Every once in a while a group with a real passion for something get a chance to get together and talk about what they care about. If you get to be in room with with them, you can’t help but feel the energy and, most likely, learn something. The Western Forum on Pest Management (WFPM)… Read More
Each July canola growers are faced with the difficult question, “Should I or shouldn’t I spray for sclerotinia?” In the more humid parts of Western Canada, sclerotinia is a huge yield robber. It usually strikes on the years when the canola crop has its greatest yield potential, but spraying is expensive and proper timing can… Read More
Fungicide can be added to the list of crop inputs farmers can selectively apply using precision agriculture tools, targeting relevant areas within a field while avoiding patches where treatment isn’t justified. Bayer Digital Farming launched Zone Spray on Friday. It’s a program within the company’s Field Manager platform that creates prescription maps for fungicide in… Read More
When you see the stem rot in the field, it’s too late. And that’s just one of the reasons why managing sclerotinia is a challenge, as exerienced in 2016, a severe year for the disease in canola fields in Western Canada. In this Canola School episode, we talk to Michael Harding, plant pathologist with Alberta… Read More
Canola seed companies are releasing more varieties with claims they have reduced susceptibility to sclerotinia, but how do they determine those ratings? Coming off a season with high sclerotinia pressure, what does it mean if a variety is labelled as ‘partially resistant’? In 2011, the Western Canadian Canola/Rapeseed Recommending Committee started searching for a test that… Read More
Round one of fungicide application is done, but it’s starting to wear off and conditions are still conducive for disease. Knowing what your peas and/or lentils are worth this year, do you take the sprayer out or hire a plane for a second fungicide application? It’s a scenario growers in parts of Western Canada are finding… Read More
While sunflowers often pencil out well, concerns about quality and yield risk at the end of the year are all-too-common when it comes to growing them. “It’s a high value crop and if you treat it that way, it’s going to pay,” says Troy Turner, agronomist for the National Sunflower Association of Canada, in the… Read More
There’s plenty of excitement surrounding lentils heading into the 2016 growing season, with record acres expected. In this Pulse School episode, Shannon Chant of Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Agriculture shares her top five tips for a good (or even great) lentil crop: 5 Tips for a Great Lentil Crop Good quality seed — Of course it… Read More
While you’re in the field checking canola to see if it’s ready to be cut, or perhaps already swathing or harvesting it, it’s also a good time to assess the toll disease took on your crop. Sclerotinia, blackleg and clubroot can all cause premature ripening, as disease symptoms become more obvious at the end of the season,… Read More
Sunflowers may rival flax for the honour of “prettiest crop,” but this brightly flowered food and oilseed crop has another rather dubious distinction — disease magnet. From the very ominous sounding phoma black stem, to the insidious sclerotinia, Real Agriculture caught up with Sam Markell, extension plant pathologist with North Dakota State University to talk… Read More
With canola swathing underway across Western Canada, now is the time for growers to assess the toll that diseases have taken on the crop. The “what to look for” list at this time includes the main suspects: blackleg, sclerotinia and clubroot. In this episode of the Canola School, Keith Gabert of the Canola Council of… Read More
Canola growers now have access to a new option to defend their crops against the long-time disease threat of sclerotinia. DuPont Crop Protection today announced that the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) has approved a label addition allowing the use of DuPont Acapela fungicide in canola for control of sclerotinia. Todd Friday, Saskatoon-based Pulse and… Read More
Guessing per cent bloom of a canola field from the field margin is a fantastic game to play for fun, but when it comes to sclerotinia control, if you’re off even by 10% it could mean you miss the critical period for protecting petals. With warm to hot temps rolling across the Prairies, crops are… Read More
Syngenta Canada Inc. announced that Astound canola fungicide has been granted registration by the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) for an extended application window. As a result, growers can now apply Astound from 20 to 50 percent canola bloom, allowing for extended control of yield-robbing sclerotinia stem rot. Eric Phillips, product lead for fungicides and… Read More
Farmers rely on science to find solutions to crop stresses, such as resistant varieties against disease or pests or new active ingredients to attack weeds and diseases. While using Mother Nature’s own flora and fauna in our favour is not a new concept (think inoculants), using naturally occurring bacteria and fungi to combat pests is… Read More