Watch canola fields for striped flea beetle
There's a new pest in town. Well, "new" might be a bit of a stretch, however the incidence of striped flea beetle is on the rise. What makes the striped flea beetle an issue? As if chewing up your newly emerged canola wasn't enough, this pesky critter tends to emerge sooner, cause more damage AND be less affected by current seed treatments. It's not good news.
It's also not reason to panic, either. Troy Prosofsky, agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada, says it's not that the striped flea beetle is suddenly swarming fields, however traps are showing higher numbers of this type of flea beetle. That's a bit disconcerting, and the provincial and federal entomologists as well as the Council need your help in keeping an eye out for these insects. (See photo below for distinguishing between species. The striped beetle is in the middle. Sorry the image is so stretched, I don't know why it did that.)
Flea beetles, regardless of species, overwinter in field margins, tree and fence lines and emerge early to feed. The chewing adults will chew on early weeds as they wait for the good stuff — canola — to emerge. While the flea beetle will feed for several weeks (into late June), the majority of the damage is done at the seeding to two leaf stage.
Because the beetles overwinter along field margins, crop rotations don't really help in controlling or avoiding an infestation. That said, Prosofsky says that if you notice large numbers in the fall when you're combining it's not a bad idea to try and seed canola far from that field. It's not always practical, however, which is where using a good seed treatment comes in handy, as does early scouting.
Once seedlings are up Prosofsky says daily scouting is a must. Start at the field edge and work your way in. The time to spray is at 25% damage to the leaves. By 50% damage, you've already lost yield. Remember, when it's warm, these insects move and eat quickly. Scouting daily in warm weather is a must.
Prosofsky adds that because flea beetles emerge before the crop, keeping fields clean of weeds and volunteers does deprive them of a food source. Researchers aren't sure why, but wider row spacing (eight inches or wider) does seem to hold the pest back somewhat. And, as always, a healthy, vigorous crop with adequate plants per square foot (or meter, if you're so inclined) is more likely to recover from early feeding damage.
It's also not reason to panic, either. Troy Prosofsky, agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada, says it's not that the striped flea beetle is suddenly swarming fields, however traps are showing higher numbers of this type of flea beetle. That's a bit disconcerting, and the provincial and federal entomologists as well as the Council need your help in keeping an eye out for these insects. (See photo below for distinguishing between species. The striped beetle is in the middle. Sorry the image is so stretched, I don't know why it did that.)
Flea beetles, regardless of species, overwinter in field margins, tree and fence lines and emerge early to feed. The chewing adults will chew on early weeds as they wait for the good stuff — canola — to emerge. While the flea beetle will feed for several weeks (into late June), the majority of the damage is done at the seeding to two leaf stage.
Because the beetles overwinter along field margins, crop rotations don't really help in controlling or avoiding an infestation. That said, Prosofsky says that if you notice large numbers in the fall when you're combining it's not a bad idea to try and seed canola far from that field. It's not always practical, however, which is where using a good seed treatment comes in handy, as does early scouting.
Once seedlings are up Prosofsky says daily scouting is a must. Start at the field edge and work your way in. The time to spray is at 25% damage to the leaves. By 50% damage, you've already lost yield. Remember, when it's warm, these insects move and eat quickly. Scouting daily in warm weather is a must.
Prosofsky adds that because flea beetles emerge before the crop, keeping fields clean of weeds and volunteers does deprive them of a food source. Researchers aren't sure why, but wider row spacing (eight inches or wider) does seem to hold the pest back somewhat. And, as always, a healthy, vigorous crop with adequate plants per square foot (or meter, if you're so inclined) is more likely to recover from early feeding damage.
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