Program ineffective | Pedigreed seed growers say program discourages new seed varieties from being developed in Alberta
Alberta’s controversial effort to control the spread of fusarium through zero-tolerance regulations is continuing to ruffle feathers among the province’s pedigreed seed growers.
Fusarium graminearum, a prominent cereal crop disease that costs Canada’s agriculture industry hundreds of millions of dollars annually, is continuing to spread across the Prairies from east to west.
Fifteen years ago, Alberta took steps to keep the disease out by declaring it a prohibited pest under the province’s Agricultural Pests Act.
Among other things, that act makes it illegal to acquire, sell, distribute or use seed that contains even a minute trace of fusarium.
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In 2002, the province also established a provincial fusarium management plan that promotes a variety of best management practices and reinforces the illegality of using seed that has any detectable level of the disease.
However, the relevance of the management plan and Alberta’s zero-tolerance regulations have come under increasing scrutiny as the disease becomes more prevalent in Alberta.
Fusarium thrives under high moisture conditions and is already well established in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
The disease continued to push its way west through Alberta this year and was evident at varying levels in most parts of the province.
Lorena Pahl, executive director of the Alberta Seed Growers Association, said the province’s zero-tolerance policy is not having the intended effect.
The decision to retain a zero-tolerance policy comes at a huge cost to Alberta’s pedigreed seed industry, she added.
“Our biggest concern is lack of enforcement,” Pahl said.
“Right now there’s a lot of common (non-pedigreed) seed being bought and sold in the province that’s not even being tested for fusarium graminearum.
“Alberta Agriculture has basically washed their hands of trying to enforce (the Agricultural Pests Act), and the individual municipalities and counties don’t have the resources or the time to enforce it.”
The prevalence of fusarium in Alberta is making it difficult for some of the province’s seed growers to sell pedigreed wheat seed.
Pedigreed seed that has any detectable trace of the disease cannot legally be sold into seed markets.
The risk of infection in pedigreed fields and plots is also discouraging seed growers and seed companies from multiplying new cereal varieties in the province.
As a result, new seed varieties that are available to commercial grain growers in Saskatchewan and Manitoba are often more difficult to find in Alberta.
“Our seed growers are dumping a lot of high quality seed that has anywhere from .5 percent to one percent fusarium graminearum because we are committed to ensuring that (infected) seed is not sold into Alberta,” Pahl said.
“If they are fortunate and the demand is there, seed growers can move some of that seed into Saskatchewan but otherwise it’s being sold as commercial grain.”
Efforts to amend the fusarium management plan and loosen provincial regulations appeared to be gaining momentum earlier this year.
In July, a private member’s bill that endorsed a .5 percent tolerance in pedigreed seed received first reading in the Alberta legislature.
However, the bill was eventually set aside after consideration by the province’s standing committee on resource management.
“Basically, the Alberta seed growers’ position on Bill 201 was that we certainly appreciated and applauded the effort to bring awareness to fusarium in Alberta,” Pahl said.
“But at the same time, the proposed .5 percent tolerance was still too restrictive. There has to be some flexibility in the plan.”
The association would like to see a system that gives commercial grain growers reasonable access to new seed varieties, as long as fusarium levels fall within an acceptable range.
“If you’re in an area that has low fusarium pressure and you can find seed with non-detectable levels, then perfect,” said Pahl.
“But if you’re in an area that has higher pressure and the best you can find is two percent, then absolutely, two percent is fine. Put a seed treatment on it and use all the other best management practices. That will have a much bigger impact on how that production turns out.”
