SWIFT CURRENT, Sask. – Seed treatments will be in high demand this spring in southwestern Saskatchewan, said seed analyst Shanna Stolhandske-Dale.
The operator of Seed Solutions in Swift Current told producers at a recent meeting that disease levels showing up on seed, along with inoculum levels in the soil, are causing concern.
“It’s far higher than we’ve seen in a lot of years, so guys who aren’t normally using seed treatments are considering it,” she said.
Cereal and pulse treatments cover off the most common pathogens in those crops, she said. High levels of ascochyta, mostly in peas in the southwest, and cool wet springs also call for treatment.
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Extremely high levels of fusarium are being found in cereals, particularly durum.
Stolhandske-Dale said she mostly sees the common species but there are increasing levels of a more severe type.
Farmers who are bringing in seed from other areas, where the disease is a bigger problem, have to be careful, she said.
Fusarium is also turning up in lentil samples. Although fusarium doesn’t grow on lentils it will cause root rot if it’s on the seed, she said.
“It’s in the residues of the soil, and because we had the rains it splashed up on to the pods and then got growing right before harvest, so it’s on the seeds,” she explained.
That is a good reason to carefully plan rotations, she added.
Stolhandske-Dale said she is also finding lower vigour levels in samples. Vigour tests are particularly low in wheat and durum, although all crops except peas are testing lower. Peas were mature before the frost or wintery weather, she explained.
Germination is typically good, but lower vigour means farmers have to be aware and make adjustments.
Other seed issues this spring include size. Size was quite variable after last year’s crop, especially in cereals, because of the long growing season.
“There was lots of tillering so you had large seeds and small seeds in your uncleaned sample,” said Stolhandske-Dale. “The thousand-kernel weight, in especially cereals, has been changing after cleaning. If people are using that to set their seeding rates, (using) samples after cleaning will be far more accurate.”
She added that some seed going in this year could have far above the recommended disease levels.
“Anything over 20 percent of a major pathogen, you should consider finding another seed source,” she told the farmers.
For pulses, anything showing more than 10 percent infection is too much.
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