Winnipeg, Ontario, Canada
June 30, 2009
Farmers can track the emergence of
wheat midge daily in their area by using an innovative online
map provided by the CWB.
The maps are now being regularly posted on the
CWB Web site. They were one of
the most popular features on the site when they were first
introduced last summer, visited by hundreds of farmers a day.
During the peak of the pest threat, new maps and commentary by
CWB agronomist Mike Grenier will be posted every day.
"Using localized weather information from our WeatherBug®
network, we have created pest emergence models that farmers have
found very useful in their attempts to manage the risk," Grenier
said, noting that cool weather this spring has delayed crop and
midge emergence this year by up to two weeks later than normal.
"Wheat growers, depending where they farm, should start checking
their fields next week to decide whether midge-control
pesticides are necessary. Control measures are most critical
between the heading and flowering stages. Our map is designed to
alert farmers when they should intensify their scouting for this
pest."
Grasshopper resource information and hatching models have also
been posted on the CWB Web site. The grasshopper models were
created by Dr Dan Johnson of the University of Lethbridge using
weather data and support from the CWB.
The midge map tool was devised by the CWB 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 daily maps provided
by the CWB are colour-coded with growing degree days that
indicate midge development stages.
Midge is one of the most damaging insect pests for wheat growers
in Canada. In the last two years, it was a major downgrading
factor at harvest. The insect is responsible for millions of
dollars in damage to crops from yield loss and lower end-use
quality. While the threat has been reduced this year, farmers
should still be vigilent in assessing their own risk.
The maps are the only daily information source on wheat midge
that is available to all wheat farmers online. Going forward,
the tool will be refined and extended to other pests of concern
to wheat and barley producers. Farmers can bookmark the map page
on their home computers or hand-held devices and get a quick
snapshot each day of how midge is progressing in their own area.
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. |
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