by BERNARD TOBIN
Corn seed treatments have become an important management tool for farmers, helping protect against insects that feast on fledgling plants.
When Tracey Baute, an entomologist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, visits fields in the spring, she’s always on the lookout for insect populations that, in extreme cases, can overwhelm seed treatments. Often, the signs of insect damage are obvious, but the prime suspect is not always the guilty party, as Baute discovered last May when she visited Jim, a grower in Chatham-Kent. Here’s how the clues unfolded at Baute’s crop scene investigation.