On this episode of The Agronomists, host Lyndsey Smith is joined by Tracey Baute with Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness, and Tyler Wist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to discuss early season insect management. On the list: wireworm, cutworms, flea beetles, and slugs; plus we dig in to pre-seeding selection impacts on wheat… Read More

A valuable tool for managing insect pests, such as flea beetles and grasshoppers, is back in the toolbox for 2025. As reported earlier this month, Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) has effectively lifted a two-year ban on spraying insecticides containing lambda-cyhalothrin on crops that could be destined for livestock feed. Lambda-cy products, sold… Read More

Understanding the prevalence of flea beetles in a canola field can make a big difference when it comes to management decisions in that field. This number-one insect pest of canola can quickly multiply in number and — with the right environmental conditions — move from below to well-above an economic threshold in a single day…. Read More

The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) has reinstated livestock grain feeding use for insecticides containing lambda-cyhalothrin. A regulatory announcement in late 2022 changed the labeled approvals for crops treated with lambda-cy products, and resulted in two growing seasons with restricted use and access for growers. Syngenta shared the reinstatement news today, noting that a label… Read More

Early season pest pressure can be a huge drag on canola seedling survivability and producers’ pocket books. A seed treatment can be a useful tool in protecting tiny plants, and BASF is launching new treatment treatment stack options in the 2024 Invigor line up. Farmers growing InVigor hybrid canola likely noticed the shift in ’23… Read More

Advancements in RNA interference (RNAi) technology could soon unlock new tools for managing canola pests and pathogens, such as sclerotinia and flea beetles. RNAi — ribonucleic acid interference — involves targeting specific RNA sequences in a disease or pest, rather than targeting entire proteins or enzymes, as is the case with current pesticides. It’s a… Read More