FARGO, N.D. – A North Dakota farmer hopes air turns out to be his best weapon against plant disease.
Gerald Bosse said white mould on soybeans is the biggest disease problem on his farm near Cogswell, N.D.
“White mould was just eating me up, especially on the best soils where we should get 50 bushel beans,” he said.
“Those areas were down to five bu.”
Bosse uses seed treatments, sprays for aphids and has a successful Roundup weed control program, but he doesn’t like to spray fungicides.
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Instead, he is fighting white mould with air using two approaches.
Rows in his bean fields are now oriented from northwest to southeast to take advantage of the predominant wind direction.
More air blowing down the rows lowers the humidity within the canopy.
He also opts for widely spaced rows, which give the air a better chance to do its job.
“On my John Deere, I’m doing paired 15 inch rows, then a gap of 30 inches, then paired 15 inch rows again,” he said.
“It’s pretty easy. I just block off every other run. This gives me better air circulation down in the crop.”
There’s an added benefit to using air as a weapon – it’s free.
White mould in soybeans
White mould caused by sclerotinia sclerotiorum is considered an established problem in Canadian soybean production.
The fungus overwinters in the soil as sclerotia. Sclerotia germinate later in the growing season forming above-ground fruiting structures (apothecia), which release spores.
Soybean plants become infected after spores land on soybean petals, germinate and colonize the plant.
A new generation of sclerotia that forms within infected plant tissues may be returned to the soil or be harvested with the soybeans, further spreading the problem.
Source: AAFC
