Fungicides have paid off in a big way this year, says a grower from Radisson, Sask.
“There is a drastic difference between what was sprayed with fungicide and what wasn’t. It surprised me,” said Corey Loessin.
He said there is a shocking amount of disease in cereal crops that haven’t been sprayed considering it was pretty dry in July in northwestern Saskatchewan.
“If I showed you two leaves, one sprayed and one not, it’s absolutely amazing the difference.”
Loessin wasn’t expecting anywhere near that much disease pressure. He believes successive years of wet conditions and the trash left in the field from the lack of tilling has boosted disease spores to a level where it is a major problem even in a relatively dry year.
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“I’d be really, really surprised if fungicide didn’t pay for itself this past year in cereal crops especially,” he said. “The chemical companies would probably like to hear that.”
Loessin said crops look good in his region of the province.
“The cereal crops are coming along really nice, maybe the best out of any of the crops.”
He said the oat and wheat crops look particularly plentiful, with good stands and nice-sized heads.
