There are two main insect pests of wheat that keep breeders busy: the wheat stem sawfly and the wheat midge. There is resistance to each and effective predators of each, but the insects still manage to eat a significant amount of wheat yield each year. To unpack how these two pests cut yield, quality, or… Read More
Every year, Sask Wheat and other Prairie wheat groups go out and sample soil to look for wheat midge cocoons that have overwintered, and then create a forecast map from that information. The wheat midge forecast map is showing a lot of red, which is a bit alarming. Wheat midge is definitely on Tyler Wist’s… Read More
There are secret, mysterious agents lurking in crop stubble. But have no fear, they’re on your side. Many are familiar with wheat midge and the damage the insect can cause, but you might be less familiar with the parasitoid that attacks this crop pest. Host Shaun Haney is joined by Jennifer Otani, pest management biologist… Read More
Whether for feed or food, in a dry season or wet, successful wheat and barley establishment is unique to the crop type. Plenty of farmers are swapping some acres into barley this year, and that added rotation diversity is a good thing says today’s RealAg LIVE! guest, Sheri Strydhost, agronomy research specialist with Alberta Wheat &… Read More
There’s no better time to plan for success than just ahead of the spring season. Now is the time to make the final decisions on seed lots, seeding rates, seed treatments and more. Of course once that’s all said and done, there’s still plenty to do in-season says Jeremy Boychyn, agronomy research extension specialist for the… Read More
For this episode of RealAg LIVE!, we pull back the curtain ever so slightly and catch a glimpse of what its like to have to choose your cropping mix four years in advance. Well, running a seed company isn’t exactly like that, but as Jim Bagshaw of Alliance Seed explains, there are parallels between what… Read More
What’s good for wheat growth is good for wheat midge, says research scientist Tyler Wist, of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, based at Saskatoon, Sask. What’s more, these tiny pests can cause big issues, even in very low numbers, so scouting is one key aspect of management. In this edition of RealAgriculture’s Wheat School, Wist also… Read More
Wheat midge is still a significant threat to wheat in Western Canada. While the threat has subsided a bit because of the discovery and use of the SM1 resistance gene, it’s important to remember that there is only one bullet in the chamber, and if it gets spent wheat crops will be, once again, at… Read More
SeCan recently discovered that the majority of the soft white wheat varieties grown in western Canada naturally contain the Sm1 trait for midge tolerance. The trait has likely always been there, but only recently have we had the technology to test for it. The Sm1 gene was first identified as naturally occurring in soft red winter… Read More
By Karen Lewis As farmers across the central U.S. corn belt scramble to prevent the spread of western corn rootworm resistance to Bt corn, Prairie wheat growers are being urged to be diligent in their stewardship efforts to protect midge tolerant wheat technology. “Resistance to corn rootworm technology is really a cautionary tale for Prairie… Read More
The wheat midge (Sitodiplosis mosellana) is a pest found in wheat that can have significant impacts on your yields and grain quality. These insects overwinter as larvae and emerge as adults from their pupal stage in late June to early July (typically 600-900 growing degree days (GDD), ask your agronomist how many GDD`s we have… Read More
In recent years, wheat midge has caused yield losses to fields across the prairie provinces, and has been blamed for wheat quality losses as well, including: aborted kernels, feeding lines and bran rupturing. So we know wheat midge is a significant pest, but did you have any idea that once anthers are present, the plant is no… Read More
What, indeed. If you just read the title and aren’t sure, the short answer is nothing. The longer answer, however, is that tram lines may make scouting for insects easier and more thorough, and thus beneficial. Not convinced? Read on. Some insects are predictably found on the edge of the field — like flea beetles,… Read More
If there’s two things I learned from the GIJOE cartoons in the eighties it’s that 1) GIJOE must have a strict catch and release policy because I don’t recall any members of COBRA being killed and they come back every week. 2) Knowing is half the battle!(they said it at the end of every episode)… Read More
The post CWB monopoly environment has opened up a lot of interest in the CPS wheat class. Internationally recognized as having the high yield and good milling characteristics producers and industry are looking for, the wheat class is still quite small in Canada. The addition of AC Conquer VB to the Canterra Seeds line up… Read More
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