Lots of sclerotinia stem rot. As harvest progresses, we’re hearing reports of higher levels of sclerotinia stem rot in some regions. Some fields that did not get a fungicide spray are at 40-50% infection. That works out to an estimated 20-25% yield loss, or 10-13 bu./ac. on a canola crop with 50 bu./ac. yield potential. Fungicide applications for sclerotinia stem…
Diseases
-
-
-
Sclerotinia stem rot (above) and blackleg can both cause what looks like pre-mature ripening. Both diseases, when severe, can cut off nutrient flow up the stem, resulting in a whitened dead plant. Both can cause increased lodging. However, long-term management requires an accurate identification of which disease is the cause. Disease identification will make sure you make the correct seed…
-
-
Check those patches of pre-mature ripened canola before or during swathing. Try to identify what cause this pre-mature ripening. Use the Canola Diagnostic Tool at www.canoladiagnostictool.ca to help with the assessment. It could be blackleg, clubroot, sclerotinia, root rot or something else entirely. Growers can use this scouting information to plan rotations, choose varieties, and update fungicide decision-making for next…
-
Plant pathologists from across the Prairies are surveying canola for disease levels. For each field surveyed, they select 20 random plants at 5 random locations for a total of 100 plants. For blackleg, they pull up each plant and clip the stem just below ground level. Each stem is then rated for what percentage of the stem cross section is…
-
Pre-harvest interval (PHI) refers to the amount of time that must lapse (in days) after a pesticide application before the crop is cut (ie. swathed or straight cut). Failing to comply with a product’s pre-harvest interval is a contravention of the Pest Control Products Act (PCP). The PCP Act was put in place to protect human health and safety and…
-
-
Some fields are already showing a lot of gall growth, probably because the wet spring promoted early infection. These galls are most likely clubroot, especially if the fields are in known clubroot hot zones. However, not ALL root galls are clubroot. Galls could also be hybridization nodules (shown above) or phenoxy damage…