stripe rust on winter wheat

Stripe rust update for southern and central Alberta

Stripe rust continues to be reported in southern and central Alberta. Eric Amundsen at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Lethbridge surveyed winter wheat fields for stripe rust last week and reported finding the disease in five of 12 fields (two in Cardston County, one field in each of Lethbridge County, County of Warner and M.D. […] Read more

winter wheat emerging

Don’t rush to diagnose winter kill

Despite this winter’s weather, you may not need to reseed that winter wheat after all

Winter wheat growers concerned about winter kill should wait and see how the plants fare this spring before reseeding, says an agrologist. “Don’t make a rash decision especially when you’ve got the rest of your farm to go seed,” says Paul Thoroughgood, who works for Ducks Unlimited and farms south of Moose Jaw. Farmers should give […] Read more


Fusarium symptoms: The seed on the left is healthy; the seed on the right is infected with the fungal disease.

Resisting fusarium head blight

Plant breeders are making progress in developing wheat 
varieties that are resistant, but it’s a marathon, not a sprint

There’s been a lot of effort put into breeding fusarium-resistant varieties, Dr. Anita Brûlé-Babel told CropSphere delegates in Saskatoon in January. But developing cereal varieties resistant to fusarium head blight (FHB) is more like a marathon than a sprint. “There’s been a lot of breeding challenges. And I know a lot of farmers have been […] Read more

(Michael Thompson photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

State of Prairie winter wheat still unknown

CNS Canada — Snow cover is rapidly disappearing across Western Canada, but it will still be a few weeks until the extent of any damage to winter wheat across the Prairies is fully known. “It’s still wait-and-see,” said analyst Bruce Burnett of Winnipeg grain firm CWB. The crop won’t start re-growing until the overnight temperatures […] Read more



winter wheat

Getting herbicides on your winter wheat

Everyone wants to get their winter wheat sprayed early in the spring. Find out how soon you can get started

There are many reasons to grow winter wheat. But one mark against this crop is its vulnerability to weeds. Winter wheat growers want to get in a herbicide application as early as they can during the growing season. This can be a problem. Ontario farmers have observed that applying too early can injure the growing […] Read more