WINNIPEG – Bean seed treated with an antibiotic seems to be just what the doctor ordered for Manitoba growers dealing with bacterial blight. And farmers want to make sure the medicine is around for years to come.
At a recent meeting of the Manitoba Pulse Growers Association, farmers passed a resolution to help lobby the federal government to guarantee more than the temporary permit that allows them to import U.S. beans treated with streptomycin.
Brian Hyde, who grows beans near Portage la Prairie, Man. said he put the resolution forward because he knows from experience that streptomycin cuts down on the possibility of seeds developing bacterial blight.
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He said the fungus can reduce yields by up to 40 percent and discolors the seeds. There are few viable alternatives to the treatment.
Other product expensive
“I’ve never seen a whole lot of results from (copper sulphate), and it’s expensive, and a pain in the butt. It’s not a sure-cure thing to beat bacterial blight,” Hyde said.
He buys his treated seed from an Idaho company, and wants to make sure he can keeping doing this legally. He also buys some Canadian varieties produced in Ontario which cannot be treated with the antibiotic, but Idaho seed has better resistance to fungi, he said.
Gilles Saindon, a bean breeder at the Agriculture Canada research station in Lethbridge, Alta., said streptomycin coats the seed and protects it from pollutants in mills and dust and debris in the ground.
The antibiotic also protects the plant from bacteria during germination.
Saindon said that while the Food Inspection and Protection branch has issued a temporary permit allowing imports, it would be difficult to get regulations changed so it could be applied in Canada.
