An uncommon infestation of cutworms is wreaking havoc in fields in Abitibi-Témiscamingue.
Témiscamingue, in northwestern Quebec, has been particularly affected by the harm brought on by cutworms — caterpillars that may destroy canola, potato and grain crops in a matter of days.
Cutworms are discovered yearly in small portions in market gardens. But producers are saying the bugs have destroyed massive areas of crops sown at first of June, one thing they do not usually see.
“I don’t think that in Quebec we have ever seen this level of infestation,” stated agronomist Josée Falardeau.
The agronomist says she’s obtained calls from producers from Abitibi, Que., to Sudbury, Ont.
“The scale of the areas affected and the level of damage, I find that it is truly epidemiological,” she added.
The firm she works for has handled 6,000 acres of infested space up to now, Falardeau stated.
Discouraged farmers
Farmer Matthieu Mauduit had the disagreeable shock a few days in the past of discovering his canola crops reduce and eaten by worms.
The farmer, who cultivates practically 800 acres in Témiscamingue, hopes to have the ability to save a part of his crops within the municipality of Lorrainville, though he already estimates his losses to be $65,000, which represents between 25 and 30 per cent of his harvest.
“It’s sad. We work hard. We already know that it is complicated to be a farmer,” Mauduit stated. “It’s very mentally demanding, especially in recent years,” he stated, noting that since he began farming three years in the past, he is had to deal with a drought in addition to the infestation.
In Rouyn-Noranda, the area’s largest metropolis, Jessica Lambert misplaced a quarter of her beet crops and sections of carrots due to cutworms.
“They were the beets that I planned to put in my first baskets, and it has to be said, when you make vegetable baskets, the first baskets are the most difficult to produce,” stated Lambert, co-owner of the natural market backyard farm Le Potager Jaseur.
Lambert stated the infestation ended by itself after she manually eliminated about 100 caterpillars.
Next yr, she plans to guard herself from cutworm outbreaks by shopping for pure predators.
What’s a cutworm?
Cutworms are a household of bugs that flip into moths. In Témiscamingue, Falardeau recognized between 4 and 5 species.
The caterpillars conceal underground in the course of the day. At evening, they’re seen within the fields when utilizing a flashlight, feeding on the bottom of crops and leaves.
The historic drought of final summer time and the gentle temperatures of winter could have created beneficial circumstances for his or her survival.
Cutworms are normally current within the spring for 3 weeks. But some species have two life cycles and would possibly proceed to wreck crops. Potato crops are particularly weak and would have to be monitored all through the summer time.
And the pests would possibly reappear subsequent spring within the area, relying on the climate.
“My fear is that this will continue. It could be cycles of two or three years, which can return if the conditions are there,” Falardeau stated.