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Manitoba releases grasshopper forecast for 2015

Jan. 8, 2014 - Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (MAFRD) has published its grasshopper forecast for 2015 online.

Grasshopper surveys have been conducted in Manitoba in various degrees of detail since 1931. The current grasshopper forecast is based on counts of grasshopper populations in August (which estimates the egg-laying population), weather data (which helps estimate whether those female grasshoppers present are capable of laying their optimum level of eggs), and recent trends in grasshopper populations.

According to John Gavloski, entomologist with MAFRD, in some years, natural enemy populations may significantly affect the number of grasshopper eggs that survive and hatch, and such data may be pertinent to the forecast as well.

Counts are generally done in or alongside crop fields in Manitoba. The goal is to estimate levels of the four species of grasshoppers that have potential to be pests of crops in Manitoba.

For more information and to view the MAFRD grasshopper forecast for 2015, click here.

January 8, 2015  By Top Crop Manager