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Network Helps Ontario Farmers Stay Ahead of Plant Disease, Pests

Spot blotch in barley.

With changes to climate come changes to agriculture.  While warmer climes can bring opportunities for new crops, there is also the potential for new and emerging plant diseases, insects or weeds to arrive in Ontario. 

Ontario’s farmers have leading-edge tools available to help them make appropriate decisions about dealing with these diseases and pests.  OMAFRA is part of the North American Plant Health Initiative and Pest Information Platform for Extension and Education (PIPE) that uses data from across the continent to map current issues, and make predictions about what might be coming.  Information comes from sentinel, research plots, reports from growers and industry organizations, data from agri-businesses and other government agencies.

With the reputable, scientific information the network produces, OMAFRA’s team of crop advisors, entomologists and plant pathologists are helping Ontario growers:

• proactively address emerging diseases
• reduce pesticide and herbicide use, and
• benefit from the knowledge of other geographical regions which have previously dealt with a particular problem.

OMAFRA’s involvement with the cross-border network began as a response to soybean rust and its potential impact to North American soybean production. Other issues currently under the watchful eye of the network are soybean aphids and soybean cyst nematode.