Grasshoppers devastated many fields last year over large parts of the Prairies. Of the over 80 species of grasshoppers found on the Prairies, only four are pests — but in sufficient numbers they are a huge concern. After several years of building populations, the pest is still likely to be an issue this year but... Read More
Category: Western Canada
Rainy weather during the in-crop weed control season can make it difficult to give corn want it wants to maintain maximum yield potential: that long critical weed-free period. The difference between fields that received pre-emerge applications and those that did not is quite noticeable in southern Manitoba (and many other areas) this year, as regular... Read More
When a detrimental fungus can travel as far and fast as stripe rust can, it is well worth being vigilant about. With susceptible varieties of wheat, this damaging crop disease can impact yields by anywhere between 50 to 90 per cent. Agronomists in southern Manitoba have identified the disease in wheat fields this week. In... Read More
Soil testing is a best management practice when planning fertilizer rates, but a soil test is perhaps most valuable following extreme situations — very wet or drought conditions. As Mike Palmier of Max Ag Consulting explains in this Canola School episode below, three years of dry or drought conditions for his area of west-central Saskatchewan... Read More
We're expecting we'll get an official look at the vision of what Cereals Canada is calling the Global Agriculture Technology Exchange, or GATE in the coming days. The underlying concept is not a new one, necessarily. The idea of a "Grains Centre of Excellence" nestled in downtown Winnipeg that would bring together the major crop... Read More
Once peas have emerged and get growing, it's time to scout for pea leaf weevil feeding. Feeding by adult pea leaf weevils creates notches on the clam shell leaves, but it's the damage done by larvae feeding on the roots that causes economic losses in pea crops. Pea leaf weevil is not an issue in... Read More
Today at Canada's Farm Show, Farm Credit Canada announced a $5 million commitment to the accelerated breeding program at the Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS) at the University of Saskatchewan (USask). The program will now bear the name "The FCC Accelerated Breeding Program at GIFS." Accelerated breeding combines technologies such as genomic selection, speed... Read More
As Canadians, we pride ourselves on our clean water, living skies, the Rockies, maple syrup, playing hockey, and saying sorry. There are other things to be proud of too, like our democracy and our ability to grow food for the world's population. It would seem, though, that when one or more of these points of... Read More
Producers in much of Western Canada are looking forward to warmer weather to help crops advance through the early stages after a cool seeding season and delays in seeding. For canola, slow emergence and growth due to cool temperatures, combined with wind damage in some areas, makes tiny plants a sitting target for flea beetles.... Read More
While fungicide resistance evolves similarly to herbicide resistance, it can be more challenging to assess given the patchy nature of disease infection across a field, the decreased incidence of disease in dry years, and the multiple lifecycles some pulse diseases complete in a year. Bethany Wyatt, senior technical service specialist with BASF, says that Group... Read More