When it comes to disease problems in wheat, the conditions have been pretty favourable across most of the prairies. With the exception of the past week or so, temperatures have been below average and moisture has been above average across the west. Those factors elevate the risk of fungal disease, making scouting and control extremely important this growing season. Some disease patterns have changed as well, giving farmers more to watch out for. Stripe rust was found to have over-wintered in areas in Southern Alberta and other diseases are moving further north than they have before.
Courtney Stephenson is Territory Sales Manager with Bayer CropScience. I talked to her about some of the diseases that are most prevalent this season, and what to look for when scouting for them.
If you cannot see the embedded video below click here.
