few fields in southern Ontario that haven’t seen SBA in quite a few years. As soybeans begin to enter R1, weekly scouting is advised, focusing first on the earlier planted fields close to or in R1, as well as any that have not had much rain and […]
Have you been seeing increased corn rootworm pressure in your continuous corn fields over the last few years? Monitoring with sticky traps can help you determine if you have a Bt resistant corn rootworm problem and it helps us keep track of where these problem fields are. Thanks to GFO and ABSTC, we still have […]
This cooler, wet weather seems to have delayed plant growth but also has been ideal for pests to build in fields or do more feeding while the plant growth is slowed. Cereal aphids have been spotted in several fields from Harrow to Stratford. Though cereal aphids can often be found at low levels in cereals, […]
Cereal leaf beetle (CLB) adults and eggs have been spotted at low levels in some of the YEN cereal sites being monitored this year. Best to scout fields with a known history of CLB activity soon and plan to check all cereal fields a few times over the next few weeks until the head is […]
Black cutworm (BCW) and true armyworm (TAW) moths have been making their way into Ontario over the last few weeks. Black cutworm in particular have been arriving since mid April in southwestern Ontario, with trap counts increasing weekly. Shout out to our new northern Ontario trap participants at the New Liskeard, Thunder Bay and Emo […]
Since the first discovery of Bt resistant ECB populations to Cry1Fa in Nova Scotia in 2018, more populations of Bt resistant ECB have been found in a number of provinces and one US state (Connecticut). Not only is ECB developing resistance to Cry1Fa, but also to Cry1Ab, Cry1A.105 and Cry2b2. As they develop resistance to […]
Results from the 2024 Ontario corn rootworm (CRW) trap sites monitored through the Adult Corn Rootworm (CRW) Trap Monitoring Network have been summarized in the infographic below. Thank you to all the trap participants for monitoring their traps this year. These sites are helping us to identify fields and counties with potential resistant corn rootworm […]
By Christine O’Reilly, Forage & Grazing Specialist and Tracey Baute, Entomologist, Field Crops Warm fall temperatures have many pests still active and hungry, looking for food resources before overwintering or being killed off by a hard frost. We are aware of at least one significant sighting of blister beetles clustering on the lawn of a […]
There are a few pests to keep an eye on over the next few weeks. Western Bean Cutworm We likely reached peak moth flight either last week for most of the southern counties or this week for the rest of the province, except Northern Ontario, based on the Degree Day Prediction Model and trap counts […]
This article was originally written by Joel Bagg in 2012. It was edited June 27, 2023 by Christine O’Reilly to reflect current insecticide options to control potato leafhopper and the cessation of third-party alfalfa variety trials in Ontario. Potato leafhopper (PLH) is the most damaging alfalfa insect pest in Ontario in most years. While the […]
It is safe to call 2024 a good pest year. Mild winters and warm springs tend to help pests overwinter well or expand their range further than usually and get ahead of crops when soil conditions delay planting. Armyworm and cereal leaf beetle are continuing to show up in some wheat fields, while some grubs […]