Higher yields are always a top priority for plant breeders developing new crop varieties, but yield itself is the result of a combination of different factors, including resistance to disease threats, maturity timing, and harvestability. These characteristics are all taken into consideration when screening and developing new edible bean varieties, explains Anfu Hou, bean breeder… Read More
Category: Bacterial blight
New genetics are expected to help dry bean growers fight back against common bacterial blight — the number one foliar disease in beans in Western Canada. Annual dry bean field surveys in Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan show common bacterial blight “is usually quite severe and widespread,” explains Bob Conner, pulse crop pathologist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC),… Read More
UPDATE: Brian Hall, of OMAFRA, says lab test confirms the primary disease is bacterial brown spot, a disease that has never been found in Ontario before. It is affecting azuki beans only, so far. The disease is also being reported in Colorado, Nebraska and Michigan. @realag_lyndsey all adzukus that have scouted in east central #ontag… Read More
Soybean growers in Manitoba are — so far — rather lucky. While there are diseases in the province that infect soybeans, like downy mildew, white mold (sclerotinia) and brown spot, overall pressure is relatively low. That will change over time, however, as Vikram Bisht, plant pathologist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, points out,… Read More