When it comes time to scout fields for disease, insects or other pest concerns, Ron Howard recommends developing a scouting kit to take into the field.
Howard is a plant pathologist with Alberta Agriculture in Brooks and part of his presentation at the recent Crop Diagnostic Field School organized by the Southern Alberta Research Association in Lethbridge included suggestions for stocking a scouting kit.
“Go to Canadian Tire or UFA and buy a plastic tool box for $10 or $15. In it, put things like a 5X, 10X or 15X hand lens or magnifying glass, a pocket knife or utility knife, some plastic bags for collecting samples, tags with pens or pencils to record information. Add pruning shears if you’re sampling heavy stemmed material,” Howard said.
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“If you’ve got a little digital camera, you can take it along with you. A lot of specialists will accept digital photographs now and in some cases can tell you what’s wrong just by looking at digital photos.”
Howard said crop protection companies often develop booklets on disease symptoms and other crop problems that can be handy references.
“If you’re scouting crops that there’s a concern that you might yourself be moving diseases around, then you want to take along some disposable plastic boots or heavy-duty garbage bags that you can slip over your shoes. After you go through the field, take them off and discard them. Or use rubber boots and a disinfectant,” said Howard.
“When we inspect potato fields, we wear rubber boots, take along water and disinfectant, and wash and disinfect our boots before we go to the next field. Potato growers are very concerned about bacterial diseases and we don’t want to spread them. So that should be a big part of your scouting kit as well.”
Howard also said it is invaluable to compile a library of information to brief yourself before scouting or to help identify a problem you may bring back from the field.
Scouting kit components
- Plastic tool box.
- Hand lens or magnifying glass Ð 5X, 10X and/or 15X.
- Flashlight.
- Digital camera.
- Pocket knife, utility knife and/or pruning shears.
- Plastic bags, ties, vials and labels.
- Hand trowel or small shovel.
- Pens, pencils, paper and envelopes.
- Tweezers, needles and paper towels.
- Rubber boots/boot covers.
- Disinfectant, such as diluted Lysol or bleach.
- Reference materials, fact sheets and pest and disease photos.
- Global positioning system.
