Syngenta Canada has applied for registration of Fortenza insecticide in soybeans. The diamide insecticide is currently used in corn, and the company has submitted trial data to demonstrate its effectiveness for wireworm, seed corn maggot, and European chaffer control in soybeans. Last week, Syngenta agronomic services manager Chris Denys told those attending the Crop Masters tour… Read More

Many Ontario farmers will remember when they routinely sprayed soybean crops to control bean leaf beetle. That changed 10 years ago with the introduction of neonicotinoid insecticide seed treatments, which helped suppress populations of the pest in Ontario and many U.S. states.But the pest is mounting a comeback as neonic use continues to decline and many… Read More

As part of its ongoing assessment of neonicotinoid pesticides (or neonics), Health Canada has proposed renewed three-year registrations for two of the three neonics under review, with some added restrictions. The review, which began in 2012, was initiated to assess the potential risk to pollinators from the nicotine-based products used to control insect pests. Farmers… Read More

Less than ideal conditions have slowed down canola development and left the crop vulnerable to tiny 2.5 millimetre beetles in some areas this spring.Flea beetles are the number one pest in canola on the Western Canadian Prairies.In this Canola School episode, we talk with Tyler Wist, entomologist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Saskatoon, about how you should… Read More

Taking a break from peas or lentils for six years is a tall order for fields where aphanomyces has been a problem. Are there in-field options or tools for managing this relatively new disease?Syama Chatterton, pulse crops pathologist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Lethbridge, has been conducting field trials across the prairies over the last two years,… Read More

Clarence Swanton has worked for 16 years on a super cool project that takes about 40 minutes to explain properly, as he did at the recent Southwest Agricultural Conference. Perhaps more impactful, however, is the time-lapse video he showed whereby the mere presence of weedy surroundings actually killed a tobacco seedling. Perhaps this makes sense —… Read More

Harvest is rocking and rolling for most corn and soybean growers in Ontario save for @WheatPete himself who took an equipment breakdown as a chance to get the Word done early this week. This week’s Wheat Pete’s Word covers a lot of ground, including the why behind high test weight corn, the nitrogen connection to high… Read More