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David Kaminski flicking a barley seed head infected with true loose smut at the Crop Diagnostic School.
Barley, Cereals Production Guide, Crops

Stamp out smut

Crop diseases: Disease prevention tips are available for barley producers

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Smut is one of the most common diseases in barley and can be found anywhere the grain is grown. There are several distinct kinds, each caused by a specific fungus and producing slightly different effects. While smut affects other cereals, it’s particularly a concern for Prairie barley growers because of its impact on quality as […] Read more
brussels sprouts
Columns, Fruit/Vegetables

Vegetable crop production on the Prairies

Part 2 of a series on Prairie farm gardens

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At the countless farm sites I have visited over almost 50 years from coast to coast in Canada, from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island, I have come across outstanding crop growing innovations and excellent crops as well as abject crop failures. To deal logically with the extensive range of crops, I put them, as described previously, […] Read more
a yellow combine covered in dusty pasty gunk
Crops, Features

Powdery mildew in 2023: a severe nuisance

At harvest, spore buildup can coat equipment, reducing visibility and creating a potential fire hazard

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Ask any farmer on the Canadian Prairies which disease poses the greatest risk to their canola crops and you will likely get a list of the usual suspects that includes blackleg, sclerotinia, clubroot or verticillium stripe. One disease not likely to make that list is powdery mildew. Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that penetrates […] Read more
Malteurop, which operates a malt house at the east end of Winnipeg, is one of several malting companies with a presence in Manitoba. (Dave Bedard photo)
Barley, Crops

CMBTC study finds new malting barley lines a fit for Manitoba

Agronomic traits in new varieties overcome disease issues that held crop back

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Manitoba farmers have improved prospects to access the more-lucrative malting barley market, according to a recent study. The report by the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre (CMBTC), in collaboration with the Manitoba Crop Alliance, says new Canadian malting barley varieties can be grown successfully in Manitoba. With yields and quality comparable to the check variety […] Read more
Students Selena Delahunty and Jaydon Bick inspect an AAFC barley silage field in Saskatchewan. They noted the presence of spot-form net blotch, which they reported to the Prairie Crop Disease Monitoring Network using the Quick Disease Reporter Tool.
Crops, Features

Quick Disease Reporter Tool a game-changer for farmers

Farmers and consultants are alerted about emerging disease issues

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It’s a major frustration for farmers and crop advisers when they discover disease in a field and realize it’s too late to do anything about it. A new online tool developed by the Prairie Crop Disease Monitoring Network is designed to change that. The Quick Disease Reporter Tool allows users to electronically report disease outbreaks […] Read more
ICE November 2023 FCOJ with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)
Crops, Fruit/Vegetables, Markets, Reuters

Orange juice prices near all-time high as storm hits Florida

Crop was already expected to be small

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New York | Reuters — Orange juice prices at the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) rose more than three per cent on Wednesday, heading back toward an all-time high hit earlier this month, as storm Idalia slammed parts of main U.S. orange producer Florida. Contracts for frozen concentrated orange juice (FCOJ) at ICE hit a high of […] Read more
An increase in the incidence of verticillium stripe in neighbouring Manitoba has prompted SaskCanola to add it to the list of diseases included in its free testing program.
Canola, News

SaskCanola expands disease testing program

Verticillium stripe added to the lineup of free initiative

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A program that offers free canola disease testing to producers in Saskatchewan has widened its scope.  The disease monitoring program, offered by SaskCanola in conjunction with the Saskatchewan agriculture department, is free to producers across the province. Blackleg and clubroot testing have been available through the program for the past few years but this is […] Read more
This image shows the unilateral discolouration of plant stems caused by verticillium stripe.
Canola, Crops, Features

Take verticillium stripe in canola seriously

A Manitoba farmer warns others about the threat this disease poses to canola production

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Last year, Collin Shirtliff knew the threat to his canola crops posed by verticillium stripe but he wasn’t overly concerned. However, that changed late in the summer when he began harvesting the crop on the 3,600-acre farm he and his family operate near Starbuck, Man. What looked like an extremely promising crop weeks earlier suddenly […] Read more
Aphanomyces euteiches is believed to be one of the main culprits behind the increasing incidence of root rot in pulse crops such as lentils in Western Canada.
Crops, Features, Pulses

Root rots in pulses update for 2023

Scientists and plant breeders are hopeful they can provide solutions, but long and diverse crop rotations are still the best management options

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Over the last decade, root rots have become widespread on the Canadian Prairies and are now a fact of life for many pulse growers. Grow the same crop long enough, experts say, and it’s almost certain root rots will show up in your fields. And it’s no small problem for farmers in Western Canada. Some […] Read more
Crown rust produces tiny, orange pustules on oat leaves. Each pustule contains thousands of spores that can travel long distances when released.
Crops, Features

How to control crown rust in oats

In severe cases, it can slash yields by up to 40 per cent. Here are four strategies to help keep that from happening

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Something Prairie oat producers need to keep a sharp eye out for this summer is crown rust. James Menzies, a plant pathologist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) in Morden, Man., says you’ll find crown rust wherever oats are grown, except in very arid climates. It’s more damaging than any other oat disease, causing yield […] Read more

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