crop diseases Archives - Page 3 of 7

Crown rust produces tiny, orange pustules on oat leaves. Each pustule contains thousands of spores that can travel long distances when released.

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

By Mark Halsall April 27, 2023

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

Mycosphaerella blight (shown in photo) may pose a disease threat to pea crops in Alberta.

Canola, Cereals, Crops, Pulses

Prairie crop disease outlook for 2023

Your provincial experts guide you through disease pressures and risks for this season

By Jim Timlick April 18, 2023

Predicting the crop disease outlook for the Canadian Prairies is never easy. With the wild swings in temperatures and precipitation the region faced over the past couple of years, the task has become even more challenging. “It’s always fun to speculate about what we might see,” says Michael Harding, a plant pathologist and crop health […] Read more

Alternaria in a canola leaf. By understanding the interactions between the host, pathogen and environment, farmers can better develop an effective disease management strategy.

Crops, Wheat & Chaff

Five disease management strategies for your crops

Q & A with an expert

By Gary Topham April 12, 2023

Q: What are some strategies to prevent and control crop diseases? A: The disease triangle states that three components must be present for a disease to occur: a susceptible host, a pathogen and the right environment. By understanding the interactions between the host, pathogen and environment in disease development, farmers can develop effective disease management […] Read more

Crops, Markets

‘Keep it Clean’ program aims for more than just good advice

Program seen as 'one stop shop' for ensuring marketability of grains

By GFM Network News March 31, 2023

As farmers plan for the upcoming season, they need to do their part to make certain their grain will be ready for market, come harvest time. “Market access issues in general are becoming a bigger issue globally,” said Ian Epp, an agronomy specialist and lead on market access and pesticides with the Canola Council of […] Read more

Features, News

New herbicides and fungicides for 2023

Products to control key broadleaf and grassy weeds plus a new fungicide seed treatment designation

By Treena Hein January 31, 2023

Brand new herbicides from Gowan, Nufarm and more, plus a new fungicide seed treatment designation to control early season aphanomyces root rot in peas and lentils are heading your way in 2023. Please note, only brand new products released this year are included. Click here for a review of last year’s new offerings. BASF Voraxor […] Read more

Crops, Lentils, Pulses

Anthracnose management in lentils

Q & A with an expert

By Lane Blanke January 25, 2023

Q: What can I do to control anthracnose in my lentil crops? A: The anthracnose pathogen in lentils has been a problem for producers in southern Saskatchewan and other lentil-producing areas. Even with the dry growing conditions in regions of southern Saskatchewan, the disease seems to appear after only minimal rainfall. Anthracnose is a fungal […] Read more

Some of the key symptoms of a crop infected with sclerotinia include premature ripening and pale-grey or white lesions on stems, branches and pods.

Crops, Features, Hart Attacks

Sclerotinia control in canola

Growing hybrid varieties with improved disease resistance and other agronomic benefits can help protect your yields

By Lee Hart December 19, 2022

Reducing and/or preventing yield losses caused by sclerotinia in canola takes a multi-pronged approach, says a research scientist with Corteva Agriscience. Scott McClinchey, a canola breeder based in Guelph, Ont., says farmers can’t change the weather but they do have other measures within their control to help minimize the effect of the disease on their […] Read more

During the growing season, the pathogen produces fruiting bodies called pycnidia that appear as pepper-like
spots within lesions on young leaves. Once the leaves are infected, the fungus can spread into the stem,
eventually leading to the most damaging phase of the disease — stem cankering — usually at ground level.

Crops, Features

New products, genetic tools aimed at key crop diseases

It takes a multi-pronged approach to control diseases that constantly change

By Lee Hart October 17, 2022

Western Canadian canola, corn and soybean growers will have valuable new crop protection tools for the 2023 growing season, as Corteva Agriscience introduces new packages of seed treatment products that control a range of crop pests. Known as the LumiGEN seed treatment packages — each tailored for canola, corn and soybeans — the idea is […] Read more

The photo above shows the disease bacterial leaf streak on barley. On the leaf surface is bacterial “oozing.” The photo was taken last year in early August at Olds College Field Crop Development Centre in Alberta.

Cereals, Crops

Cereal crop disease outlook

An update on rust risks, FHB management and bacterial leaf streak threat

By Madeleine Baerg May 11, 2022

Although last year’s brutally hot and dry conditions across much of the Prairies made for very difficult cereal crop production, they carried one upside — disease pressure was notably low in almost all fields. Which diseases steal cereal crops’ yields and compromise their quality this year, and by how much, will depend heavily on weather […] Read more

Fusarium head blight in cereals (seen here) or sclerotinia in canola are monocyclic, meaning that they infect a host and produce spores just once in a season.

Cereals, Crops

Will 2021’s heat and drought conditions affect this year’s disease incidence?

By Madeleine Baerg May 11, 2022

Last season’s low disease incidence may decrease disease pressure, at least at the beginning of the season. “In much of the Prairies, we’ve had dry conditions for a few years in a row. Generally speaking, dry conditions provide poor environments for pathogens, so going into 2022, there may be a reduced buildup of pathogen inoculum […] Read more

U.S. grains: Soy, corn futures weaken on harvest pressure, firm dollar

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures higher, though traders uncertain about demand

Feed Grain Weekly: Corn prices steady, barley harvest slows

GFM Network News