African swine fever has not yet been detected in Canada, however the disease of hogs would have a devastating impact on the swine herds, the industry, the trade of Canadian pork products, and the Canadian economy should it show up. Wild hogs, an invasive species, can be a carrier or vector for African swine fever…. Read More
Category: Pests
In 1996, fusarium devastated the Ontario wheat crop. More than 90 percent of the crop was downgraded to feed, or sample, or simply dumped in the bush thanks to high deoxynivalenol (DON) levels. In 2024, fusarium was back in Ontario fields, but the crop, with help from improved genetic resistance and improved fungicides, was much… Read More
Is anthesis the key timing for a fungicide pass if fusarium is the risk? Possibly, but going too early can leave heads or parts of heads unprotected, and later infection can cause some big downgrades due to DON production (a toxin produced by the disease). For this episode of the Wheat School, Amber Bell is… Read More
Bayer CropScience has announced its new pre-emerge herbicide, Huskie Pre, has received registration for use ahead of barley, triticale and wheat for the 2025 growing season. Huskie PRE is the first pre-burn herbicide of its kind available in Western Canada, the company says, combining Group 6 bromoxynil and Group 27 pyrasulfotole. Offered as an emulsifiable… Read More
A flowering canola crop looks pretty and smells great — to humans and insects alike. Canola has a laundry list of insect pest species, from ones that target stems and leaves, to super destructive pests that destroy pods and ruin seeds. A sweep net is a humble tool, but one that when wielded by a… Read More
New developments in testing are expected to provide soybean growers with valuable information to fend off yield-robbing root rot caused by the water mould known as Phytophthora sojae. Beyond crop rotation and drainage, selecting varieties with genetic resistance, via major genes and overall field tolerance, is the best management tool for mitigating phytophthora infection, but… Read More
The 2024 growing season has been a wet one for much of the edible bean growing region, and that means growers need to get out and scout as crops start to flower in a high-disease risk growing environment. On this episode of RealAgriculture’s Edible Bean School, host Bernard Tobin and Hensall Co-op field marketer Meghan… Read More
Plenty of combines were rolling earlier this week before the wall of water that is the remnant of hurricane Beryl hit Ontario. Not only did this weather system bring sheets of rain, but it may also have brought more tar spot spores from the south. Tar spot has already been found in Ontario, says Peter… Read More
Cool, wet conditions, as seen in much of Western Canada during the early part of the 2024 growing season, are favourable for ascochyta, also called mycosphaerella blight, in peas. The first step in taking action is to make sure that an infection is caused by mycosphaerella and not a bacterial blight, for which fungicide is… Read More
To pulse producers, grasshoppers represent both a significant challenge and a potential threat. With last year being hot and dry across the Prairies, growers are wondering what the current growing season will hold for these resilient crop consumers. Farmers and agronomists alike hope that the cool, wet spring might keep pulse crops safe from the… Read More