Winnipeg,
Manitoba, Canada
June 26, 2008
Maps estimating the emergence of
midge populations are being posted daily on the
Canadian Wheat Board (CWB)
web site as a service to western Canadian grain farmers.
Midge damage is the top pest
threat to wheat growers in Canada this year and the number one
downgrading factor indicated in last year’s harvest survey. The
insect was responsible for millions of dollars in damage to
crops last year from yield loss and lower end-use quality.
“Monitoring the emergence of
wheat midge and developing populations will be key to success in
managing this pest,” CWB agronomist Mike Grenier said, adding
that last year’s midge outbreak was one of the worst ever.
“Farmers need this information to scout their own fields and
assess the potential economic value of pesticide control, which
is most critical between heading and flowering at the beginning
of July.”
Using data from Prairie weather
stations – including the CWB’s on-farm WeatherBug® network – and
pest modelling information available from Agriculture and
Agri-Food Canada, the CWB has devised this tool to predict midge
emergence thresholds. The daily maps created by the CWB are
colour-coded with growing degree days that indicate midge
development stages.
The maps are the only daily
information source on wheat midge
available online. Going forward, the tool will be refined
and extended to other pests of concern to wheat and barley
farmers.
Grenier said large areas of the
dark brown and black soil zones are at risk, based on fall soil
sampling for cocoons. Areas at highest risk include
north-central and eastern Saskatchewan, north-central Alberta
between Edmonton and Calgary and western Manitoba.
“Farmers just need to bookmark
the map page in their home computer or hand-held device and get
a quick snap shot each day of how the midge is progressing in
their area,” he said. “This is a useful tool that will only get
better as our CWB-WeatherBug network expands to provide
localized and up-to-the-minute weather reports from more and
more stations.”
Controlled by western Canadian
farmers, the CWB is the largest wheat and barley marketer in the
world. One of Canada’s biggest exporters, the Winnipeg-based
company sells grain to over 70 countries and returns all sales
revenue, less marketing costs, to Prairie farmers. |
