When a detrimental fungus can travel as far and fast as stripe rust can, it is well worth being vigilant about. With susceptible varieties of wheat, this damaging crop disease can impact yields by anywhere between 50 to 90 per cent. Agronomists in southern Manitoba have identified the disease in wheat fields this week.
In this Wheat School, Dr. Kelly Turkington, plant pathologist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, says that stripe rust spores can travel from the Pacific Northwest to southern Alberta in just half a day. Spores can travel from the Texas to Nebraska corridor into Manitoba in two to four days.
While stripe rust can be very detrimental to crops, fungicides are highly effective against rust and producers regularly see 90 per cent control if applied at the right time. The key thing with fungicides is timing and awareness of developing issues.
Using tools such as the Prairie Crop Disease Monitoring Network growers can track the trajectory of stripe rust spores and assess the risk for their area. Scouting for rust and early diagnosis can play a large part in controlling and removing a substantial source of the inoculum.
Crop stage and and when the disease moves in significantly impacts the potential damage of stripe rust, says Turkington in this interview with RealAgriculture’s Amber Bell.
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