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WHAT INSECT PESTS SHOULD YOU BE AWARE OF THIS GROWING SEASON? SOIL INSECTS Soil insects a acking pulse crops are like party crashers, uninvited and hard to dislodge once they se le in. Though the impact of soil insects varies by species, the common concern is yield loss due to root damage affec ng nutrient uptake by the plant. "Plant death is a possibility, especially with cutworms that can cut the stem and consume foliage," said Dr. Meghan Vankosky, Research Scien st - Field Crop Entomology with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC). "There may also be indirect effects where ini al damage leads to pathogen infec on. The infec on causes most of the damage, but it gets in because of an insect feeding on the plant ini ally." Like most aspects of farming, the soil insect issue is largely weather dependant. "The size of insect popula ons and their feeding rate fluctuates with temperature," Vankosky said. "In general, you see less damage during cold, wet weather compared to warmer and drier condi ons, as insects are more ac ve when it is warmer." With soil insects, however, moisture can be helpful as it keeps them from desicca ng in the soil. Also, some soil insects tolerate moist condi ons be er than others, leading to more plant damage. Pea Leaf Weevil One pest causing a lot of concern is the pea leaf weevil, an insect with a geographic range that con nues to expand across the Prairies. Pea leaf weevil. "When a acking field peas and faba beans, the adults feed on the foliage and the larvae consume the root nodules," Vankosky said. "That nodule damage interferes with nitrogen fixa on and can be worse than the harm to foliage, especially if the plants are grown in low nitrogen soil to naturally improve soil nitrogen content for subsequent crops." To combat pea leaf weevil, most research points to insec cide seed treatments as the best bet for protec ng field peas and faba beans. In addi on to guarding the foliage against adults, treatment can delay development of the larval popula on, and may even reduce damage below the ground. 3 0