#pest-infestations

#pest-infestations

Gnats, particularly fungus gnats, are skinny with long legs and thrive in moist environments, often hitching rides on overwatered plants or developing in sink drains.

AAFC spent $40 million to operate the seven sites in 2024-25. Of that total, $27 million was dedicated to scientific research, while $13 million was attributed to corporate support.

Aquaponics systems utilize one gallon of water to produce a kilogram of leafy greens, compared to over 30 gallons in traditional farming, showcasing remarkable efficiency.

Stagnant indoor air is one of the less discussed reasons houseplants struggle. Fungal spots, mould on the compost surface and pest infestations like mealybugs can all be traced back to a room with no airflow.

Plump, wiggly slugs may look innocuous, but they can wreak serious havoc on a carefully-curated garden, even causing total crop failure.

Crushed clean, dry eggshells, when scattered over the soil, are intended to stop adult gnats from laying eggs and potentially add natural fertilizer. However, they merely sit on the surface, collecting dust, while the gnats remain attracted to the damp compost.

The proposal would allow drones to apply products already registered for aerial use, provided applications follow existing label requirements, including water volumes and use conditions.

"The awesome thing with pulse crops is no nitrogen needs... not having to put any nitrogen on a pulse crop is a great starting point," he says, noting that this allows growers to not only meet PKS requirements but, in some cases, build soil fertility for the rotation.

"If Canada wants generational change in agricultural innovation, we need to transform our policy around how we fund plant breeding," he says. The current system, heavily reliant on public funding and check-off dollars, is increasingly under pressure. Reinheimer points to signs that Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) is shrinking its breeding footprint-especially in wheat, where AAFC varieties still account for about 80 per cent of acres. The problem? There's no updated funding model to match that shift.

Raised beds provide access to fresh food, even organic veggies and fruits if you choose, for a fraction of grocery store prices.

Kochia continues to spread beyond its traditional areas, bringing resistance to multiple herbicide groups. This shift may require growers to rethink their canola systems, including variety selection.

If you've got it severe enough it can be devastating and if not it can be managed... it just depends on where you are and what weather conditions you've had in the past and the amount of peas or lentils you've grown on those fields before.

When you think of farming, what ingredients do you generally associate with a successful harvest? The basics certainly come to mind: fertile soil, plenty of sunlight and lots of water. But there are other variables that can also mean the difference between a crop of healthy fruits and vegetables and a large heap of organic waste. And it turns out that one of those variables is a very small hawk.

My older brother has worked with pigs his entire adult life, managing about 70,000 of them across five counties, Faaborg says. But we got to a point where he went from laughing at me to saying: well, I guess maybe I'll quit my job and help you out. Now he's the most dedicated, says Katherine Jernigan, director of the Transfarmation Project at Mercy for Animals, a non-profit that helped the Faaborgs make the switch and set up their new business, 1100 Farm.

As concepts such as "regenerative" and "biodynamic" continue to enter the mainstream coffee lexicon, scientists continue to literally dig into the soil to give them meaning. A recent peer-reviewed study from India's Western Ghats argues that one of the clearest signals of healthy, sustainable coffee farms lies in the ground itself, with organic coffee soils performing better than soils from conventional farms treated with synthetic inputs.

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If summer is for growing things, winter is for learning things.

According to the job posting, the successful candidate will serve as the lead provincial specialist for edible beans and edible oilseeds, including Identity Preserved (IP) soybeans, spring and winter canola, flaxseed, and sunflower. The role centres on technology transfer - developing and implementing strategies, policies, and programs - while coordinating projects that assess new and existing practices for their suitability under Ontario conditions. The specialist will also prepare and deliver educational tools, act as a liaison between the research community and industry, support policy and program development, and manage high-priority or contentious issues in the sector.