Canola with an oat nurse crop seeded in the same seed row just prior to termination of the oat nurse crop with a herbicide at the V3 canola stage.
Top Crop Manager: Cover crops for flea beetle management
Although flea beetles may not be a problem every year, they are the most important insect pest of canola on the Prairies. Farmers need to be prepared as populations can quickly move into fields causing significant seedling damage and potential yield losses. Farmers currently rely heavily on insecticide seed treatments, but insecticide resistance and environmental concerns make it necessary to explore alternative pest management strategies.
Researchers at the University of Manitoba are evaluating some promising alternative options based on early research and results by farmers and agronomists. During the 2021 growing season, a few farmers and agronomists in Western Canada shared on social media their observation that flea beetle damage was lower when canola was direct seeded into rye cover crops.
To read the full story, please visit the Top Crop Manager article.