Each fall the Western Forum on Pest Management meets to review the previous growing season. Scientists, researchers, and agronomists get together to compare notes on what happened during the previous growing season. This helps everyone get a better understanding of the issues so that they can help each other help farmers.
Dale Leftwich, field editor with RealAgriculture, attended this year’s event at Lloydminster, Alta., where he caught up to Holly Derksen, who just recently stepped away from her role as field crop pathologist with Manitoba Agriculture, served as the pulse chapter chair and delivered a report on pulse diseases.(Story continues after video)
Derksen points out the reports come from all three Prairie Provinces. For the most part, the disease situation played out according to script, but the conference participants are experienced enough to know to expect the unexpected – like root diseases in a dry year. “For the most part we didn’t see tons of foliar disease but root rots were prevalent across the Prairies and across all crops.”
Derksen says, “The number one issue is the root rots and making sure you get them correctly identified. So don’t just assume it’s a fusarium root rot because if you do have something like phytophthora or aphanomyces that will have a bigger effect on your rotation, and maybe your choice of field crops in the future on that field.” It is important to sample and test soil to make sure you’ve correctly identified diseases which root rots you have in your field.
Follow this link for more information on root diseases and for other interesting and informative Pulse Schools click here.
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