Project Description
The Prairie Pest Monitoring Network is a collaborative project. Its participants include federal and provincial entomologists, university scientists, agronomists, industry and producers. Participants collect data on insect pests annually across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the BC Peace Region. Monitoring data is released on a weekly basis when insect pests pose the greatest threat to crop yield. Annual data is collected and compiled into distribution maps, and in some cases, forecast maps for the subsequent season. These tools provide up-to-date, relevant information that can be used by agronomists, industry representatives and farmers to make decisions regarding insect pest management. We propose to continue to develop and provide the decision-making tools supported by the Prairie Pest Monitoring Network. Monitoring protocols and technologies used to gather data will be implemented annually and refined as needed. Decision-making tools will be created and distributed to industry, agronomists, and producers. New methods of communicating our results will be developed. The importance of natural enemies of crop pests will be highlighted. The Prairie Pest Monitoring Network will also provide timely identification of emerging insect threats across the prairies and respond to those threats.
Objectives
- Implement a coordinated insect monitoring program, fostering existing interprovincial partnerships, for the Prairie Ecozone (including the BC Peace region), designed to keep the Canadian agriculture industry informed of the risks posed by insect pests.
- Ensure timely response to new invasive pests with regulatory implications by immediately reporting finds to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency as per the guidelines being established by the CFIA national strategy for plant and animal health.
- Develop (or refine) and assess technologies and tools for identification, monitoring, tracking, and forecasting populations of insect pests of field crops
- Highlight the role of natural enemies and make recommendations to conserve natural enemies of field crop pests.
- Develop technology transfer and communication tools to support the timely distribution of data collected by this project (i.e. weekly updates, annual risk and forecast maps with interpretive text, annual reports) to end-users, including agronomists and farmers.
Other References to this Research Project
- Podcast: Ep. 75 – Prairie Pest Monitoring Network – October 26, 2022 by Canola Watch
- Prairie Pest Monitoring Network – subscribe for weekly Prairie insect information
- Canola Research Hub Blog – Canola disease survey recap to inform risk management in 2022
- Canola Research Hub Blog – Insect pest forecasts and scouting considerations for 2022
- Western Grains Research Foundation: Integrated Crop Agronomy Cluster Research Summary
