The 2018 Crop Protection Publication, also known as the Blue Book, is now available.

Co-Editor of the Publication, Mark Cutts, says the book is a resource for pesticides registered for use on various crops in Alberta.

"We have sections on herbicide through weed control, insecticides, fungicides, and seed treatments. We have information on the various products that are registered in terms of crops their registered on, pests that they control, and information on use rates and some environmental information as well."

Cutts says, one of the main tasks every years is adding newly registered products to the guide.

"We typically add new pesticides to the different sections, so we do have some new herbicides, some new seed treatments, fungicides, and insecticides. The section of the book that's showing the most growth over the last few years has been the fungicides."

He says, fungicide use has been increasing by producers in Alberta, and more companies are getting into the fungicide business to see if they can capture some of the market share.

As well as additions, revisions are also made annually to the Blue Book.

"Producers can check to make sure that if they have a product they have used in the past, or a product that they are considering using, they can certainly use the guide to see if it's the product that's still available for them to use. Also, they can maybe look at some other options that they might want to consider using, if they want to switch the herbicide they're using or the fungicide they're using."

Cutts says, it's a very popular publication, and Alberta Agriculture and Forestry sells thousands every year.

To get you hands on a hard copy of the 2018 Crop Protection Publication, you can visit their website, or call 1-800-292-5697.

You can also view the online version of the publication for free by following the link.


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