grasshoppers in peas

[terri]

I was wondering if grasshoppers infest peas like they do everything else. We have some nice crops in our area but we are hearing of more and more hopper infestations around.

[nakodo]

If there is little else to eat grasshopper will eat anything green, dirty thirty tales tell of them eating the green cloth out of the clothes on the clothes-line....

[olson]

We had a severe infestation in the research plots last year in Hanna, Alberta. There were lentil, chickpea, lupin and field pea variety trials at the site. The field pea was the very last to go, but succumb to the sheer numbers of hoppers and the lack of other green material to eat. Based on this observation Battle River Research Group planted field pea as a barrier strip around a number of their trials this year. Also, someone in Agriculture and Agri Food Canada is looking at grasshoppers and field pea.I'm thinking it may be Dr. Dan Johnson,Research Scientist with the Environmental Health Section
Telephone: (403) 317-2214
Fax: (403) 382-3156
Internet: johnsondl@agr.gc.ca
Address:
5403 - 1 AVENUE SOUTH
PO BOX 3000
LETHBRIDGE AB T1J 4B1

[terri]

Thanks for the info. Will Contact him for sure. Would really like to hold onto our crop.

[farmar]

Two years ago we had fairly bad infestations but they still did little damage to the actual peas. One of the worst problems was that the grasshoppers stained the peas during harvest thus preventing us from getting human consumption for the peas. This year I was thinking of mixing Malathion in with the reglone prior to harvest to try and reduce the harvesting damage from the hoppers. Anyone else ever tried such a thing?

[carebear300]

Last year my peas were full of grasshoppers and no visible damage and this year up until now no damage with the same kind of infestation. Peas must have some sort of chemical in them that repels grasshoppers because they will devour everything but the peas in my experience. Now if we could just cross that resistance into lentils we would be away. Have had to spray my lentils across the road from the peas three times from corner to corner.

[carebear300]

Farmar last year had some staining but aerated the peas right away and they were all accepted for edible peas. My neighbour didn't aerate his and his turned out all feed. Maybe I was just lucky.