Top Crop Manager: Cover crops for flea beetle management

Crystal Jorgenson — Fri, 13 Jun 2025 13:55:54 +0000

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.

Grainews: Seeding rate may help manage flea beetle populations

Fiona Odlum — Wed, 07 Feb 2024 18:47:27 +0000

The purpose of the study was twofold, says lead investigator Alejandro Costamagna, an associate professor with the department of entomology at the University of Manitoba. The first objective was to evaluate the impact of plant density on flea beetle management. The second was to determine how that might reduce the use of insecticides in canola crops.

“We wanted to see if, by manipulating plant density, we can decrease the damage of flea beetles to canola,” he says.

“We know it’s not a good idea to put a lot of insecticide on. We see those insecticides have no purpose because we can’t predict where the flea beetle will show up. What we do know is they don’t show up everywhere every year, so we are adding a lot of insecticides to the system that have no real purpose.”

UM Todayflea beetle – UM Today

Top Crop Manager: Cover crops for flea beetle management

Grainews: Seeding rate may help manage flea beetle populations