sclerotinia Archives - Page 3 of 5

A plug of sclerotinia mycelium is attached to a canola stem with Parafilm.

Measuring sclerotinia resistance

By Lisa Guenther February 22, 2017

How exactly do researchers and plant breeders separate the susceptible from the partially resistant? They use the stem test. The stem test simulates natural sclerotinia infection of canola, Lone Buchwaldt of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada explains. Typically spores colonize petals that adhere to the plant stem. The leaf axle is a hot spot for infections, […] Read more

The most-resistant new lines have stem lesions less than 20 mm. The variety shown here is a resistant variety.

Canola, Crops, News

More sclerotinia resistance coming soon

Researchers are identifying lines with more-robust sclerotinia resistance

By Lisa Guenther February 22, 2017

There’s good news on the horizon for growers and agronomists wrestling with sclerotinia in canola. Researchers with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) have identified several canola lines with more-robust resistance to sclerotinia. They’ve also learned more about the sclerotinia pathogen and the sclerotinia resistance genes found in some canola lines. Researchers screened nearly 500 Brassica […] Read more

A canola field starting to bloom at the end of June near Fairholme, Sask. Barb Ziesman, provincial specialist in plant disease, says the environment was perfect for disease development across Saskatchewan in 2016.

Canola, Crops

Farmers frustrated by sclerotinia

Sclerotinia was rampant in 2016,  sometimes even for farmers  who sprayed fungicide

By Lisa Guenther February 16, 2017

If you had a tough time with sclerotinia in your canola crop this past year, you’re not alone. “It is still probably one of the most frustrating diseases that producers deal with,” says Barb Ziesman, provincial specialist in plant disease with Saskatchewan Agriculture. The environment was perfect for disease development across Saskatchewan, says Ziesman. Saskatchewan Agriculture’s annual canola […] Read more

A high clearance sprayer on a field in a prairie landscape

Canola, Crops, Features

Spraying your fungicide in “the zone”

With Bayer’s new “Zone Spray,” farmers can skip the fungicide in some parts of the field

By Lisa Guenther February 15, 2017

If Warren Bills has his way, farmers will have a better way to forecast sclerotinia than the old wet boots and weather test. “We believe there is a better way to manage the risk of that disease and the returns growers get when they spray,” Bills told agronomists and industry at Bayer’s Ag Summit in […] Read more

Wilting of a group of sunflowers due to root to root infections

Crops

Sclerotinia a triple threat for Manitoba sunflowers

Minimize chances of sclerotinia infection in your sunflower field next season

By Lisa McLean February 14, 2017

Sclerotinia affects a variety of crops, from canola to pulses to soybean. For Manitoba sunflower growers, the disease is a triple threat, with the potential to strike plants at the base, mid-stem or head. In 2016, it was present in 94 per cent of Manitoba sunflower fields. Dr. Khalid Rashid, research scientist at Agriculture and […] Read more

Crops

The rise of the 777 sunflower rust race

By Lisa McLean February 14, 2017

If it seems like rust is becoming a bigger problem for Manitoba sunflower crops, that’s because it is. Researchers have identified a new virulent race of sunflower rust that made up nearly two-thirds of the rust cases in Manitoba during the 2016 growing season. Left unchecked, the disease deprives the plant of nutrients, and can […] Read more

Blackleg was found in more than half of fields surveyed in Saskatchewan, however, where it was found, on average, only 12 per cent of the surveyed plants were infected.

Canola, Crops, Features

Saskatchewan canola disease survey

Field surveyors found sclerotinia in almost all Saskatchewan fields in 2016

By Leeann Minogue February 3, 2017

The incidence of sclerotinia stem rot in Saskatchewan oilseed crops was up in 2016, said Matthew Bernard, Saskatchewan provincial oilseed crops specialist. Bernard presented the results of the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture’s 2016 canola disease survey at Oilseed Producer Meetings around the province in mid-November. In Weyburn, Bernard told oilseed growers, “there were 224 canola […] Read more

Canola, Crops

VIDEO: Bayer CropScience tests new way of applying fungicide

By Lisa Guenther January 27, 2017

Warren Bills believes there’s a better way to manage sclerotinia risk in canola. And for the last couple of years he’s been putting that idea to the test. Bills, the business development manager for digital farming at Bayer CropScience, says the trick is to identify variable canola fields and spray the areas with high biomass. […] Read more

Columns, Crops

Start planning spring crop rotations

Strong crop rotations can bring along a wealth of long-term agronomic benefits

By Ross H. McKenzie January 5, 2017

Crop rotations can be used to take advantage of differences in how each crop in a rotation contributes to increased soil organic matter, aids in pest management, manages soil nutrients and controls soil erosion. Rotating different crops in the same field can effectively promote sustainable crop production. If you haven’t already started planning your crops […] Read more

Crops, Features, Lentils

Lentils: the crop year in review

2016 brought a wet season and a damp harvest. Lentil crops didn’t like that

By Lisa Guenther November 17, 2016

Lentil growers had a hard time pulling off a good crop in 2016. A wet growing season and damp harvest plagued many farmers. “Without a doubt there were some good quality lentils produced in 2016, but the percentage of high quality lentils produced would be much lower than what we typically see in Western Canada,” […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Live cattle drop as beef prices, packer margins erode

CBOT Weekly: Soybean, wheat futures come down

Masterfeeds to enter new ADM/Alltech feed joint venture

GFM Network News