Photo by Greg Price
Dr. Mike Harding, crop assurance lead for Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation, was on hand at a recent field school at Farming Smarter, telling of and showing the various cereal leaf diseases producers have to look for in the southern Alberta. Stripe rust has appeared in fields in the region where growers are encouraged to scout their fields for it to best combat it before it progresses too much.

Stripe rust confirmed in Alberta fields

Farmers are encouraged to scout their fields for stripe rust disease so that they know if fungicide applications are warranted

Farmers are encouraged to scout their fields for stripe rust disease so that they know if fungicide applications are warranted

Yellow-orange coloured lesions of stripe rust can be seen on the leaves of infected cereal plants.  |  Ontario Agriculture Ministry photo

Cereal leaf diseases make a comeback this year

Pathologists say more rainfall has led to more disease pressure, and producers should consider multiple modes of action

Glacier FarmMedia – Spring rain and cool conditions reawakened concerns about cereal leaf infections, say plant pathologists in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Variable rains in May and June in Manitoba, particularly in its central region, may have encouraged crop diseases, said David Kaminski, a field crop pathologist with Manitoba Agriculture. Some growers got enough rain to […] Read more