The Prairie Crop Disease Monitoring Network: Fostering further network development

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SaskCanola summary

Key Result

This project aims to enhance coordination of annual field crop disease monitoring and awareness activities over a wider range of field crops to help provide consistent information on plant disease prevalence and impact across the Prairie region. This will facilitate growers’ ability to respond to, and effectively monitor and manage key Prairie disease issues in a timely and prudent fashion to reduce the impact of diseases on Prairie field crop productivity, profitability and sustainability.

Project Summary

Overview

This project will emphasize further development and refinement of the Prairie Crop Disease Monitoring Network (PCDMN), including developing new methods and improving existing protocols for disease/pathogen monitoring, enhancing information dissemination online, and strengthening coordination of annual biovigilance efforts primarily via annual in-person meetings. It will also enhance monitoring protocols, and awareness regarding disease biology, identification and risk assessment, and key management strategies. An improved suite of awareness and risk assessment tools will be part of the proposed project and represents an advancement, while also providing significant additional value over the current project. Specifically for canola, biovigilance protocols developed in the current ICAC project will be improved for blackleg and sclerotinia, and new protocols will be created for clubroot, fusarium wilt, and verticillium stripe.

The outputs and deliverables of a PCDMN companion ADF and AFC project encompass a wider range of stakeholders including researchers, extension staff, producers, agronomists/consultants, producer groups, industry, and provincial and national organizations related to plant disease monitoring.

Objectives

  1. Further development and formalization of the Prairie Crop Disease Monitoring Network (PCDMN) network including annual in-person and/or online meetings.
  2. Further development and refinement of survey protocols, as well as continued work on disease information and awareness initiatives.
  3. PCDMN Quick Disease Reporter Tool refinement, and development of disease assessment/risk tools and blackleg pathogen mapping.
  4. Technology transfer (field days, crop tours, fall/winter meetings, PCDMN webinars, etc.).

Related project: Coordination of a crop disease monitoring network for Western Canada