Sclerotinia risk high this year

Jul 12, 2022

Canola fields are starting to bloom.

Justine Cornelsen is Agronomic and Regulatory Services Manager with BrettYoung.

"It's obviously been a slow start to the spring but things are progressing," she said. "We still do have a bulk of acres that are sitting around that four to six leaf stage getting ready to bulk. I imagine in the next week here, we're really going to see things start to turn yellow. We've had some high humidity and some heat and a lot of rain so there's going to be a fairly large risk for sclerotinia this year."

She notes most of the crop is past the flea beetle stage.

"Earlier this spring lots were being sprayed because of the intense pressure. Mainly due to the crop just having a really slow growth. That crop kind of sat there for a few weeks and didn't really move and that's where the flea beetles really took over. That should be in the past now and we're moving forward."

Cornelsen says there have been a lot of hail claims this year, with a severe storm passing through the Dauphin and Interlake regions a few weeks ago. She notes canola at an early stage is able to bounce back from hail damage fairly well.

"When you start losing pods and blooms and flowers, that's where you start to see a little bit more of a yield penalty on those crops," she added.

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Video: Dicamba Returns for Georgia Farmers: What the New EPA Ruling Means for Cotton Growers

After being unavailable in 2024 due to registration issues, dicamba products are returning for Georgia farmers this growing season — but under strict new conditions.

In this report from Tifton, Extension Weed Specialist Stanley Culpepper explains the updated EPA ruling, including new application limits, mandatory training requirements, and the need for a restricted use pesticide license. Among the key changes: a cap of two ½-pound applications per year and the required use of an approved volatility reduction agent with every application.

For Georgia cotton producers, the ruling is significant. According to Taylor Sills with the Georgia Cotton Commission, the vast majority of cotton planted in the state carries the dicamba-tolerant trait — meaning farmers had been paying for technology they couldn’t use.

While environmental groups have expressed concerns over spray drift, Georgia growers have reduced off-target pesticide movement by more than 91% over the past decade. Still, this two-year registration period will come with increased scrutiny, making stewardship and compliance more important than ever.