New resource to support root rot mitigation in pulses

Sep 16, 2024
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content, Farms.com

Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers launched a new website

A new website is available to pulse growers looking to get ahead of root rot diseases in their pea and lentil fields.

Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers (MPSG), as part of the Pulse Root Rot Network, launched rootrot.ca.

“As root rots are a top priority, this website was developed to allow consistent messaging and increase the collaborative approach to addressing this issue by connecting researchers,” MPSG said in a Sept. 11 press release. “This website includes resources, tools, and research to create a central location for growers, agronomists, researchers and the pulse industry.”

The website has information on three types of root rot complex – Aphanomyces, Fusarium, Rhizoctonia and Pythium.

And it has information on agronomy, breeding and pathology.

“Eliminating this risk is essential for profitable and sustainable pea and lentil production in Western Canada,” the MPSG release says.

Identifying symptoms early is important.

If allowed to spread, it can reduce yield.

“Early infection can result in seed death, seedling blight, reduced stand density, root rot and yield loss,” an MPSG document says. “Yield loss is also difficult to assess because severe symptoms often are not evenly distributed within a field.”

Scientists surveyed 63 soybean, 40 dry bean and 46 pea fields in Manitoba for root rot diseases in 2020.

“The clear picture that emerged from 2020 was that Fusarium root rot continues to be our most prevalent disease infecting soybean, dry bean and pea roots,” MPSG said in a summary.

Video: From Conventional to Regenerative: Will Groeneveld’s Journey Back to the Land

"You realize you've got a pretty finite number of years to do this. If you ever want to try something new, you better do it."

That mindset helped Will Groeneveld take a bold turn on his Alberta grain farm. A lifelong farmer, Will had never heard of regenerative agriculture until 2018, when he attended a seminar by Kevin Elmy that shifted his worldview. What began as curiosity quickly turned into a deep exploration of how biology—not just chemistry—shapes the health of our soils, crops and ecosystems.

In this video, Will candidly reflects on his family’s farming history, how the operation evolved from a traditional mixed farm to grain-only, and how the desire to improve the land pushed him to invite livestock back into the rotation—without owning a single cow.

Today, through creative partnerships and a commitment to the five principles of regenerative agriculture, Will is reintroducing diversity, building soil health and extending living roots in the ground for as much of the year as possible. Whether it’s through intercropping, zero tillage (which he’s practiced since the 1980s) or managing forage for visiting cattle, Will’s approach is a testament to continuous learning and a willingness to challenge old norms.

Will is a participant in the Regenerative Agriculture Lab (RAL), a social innovation process bringing together producers, researchers, retailers and others to co-create a resilient regenerative agriculture system in Alberta. His story highlights both the potential and humility required to farm with nature, not against it.