Prairie farmers and agronomists needing a more definitive process to detect fusarium infection in cereal grains, particularly barley, may get such a process out of research underway at the University of Saskatchewan.
Tag Archives DON
Fusarium head blight mycotoxin detector in the works
Portable machine to identify contaminated kernels under development at the University of Saskatchewan
Corn’s amazing nature
Practical Research: The fusarium we see in small cereal grains is the anamorph of the pink mould seen in corn
Consider that if you grow corn after wheat or vice versa and have a wet summer or fall, be prepared for possible outbreaks of pink mould/fusarium head blight in either crop in such a rotation.
Managing against fusarium takes a multi-part strategy
Tweaking fungicide timing could provide farmers with better control
Kelly Turkington, a longtime plant pathologist for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Lethbridge, strongly supports the notion that an integrated approach to managing fusarium head blight (FHB) offers the best chance of success for cereal producers. Even so, Turkington says, in much of Manitoba and northeastern Saskatchewan, that strategy hasn’t always worked as well as […] Read more
More than one way to fight fusarium head blight
An integrated approach, using multiple best practices, can offer better chances of success
Fusarium head blight has been a stubborn threat to cereal crops in Western Canada since the 1990s. Some years are worse than others, but when the conditions favour this fungal pathogen, fusarium can cause significant losses in yield and crop quality in wheat, barley, oats and corn. The two primary weapons against fusarium — fungicides […] Read more
Critical factors in growing malting barley
While malting grade offers premiums, farmers must meet stringent quality standards to avoid being left with feed
As malting barley yields approach those of top feed varieties, farmers are increasingly choosing to grow malting barley in hopes of securing a premium price — even if their end goal is feed. The problem is, those premiums don’t come easily. Shawn Pasieczka, a food safety grain specialist with Richardson, is the arbiter of what […] Read more
Plasma shows promise against fusarium-formed toxins
The fourth state of matter could someday be put to work at a malt house or feedlot near you
Researchers at the University of Alberta are harnessing a high-tech concept to decontaminate grain. They’re using cold plasma, which is created by electrical discharge in a low-pressure gas. One of the most common uses is in fluorescent lighting, which creates light with little heat. Cold plasma is the fourth state of matter, alongside solid, liquid […] Read more
Maps now mark the spots for fusarium risk
Prairie-wide, variety-specific FHB risk maps now available online
Wheat, barley and durum growers in all three Prairie provinces can now check online whether fusarium head blight may be coming soon to a field near them. We’ve written before in these pages about the development and expected launch of new Prairie-wide fusarium head blight (FHB) risk maps — which have now gone live online […] Read more
Grain grading revamp may add falling number, DON as factors
Two significant grain specs that aren’t yet factors for a crop’s official grade are now under consideration to join that official list. The Canadian Grain Commission on Monday put out a call for “grain sector stakeholders” to submit their views before May 10 on a proposal for falling number and deoxynivalenol (DON) to both become […] Read more
How Ontario’s new DON testing cost-share program works
With vomitoxin (DON) levels so prevalent in this year’s corn crop, the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) says a new DON testing cost-sharing initiative will help producers strategically market their grain. Why it matters: OSCIA says cost-sharing will help farmers know how severe their deoxynivalenol (DON) issues are, and how to market their […] Read more
High tech feed research on the Prairies
The Canadian Feed Research Centre puts tech to work to increase the value of feed grain
From the outside, the Canadian Feed Research Centre doesn’t look much different from a regular feed mill. But the Centre, tucked into an industrial area of North Battleford, is a national institution, says Rex Newkirk. “It’s the only one in Canada of this nature. It’s one of the very few in the world where we […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
