Flea beetles are a common insect pest in early growing canola across the Prairies. There are two important species of concern for canola (and mustard) growers: the striped flea beetle and the crucifer flea beetle. “The feeding is indistinguishable, but the striped flea beetle comes up earlier,” says James Tansey, provincial entomologist with Saskatchewan Ministry… Read More
Category: Canola Disease Weeds Insects
Any time you’re growing canola, and any field you’re growing it in, clubroot should be on your mind. For Leighton Blashko, senior technical specialist at BASF Canada, the two most important things when it comes to this yield-robbing disease are sanitation and avoidance. In this Canola School episode, Blashko and field editor Kara Oosterhuis talk about… Read More
Starting the year off on the right foot requires a little bit of forethought and planning. When it comes to keeping a canola crop clean during the early stages of growth, there are some steps to take before even seeding the crop. Dr. Charles Geddes, research scientist in weed ecology and cropping systems at Agriculture… Read More
If the weather was in your favour this fall, and the canola is off, now is a great opportunity to review what went wrong or what went right with the crop. One way to get some insight is to do plant stand counts and some post-harvest scouting. “Despite the challenges that 2020 threw at us,… Read More
Walking into a green, fully-podded canola field isn’t easy — it’s actually more like swimming if you’ve got a good stand and your plants are well knit together. But, it’s important to really get into the field to scout for bertha armyworms. Before you wade in to your canola to look for this pest, Gregory… Read More
Kochia is a big concern for farmers across the Prairies, primarily because it’s a tough weed to kill, and the population is rife with herbicide resistance. Most farmers are aware of Group 2 resistance — which is old news — but newer Group 9 resistance is cropping up, which further complicates control of this prolific… Read More
We’re starting to see some flowering in canola and with that, scouting for sclerotinia is on the to-do list. Justine Cornelsen, with the Canola Council of Canada, based out of Manitoba, joined Kara Oosterhuis in this latest episode of Canola School. “It comes down to environmental conditions,” says Cornelsen, “Do you have enough moisture? Is… Read More
Early flowering can be a really good check point for canola crops. Scouting at early flower can be very instructive for what to expect further along in the season, and it’s a great opportunity to see what insects are out there or could develop into an issue later in the season. In this episode of… Read More
In the last couple of years, aster leafhoppers have arrived around the third week of May, perhaps on the same wind that diamondback moths fly in on from the U.S. The aster leafhopper is a small, bullet-shaped insect that doesn’t directly damage the plant; instead it is a vector for the disease aster yellows. In… Read More
Cutworms are a common pest in several crops, including canola, across the Prairies. These below-ground dwellers cause damage by clipping or severing stems of seedlings, so unlike other pest damage, cutworm feeding kills young plants. In this episode of RealAgriculture’s Canola School, Kara Oosterhuis sits down with Dr. Vincent Hervet, research scientist with Agriculture and… Read More