By Alice McFarlane

Hot spots for wheat midge in Saskatchewan

Feb 22, 2023 | 4:04 PM

MELFORT, Sask. – Wheat midge may pose a problem for some growers in Saskatchewan this year.

The Ministry of Agriculture Wheat Midge map shows potential hot spots for the pest.

Saskatchewan Seed Growers Association President Kurt Printz said the areas of concern are largely on the eastern side of the province. He said this an increase compared to last year’s growing season.

Wheat is making this year challenging is the loss of products to control the pest. In particular, the active ingredient that is found in Lorsban and Citadel.

“We know any insecticide isn’t ideal,” Printz said. “These broad range insecticides can be harmful to beneficials in the field. Insecticides also have a narrow window of application and aren’t always the most user friendly product to use.”

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Printz said the best strategy is to seed a Midge Tolerant variety which has been available to producers for roughly 10 years. Those varieties are a blend.

“They’re composed of approximately 90 per cent of a variety that has the Sm1 gene that makes it resistant to Wheat Midge and then 10 per cent is what we call a refuge variety which is susceptible to Midge,” Printz said. “What that does is it prevents a buildup of naturally occurring resistance. In the Midge population across the province, there’s a small percent that are resistant to the Sm1 gene which means they’re unaffected. Without the use of this refuge variety and the varietal blends we see a quick build up of resistant Midge.”

There are several Midge Tolerant Wheat varieties available. Printz said producers have several options to choose from when they are looking for a wheat variety that works best on their farm.

Printz noted producers need to sign a stewardship agreement when they buy a Midge Tolerant variety.

“The agreement says you can only save seed from the first generation to reseed. That’s because we know midge are attacking the refuge variety and then that reduces the percentage of refuge variety in the blend. You don’t want that refuge to go away which would correspond with a buildup of the resistant midge,” he said.

Printz said he believes there is a good supply of Midge Tolerant varieties available but advises farmers to talk to their seed suppliers sooner rather than later to secure seed.

“I would just add that growing a midge tolerant wheat is a very responsible decision farmers can make, and it allows them not to worry about spraying for Midge later on in the year, so it’s nice to deal with the problem now compared to June or July,” Printz said.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

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