Rotation Key To Canola Disease Prevention

What to consider for canola and tight rotations was the topic for one of the presentations at St. Jean Farm Days on Jan. 5.

Ingrid Kristjanson, farm production advisor for the Red River GO office in Morris, told producers that last year, Manitoba seeded 3.3 million acres of canola, the highest ever acreage. But only 2.9 million of those were harvested acres.

She said this was because in the early season, many crops were too wet for too long, and 15 per cent of seeded acres were lost due to drowning.

Another production issue last year was sclerotinia, and many producers had to apply in-crop fungicides.

"Some canola grain shipments in producer cars were downgraded to #2 due to high sclerotinia presence," she said.

Blackleg lesions were also an issue.

Kristjanson said there are several things to consider when it comes to disease control in canola.

"In our cropping area, it's the heavy clay soils, and the high humidity."

She said Manitoba has the ability to target higher yields, but they're also at risk for disease organisms. Unfortunately, excellent conditions for crop production also equal excellent conditions for disease development, she said.