Canola School: When a Better-Safe-Than-Sorry Insecticide Pass Makes Matters Worse

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Root maggots in a canola plot in Lacombe, Alberta.
Root maggots in a canola plot in Lacombe, Alberta.

As a diverse set of volunteers in the agriculture industry, it’s hard to assign a worth to the work beneficial insects accomplish, but their absence can speak volumes, if you’re listening.

To showcase that, Jim Broatch, pest management specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, talks root maggots in this Canola School, and how an insecticide application targeting other insect pests likely also affected ground beetle populations.

Broatch explains that since ground beetles are one of the main predators for root maggots, insecticide applications may have a detrimental affect on a canola crop’s overall health, speaking to the incredible importance of beneficial insects, thresholds and diversity.

Jim Broach, pest management specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development talking root maggots: their impact on canola, distribution and what can(‘t) be done to manage their populations.

Other Episodes

Canola School (view all) Season 7 (2015) Episode 14
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