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Moisture has a much larger influence than temperature when it comes to sclerotinia risk. Infection can be high in hot weather as long as the moisture is there. Moisture can come from rain, relative humidity in the high 80s, or morning dew. Dew and high humidity can provide enough moisture for sclerotinia stem rot. If your pants get wet walking…
Sclerotinia stem rot
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Three of the top 10 have to do with moisture, the key risk factor for sclerotinia stem rot… -
Growers with high risk conditions for sclerotinia stem rot may want to get their management plan in place. Booking fungicide may be worthwhile if you have a preferred product. This is pre-planning only. Fungicide applications must target flowers to be effective, so do not spray until a field reaches at least 20% flowering… -
—All areas of the Prairies are at risk. Geography does not provide immunity to this disease. —Prevalence of sclerotinia stem rot has a direct correlation to above-average moisture. If a field has regular rains or high humidity or both from two weeks before flowering and through flowering, then infection will occur. If these conditions continue after flower, severity of the… -
Pre-harvest is a good time to scout for disease severity. The photo above shows severe sclerotinia infection. This article includes sclerotinia and various other diseases to look for… -
Pre-harvest is a good time to scout for disease severity. Fields with lots of diseased plants may also be poorer candidates for straight cutting due to the increased shattering risk. Read more for tips on how to identify blackleg, sclerotinia and alternaria… -
It is not surprising that sclerotinia stem rot disease levels differ from field to field even if fields are in close proximity. Sclerotinia disease level is very dependent on the microclimate within the field. Moist growing conditions (ie. frequent rainfall or high humidity or heavy dews) promote disease development but factors that result in moisture-laden canopies can…
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Moisture before and during and following flowering was the biggest factor driving up sclerotinia stem rot infection this year. Moisture as rain or high humidity or dew through the period from two weeks before flowering through early podding has increased the sclerotinia risk considerably, no matter the rotation history of the field. Most regions had these conditions this year. Fungicide… -
Some regions are reporting higher rates of blackleg (shown above) and most regions are seeing sclerotinia stem rot damage. Fungicide is not effective at this stage of the season, but the weeks leading up to harvest are a good time to scout. Its important to know which disease is present in order to plan rotations and varieties for next year…
