It is only a matter of time before fusarium head blight hitchhikes from Manitoba to Alberta.
Many Alberta grain producers fear this costly fungal disease could arrive on feed trucks bound for southern Alberta feedlots this year.
However, many major lots refuse to take grain from known areas of infection, says Steve Pilot of Landmark Feeds at Lethbridge.
“These feedlots do not want it, but it’s hard to guard against it,” he said.
A few might accept grain carrying two to three parts per million of the micotoxin found in fusarium-infected grain. Many feel the best prevention is to avoid using any suspect feed, Pilot said.
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Fusarium can be tough to diagnose if a questionable load of barley is delivered to a feedlot. Symptoms in barley resemble other fungal diseases like spot blotch or kernel smudge.
Testing is an option but results take two weeks. By that time the grain has already been consumed.
Fusarium is an aggressive colonizer of crop residue and plants. If feedlot grain is spilled or if kernels germinate after being expelled in manure, the disease could establish itself.
Last year, Agriculture Canada scientists at the Lacombe research centre worked with five Alberta feedlots to test the survival of fusarium once it passes through the cattle rumen. They also tested barley left in feedbunks, samples from grain spills and intact kernels from manure.
“The jury is still out as far as whether it (fusarium graminearum) survives a trip through the animal,” said Kelly Turkington, plant pathologist at Lacombe.
“There may be conditions in the rumen that fungi can’t tolerate.”
Scientists did not find any fusarium graminearum but did find less harmful strains of the pathogen. Those did not appear to be viable once they had passed through a beef animal’s digestive system.
Chickens and cattle can tolerate low levels of the micotoxin caused by fusarium. Swine cannot. They may refuse to eat the ration or become ill from trace amounts.
Research continues this year in co-operation with scientists from Brandon, who will feed the grain to cattle. Lethbridge research will examine the effects of composting on the survival of fusarium. It is believed the high temperatures generated in a compost windrow will kill it.
Turkington believes the disease will inevitably strike Alberta fields.
“The hope is we can keep it at a low enough level until producers have varieties that offer resistance,” Turkington said. Fusarium affects wheat, barley and triticale.
To be cautious, Turkington suggested grain users should steer clear of fusarium infected grain to avoid contamination.
The Alberta Barley Commission agrees.
Last year the commission passed a resolution asking the province to keep infected grain out of the province.
“We’re really playing Russian roulette bringing it into the province,” said commission manager Clifton Foster. “The prudent thing to do would be to ensure none comes in.”
Growers don’t want to create inter-provincial trade barriers but do insist on assurances that grain is safe, he said.
Fusarium graminearum has been declared a pest in Alberta but no regulatory measures have been taken to test grain at the border.
