After the drought of 2021, things in many parts of the Prairies returned to somewhat more normal conditions this year in terms of moisture. That of course means the return of Fusarium graminearum, which was virtually non-existent last year.
As of writing this column, 10 per cent of samples are testing positive in Alberta. That’s not as high as it was in those peak years of 2019 and 2020, when it was up above 15 per cent. In other words, people shouldn’t be too surprised if they see fusarium in pop up in 2023.
The increase isn’t only in Alberta, though. I am seeing increased positive results in Saskatchewan and in Manitoba, too. As expected, fusarium levels in those two provinces are a lot higher than in Alberta. Nearly 60 per cent of samples are testing positive for fusarium in Manitoba, while over 80 per cent are testing positive in Saskatchewan.
In Alberta, the highest number of positives are being seen in durum, with the rest in wheat, barley and oat in descending order. Last year wheat and barley were very close and this year barley is just a little bit higher than wheat so far (9.3 per cent for barley vs. 9.12 per cent for wheat). It will probably average out with more testing.
Even though I expected this, there are some interesting trends. As far as Alberta goes, we’re seeing more positive test results to the southeast of Edmonton. This has been an area of interest in recent years. We expect fusarium in southern Alberta, where a lot or irrigation takes place, but the eastern border with Saskatchewan near Edmonton has caught my eye and continues to do so.
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