Ontario Grain Farmer Magazine is the flagship publication of Grain Farmers of Ontario and a source of information for our province’s grain farmers.

Grain Farmers of Ontario

Author: Tracey Baute

Corn leafhopper, a new pest threat

Agronomic information from Ontario's crop specialists

August 2025 - An unexpected pest made its way from the southern U.S., moving as far north as the Great Lakes region in 2024. Corn leafhopper, Dalbulus maidis, is native to Mexico and has been infesting corn from…
European Corn Damage in Bt Corn

AGRONOMIC INFORMATION FROM ONTARIO'S CROP SPECIALISTS

September 2024 - SOME EUROPEAN CORN BORER (ECB) POPULATIONS IN NORTH AMERICA ARE BECOMING LESS SUSCEPTIBLE TO BT CORN. This means we need to go back to past practices, including scouting Bt fields for ECB injury and shredding…
Spider mite populations

AGRONOMIC INFORMATION FROM ONTARIO'S CROP SPECIALISTS

June 2023 - CONFIRMED DIMETHOATE (LAGON® or Cygon®) resistant populations of two-spotted spider mite have been found in Ontario over the last two years from soybeans, dry beans, and other crops, including tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and strawberries. Research…
Scouting for stink bugs

AGRONOMIC INFORMATION FROM ONTARIO'S CROP SPECIALISTS

August 2022 - STINK BUGS ARE becoming more prevalent in field crops. Though we don’t often reach threshold in Ontario, this could change as summers become warmer. These shield-shaped bugs have needle-like mouthparts to pierce and suck on…
Cropside: Asiactic garden beetle

AGRONOMIC INFORMATION FROM ONTARIO'S CROP SPECIALISTS

June 2021 - ASIATIC GARDEN BEETLE (AGB; Maladera castanea) is an invasive pest causing significant stand loss in pockets of Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan over the last decade (Figure 1). There have been no reports of AGB injury…
Scouting for corn rootworm

PREVENT THE SPREAD OF RESISTANCE

June 2021 - EXTENSIVE INJURY FROM corn rootworm (CRW) was documented in four counties in 2020: Durham, Huron, Perth, and Middlesex. Injury ranged from root injury to goosenecking and lodging. To help prevent CRW damage, Grain Farmers of…
Cropside: Insect resistance

AGRONOMIC INFORMATION FROM ONTARIO'S CROP SPECIALISTS

August 2020 - WITH VERY FEW new insecticides coming to market soon, we need to preserve the products we currently have. Climate change research also predicts an increased risk of certain pests expanding into Ontario and the potential…
Cropside: Soybean Gall Midge

AGRONOMIC INFORMATION FROM ONTARIO'S CROP SPECIALISTS

March 2019 - SYMPTOMS AND SIGNS TO WATCH FOR Insecticide seed treatments and cultural practices have not been effective against this pest. Some foliar insecticides have shown promise, though work is underway to determine the most effective products…
Western Bean Cutworm

MANAGING RESISTANCE

June 2018 - WESTERN BEAN CUTWORM (WBC) is a significant threat to corn fields in Ontario. WBC feeding reduces yield and can cause contamination of grain with mycotoxins. Rotating methods of WBC control is important to mitigate the…
Cropside: WBC thresholds/timing

AGRONOMIC INFORMATION FROM ONTARIO'S CROP SPECIALISTS

March 2018 - DELAYS IN PLANTING over the last few years have, in many regions, aligned the corn stages that the Western bean cutworm (WBC) moth prefers to lay her eggs on (pre-tassel to full tassel) and peak…