Our trap counts of adult swede midge this week have spiked to high levels in some areas. To view a map indicating swede midge trap catches go to Ontario Canola Grower’s website at www.ontariocanolagrowers.ca. Regularly check this website for updates on the level of swede midge in your growing area until your canola is beyond the […]
The Ontario Canola Growers, OMAF and MRA and the University of Guelph are working together to monitor swede midge this season. As swede midge is difficult to detect until the damage has been done, monitoring stations have been set up in Ontario’s major canola growing areas. You will find the 2013 trap count maps indicating […]
I have been hearing reports of soybean aphids starting to pop up on non-Cruiser soybeans in Ontario. It has been a few years since we’ve had to deal with them so I thought a refresher might be in order. Soybean aphids initially start to colonize in pockets of early planted fields. Several plants in these […]
I admit that scouting soys when just the cotyledons are out makes for tough pest injury diagnostics. It does take some years of experience to really get to know what you are looking at. Three pests that commonly feed on the cotyledons include seed corn maggot, bean leaf beetle and slugs. Occasionally, the feeding damage […]
Many growers are frustrated by trying to control the high populations of flea beetles this season. Some have sprayed for control only to see high populations reappear several days later. Although flea beetles are most active under warm sunny conditions, moisture generally favours insect development. It is important to not spray too soon. Expect to […]
I was concerned about the potential risk for armyworm this year, given that we had a cool, wet April which is not ideal for their natural enemies. But to have back to back armyworm years is rare. Will Ontario beat those odds this year? I have had reports of armyworm being present in many wheat […]
Brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is our newest pest of concern for Ontario agriculture. Though we have not detected it yet on any of its crop hosts, we have confirmed it has established breeding populations here in Ontario and is successfully overwintering in homes in Hamilton, Toronto, Newboro and most recently Windsor. It is likely […]
We are getting a lot of calls about alfalfa weevil in various counties nearing or reaching threshold. Scouting is strongly recommended. Joel Bagg wrote a very thorough blog entry last year regarding scouting and management options so I won’t bother to repeat his efforts and instead direct you to that blog here. […]
It is rare to experience back to back armyworm outbreak years. This is usually because the natural enemies (particularly parasites and entomopathogens) build up in an outbreak year and are in good supply the following year to keep up with the armyworm. However, armyworm outbreaks do tend to occur after a cool, wet April since […]
With corn planting season soon upon us, it is a good time to remind everyone to take extra precautions to try to reduce the risk to bees being exposed to neonicotinoid contaminated dust from corn planters. Virtually all corn seed is treated with a neonicotinoid insecticide (ie. Poncho or Cruiser), and with over 200 incidences […]
We are looking for growers who are interested in participating in our study this spring/summer. Art Schaafsma (UGRC) and myself have received funding to work on some particular questions with regards to corn planter dust and bee incidences. We are looking for 2 corn growers per county from the following counties: Essex, Chatham-Kent, Lambton, Middlesex, […]
Dr. Rebecca Hallett will be offering a Swede Midge Identification Workshop on Friday, April 5th from 10 am to noon, University of Guelph. Session in the lab, looking at swede midge and other easily confused insects on sticky cards with naked eye and microscope; swede midge specimens on sticky cards and in alcohol under microscope; […]
Written by: Tracey Baute – Field Crop Entomologist and Greg Stewart – Corn Specialist, Ministry of Agriculture and Food and Ministry of Rural Affairs A high level of concern was raised last spring regarding bee kills and corn planting. Many growers are asking what actions they can take to help reduce the risk of bee […]
Last summer, potato leafhopper (PLH) certainly lived up to its reputation as the most damaging alfalfa insect pest in Ontario. In many parts of the province, PLH feeding resulted in yield loses of over 1 tonne of alfalfa per acre or roughly a loss of $200/acre. While PLH damage was far greater than normal, it […]
A winter wheat field near Owen Sound has 4 to 5 acres of “missing plants”, cut off at the soil level. Not many insects could do that kind of damage this time of year. It sounds like a case of winter cutworm. It was to the day, 4 years ago when I wrote a CropPest […]