Category: Canola Disease, Weeds & Insects

The flea beetle is a menace to canola crops.  Typically seed treatments like Helix Xtra and Prosper have controlled flea beetles with ease and uncontrollable populations were relatively rare.  The feeding of seed treatment protected plants controlled the crucifer flea beetle which was great for farmers. The striped flea beetle has been showing up in… Read More

The diamondback moth population has arrived earlier and in greater numbers than in the past years. What does this early flight mean for producers? For starters it means that producers have to be out in their fields earlier, scouting for the pest, but it also means that producers have to adapt how they scout. An… Read More

Any type of disease that affects the seedling stage of canola has to be taken seriously. Seedling blight can be devastating to your canola crop before or after germination. Knowing what you’re looking for and how to deal with it can put you in a position to assess your risk and take action that can… Read More

The issue of herbicide resistance is something producers will have to continue to be vigilant about. Careful consideration needs to go into the “when” “how” and “what” to use of your individual weed control strategy. That strategy in turn needs to be balanced with a good sense of corporate responsibility about producer issues like herbicide… Read More

Canola acres across the west have grown continuously over the years. The profitability of canola on the farm has not only expanded acres but also caused producers to tighten rotations. With those increased acres and short rotations the threat of disease becomes magnified. Sclerotinia is one of those diseases that, once established, can have devastating… Read More

The clubroot problem is growing, and it’s not a matter that can be avoided any more. So what has the canola industry at large learned from clubroot? I discussed the clubroot issue with Clint Jurke of the Canola Council of Canada and found a number of things that we’ve learned from the experience. First, we have found that… Read More

Recent reports from the Canola Council of Canada have shown the slow movement of clubroot into previously uninfected areas of Alberta. That information, while concerning, should not really come as a surprise to farmers in the province. Conditions have been optimal for the speed of clubroot in Alberta this year based on the very wet… Read More

Wet conditions over the past few years have brought the importance of fungicide back on to the producers radar. Those conditions are the final piece of the puzzle diseases like sclerotinia need to get established and cause real damage to canola. The devastating results of fungal diseases are helping producers to realize the importance of… Read More

Most people think, with wet, cool conditions, cutworms are not a problem. For the most part that’s true, but the cutworm is a very diverse insect with many different species and types. This makes it difficult to typify their behaviour as a whole and risky to ignore them just because of the weather. They can… Read More

With the wet weather across the prairies getting all the media attention, you would assume that most farmers would be dealing with pests that come with an over abundance of moisture. With the majority of the west being wet except for the Peace, pests that love moisture will become a real problem.  The interesting thing… Read More