Manitoba Forage Seed Report

 

FLOODING AND EXCESSIVE MOISTURE
RELATED INFORMATION  

Flood 2011: Building and Recovery Action Plan http://www.masc.mb.ca/masc.nsf/floodrecovery.html

 

Manitoba Agriculture, Food & Rural Initiatives (MAFRI)

Excess moisture & flooding information:

http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/news/flood/index.html

 

Updates to the Provincial Flood Bulletins:

http://www.gov.mb.ca/waterstewardship/

 

Flood Stress Information:

http://www.manitoba.ca/flooding/stressinfo.html

 

Other Stress Support Information:

Manitoba Farm & Rural Support Services offers free and confidential information, support, counselling and outreach to all rural Manitobans. http://www.ruralsupport.ca/

Phone (toll free in Manitoba): 1-866-367-3276

 

 

Forage Seed Crops

by David Ostermann, Pollination Apiarist

June 27, 2011

 

Forage Seed Crops general development update:

Development of forage seed crops is generally progressing okay and timing is near normal.

• Perennial Rye Grass is near or at pollinating stage
• Fescue is near or at pollinating stage
• Timothy is at heading stage
• Trefoil is at flowering stage
• Alfalfa is starting to flower
  • Eastern region is the most is advanced
  • Bees are starting to be released this week
  • Newer stands are looking decent and development timing fairly normal
  • Older stands are struggling with delayed development

 

Alfalfa Weevil

by Brent Elliott, Provincial Entomologist

June 27, 2011

Sporadic sampling for alfalfa weevil has been occurring through June with little to report. As we approach the timing of leafcutter bees going into the fields it is worthwhile to give some indication of the population levels we are seeing relative to recent years past. Please keep in mind sampling is in a limited number of locations and may not reflect the situation in your particular field.

Last week the average number of weevils collected per sweep was a total of 5 adults or larvae per sweep (500 per 100 sweeps). Staging of larvae ranged from first to third instar and a total of only 5 adults were collected in one hundred sweeps. This is a reduction of about half from last year's peak numbers at a similar time of year. Many of the larvae were discoloured (pale yellow) indicating they had likely been parasitized.

 

As suggested some time ago it is likely that the natural enemies (diseases and parasites) will catch up with the weevils and keep their populations in check. This is what we are now observing as the counts per sweep have dropped from a high of 35-40 per sweep (2009 with numbers higher in 2008) to down to 5 per sweep. It is unlikely that this level causes economic damage to seed alfalfa and inspection of the plants showed very little damage to leaves.

 

The timing for spray applications to control weevil, if deemed necessary, is about the same this year as last year – the spray targeted primarily at Lygus prior to placing leafcutting bees in the field should work as a good time to control weevils as well. Remember that Cygon only gives suppression of weevils though that may be sufficient this year if weevil numbers are sufficiently low in your fields.

 

LEAFCUTTING BEES

by David Ostermann, Pollination Apiarist

June 27, 2011

In the Beausejour area, some bees are being put out this week. In the Arborg area, there are reports of bees at incubation day 18-20. In the Starbuck area, bees at incubation day 17 have been reported.

Alfalfa is starting to flower with more eastern areas being the furthest advanced. Newer stands are looking better than older stands and in some areas the difference is significant. The saturated ground is making field work difficult or impossible. Field moisture and development conditions are quite spotty and sometimes field-specific. Especially when conditions vary a lot from field to field, producers are reminded to sweep their fields for insect pests to assess whether treatment is needed in their fields.

The Manitoba Crop Weather Report includes Growing Degree Day and Rainfall (mm) data from various weather stations through the province.

 

Recent Changes to the Wildlife Damage Compensation Program

This spring (2011) Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC) reviewed the method of determining the interim value of alfalfa leafcutting bee eggs and larvae. The method has been changed and will now be determined as 50% of the average of the most recent five years of historical final prices.

Last fall (2010) it was announced that compensation for financial losses due to wildlife damage (including damage to leafcutting bee eggs and larvae, field shelters, nesting materials, and equipment) is being increased from 80 per cent to 90 per cent in 2011-12, and then increased to 100 per cent in 2012-13. Information about the program can be found here: http://www.masc.mb.ca/masc.nsf/program_wildlife_damage_compensation.html.

-------------------

June 17, 2011

 

2011 Inspection Program

The 2011 Inspection Program is complete. Chalkbrood levels have increased. This year chalkbrood was found in 26 out of 72 inspected operations. Last year, chalkbrood was found in 24 out of 79 inspected operations, and the year before 25 out of 86. The last of the reports were mailed out last week before the postal strike.

Chalkbrood disease continues to be a major concern in the province and controlling the disease is the responsibility of the owner. Once the disease gets to a moderate or high level, regular disease management practices such as paraformaldehyde fumigation and bleach sterilization may not be adequately effective and one-time or regular replacement of your stock may be necessary. Without aggressive and effective management each year, disease levels will only increase. Please be sure to use safety precautions when using sterilization products. Producers with elevated levels will receive a letter at the end of the season detailing the regulations and need to control the disease. For more information contact David at 945-3861 (Winnipeg).

-------------------

June 6, 2011

2010 Leafcutting Bee Production Survey Summary

Bee returns - Average return in Manitoba was about 1.50x last year (2010). This means on average producers got back about 50% more than they put out. Returns ranged from about 0.75 to 2.30x. Production in the northern Interlake was generally higher than in the southern Interlake, and some higher returns were reported to the west in the province. Overall bee return last year was better than in 2009 which was a poor year for many producers. Twenty-two surveys were returned. Release dates – The release dates in 2010 ranged from June 22 to July 14. In 2009, release dates ranged from June 26 to July 22. 2008: from June 23 to July 22. 2007: from June 18 to July 15. This year, the development of alfalfa is behind where it was last year at this time perhaps by a week or two.

 

Alfalfa Leafcutting Bee Biosecurity Initiative

This past November (2010) you may have seen the notice "Seeking Input on Bee Biosecurity in Canada" (http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/corpaffr/newcom/2010/20101104e.shtml). This was put out as part of a National Bee Biosecurity Initiative involving honey bee, alfalfa leafcutting bee, and bumble bee producers across Canada.

In April (2011), an Alfalfa Leafcutting Bee Consultation Survey was sent to all leafcutting bee producers in Manitoba. The survey was also sent to all leafcutting bee producers in Saskatchewan and Alberta. Thirty completed surveys were returned in Manitoba and 84 completed surveys in all.

The survey results will be used to identify potential best practices, gaps or high risk areas through a voluntary standards program. Producer input helps ensure that this standard has been developed from the beekeepers' perspective, and as such, can reasonably be implemented.

On-farm biosecurity refers to "best practices" that reduce incidence through prevention and the more rapid control of the spread of serious infectious diseases (e.g. chalkbrood disease), parasites and introduced insect pests.

Two "deliverables" of this project include a voluntary national Standard for biosecurity as well as a guidance document to assist producers in implementing the Standard:

1. Standard for biosecurity in the bee sector will be;
• outcomes based
• informed by national benchmarking survey of current biosecurity practices in the bee industry
• informed by a critical examination of best practices and guidelines both within Canada and internationally
• informed by the expertise and experience of bee biosecurity advisory committee (bee BAC) members
• the Standard should be realistic, achievable, and applicable to all sectors of the bee industry
2. Producer guidance to the biosecurity Standard will;
   • be a document intended to assist producers in implementing the Standard
   • provides examples of protocols to achieve the outcomes based Standard

This is a federal-provincial initiative with provincial government responsible for implementation. A company called Serecon Management Consulting (Alberta), in collaboration with eBiz Professionals Inc (Ontario), has been contracted to develop the Standard.

The Office of Animal Biosecurity (OAB) of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) was created in 2006 following the Avian Influenza outbreak. It was created to provide leadership in the development and coordination of biosecurity activities for the CFIA. This includes the development of farm level biosecurity standards and supporting documentation for agricultural commodities. Currently, the OAB is working with at least 8 commodities.

The bee biosecurity advisory committee (bee BAC) provides advice and recommendations to the OAB and Serecon for the development of the biosecurity Standard and associated activities. As the signatory to the Memorandum of Understanding, final decisions reside with the CFIA. The national committee consists of members from industry, academia, provincial governments, AAFC, and CFIA, from across Canada. Once the Standard is complete, funding may be available at the producer level. The goal is to have the Standard completed in late 2011 and the guidance document completed in early 2012. For more information please contact David Ostermann, 204-945-3861.

 

Chalkbrood Management: More than just turning the pans on

Managing chalkbrood disease continues to be a challenge for producers of leafcutting bees. The provincial survey shows most producers use paraformaldehyde fumigation against chalkbrood (by heating paraformaldehyde prills in a pan). But as everybody knows there’s more to it than that. These are some common shortfalls and things to remember when managing chalkbrood this season:

 

Too many bees in trays – Formaldehyde gas is quite good at spreading in a fumigation chamber, but there are limits. If air circulation is poor, or if cells are piled too thick in the trays, the gas may not reach the surface area of all cells. The depth of cells in trays affects parasite control as well. How deep is too deep is not always clear; however, 1-inch in solid-bottom trays and 2-inches in screened trays is probably a good rule of thumb. If you have high levels of chalkbrood or parasites, fewer bees in trays may help with control.

 

Cells not separated adequately – If an emerging adult bee has to chew through an adjacent cell (1 or more) to emerge, it may encounter a cell with chalkbrood and may acquire chaklbrood spores on its body. One bee can pick up enough infectious spores to cause multiple infections - so a low chalkbrood level can grow fairly quickly if cells aren’t separated very well. A “cell breaker” is a piece of equipment which is designed to separate cells - there are producers using Mugley units, Braul units and perhaps others.

 

Note: A tumbler is not the same as a cell breaker. Tumbling may break up cells but it’s not designed to separate cells, and tumbling too aggressively may remove too much leave material and make the bees vulnerable to paraformaldehyde or dichlorvos use.

 

Not conditioning long enough – Creating the proper conditions for paraformaldehyde fumigation in the fumigation chamber is very important - otherwise it may not work as well. The paraformaldehyde label indicates, prior to fumigation, to condition nest material or bee cells for 48 hours at 20-25C with relative humidity of 60-70%. Formaldehyde gas is attracted to moist surfaces and a dry cell surface is less likely to be sterilized. So, good uniform humidity and temperature control is important!

 

The Paraformaldehyde label can be found here.

 

Note: Using bleach and/or incorporating bleach into a regular paraformaldehyde sterilization routine is recommended. Please be sure to use these products safely.

 

Leaving trays in field too long – Once a bee has emerged from its leaf cell in the tray, it may return to the tray in pursuit of pollen, in particular. In contact with material in the tray, it may pick up spores on its hairy body. These spores are then spread around, on the nest, in the cells and in the provisions of the vulnerable developing bee. By removing a tray from the field a.s.a.p., there’s less opportunity to spread any spores from that tray.

 

Non-uniform temperature in fumigation chamber and incubation chamber – Uniform humidity and temperature (i.e. floor to ceiling and wall to wall) is important for conditioning for paraformaldehyde fumigation, but also for bee emergence and parasite control. When bees hatch at the same time, trays can be removed from the field sooner. Uniform temperature in the incubator also reduces the window (i.e. duration) of parasitism, making parasites more manageable.

 

Improper disposal of spent cells – Spent cells or potentially infected cell material should thoroughly burned.

 

Chalkbrood control is an ongoing challenge for leafcutting bee producers which requires active and adaptable management. Chalkbrood management is the responsibility of the producer and an important part of the health of our industry. For more information, contact David at 204-945-3861 (Winnipeg).

 

 

 

Insecticide Use Program for 2011 - Public Notice from the City of Winnipeg

Click thumbnail to enlarge.