Scouting and assessment for cereal leaf diseases, 2021

Heat and drought have been a significant challenge for Prairie cereal producers in 2021.  However, there may be localized areas that have had more moisture and potential leaf disease issues.  End-of-season scouting can be useful to a keep on top of issues from summer 2021 and to assess fungicide response or lack thereof.  This information can also be used as part of your crop planning exercises for 2022 and beyond.

Here is updated information regarding identification and scouting for leaf diseases in wheat and barley.

Disease scouting and assessment info: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iQRbz3YdrDU0T-OabMBdO3ZIgA631c7r/view?usp=sharing

Identification and scouting for Ascochyta/Mycosphaerella in field peas, 2021

Heat and drought have been a significant challenge for Prairie field pea producers.  However, there may be localized areas that have had more moisture and potential disease issues.  End-of-season scouting can be useful to a keep on top of issues from summer 2021 and to assess fungicide response or lack thereof.  This information can also be used as part of your crop planning exercises for 2022 and beyond.

Here is updated information regarding identification and scouting for Ascochyta/Mycosphaerella in field peas.

Disease info card:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/17KYzFq2xbsghD3Lik3UmdknN1xwQcIMC/view?usp=sharing

Disease scouting and assessment info:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kYNeok4YTYRJPspzLZ2pufslTXHYqGqE/view?usp=sharing and https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HX-6fMCiBCq4ekEEA6tJilEqFBAnn7IJ/view?usp=sharing

Scouting for sclerotinia stem rot and blackleg of canola 2021

Heat and drought have been a significant challenge for Prairie canola producers.  However, there may be localized areas that have had more moisture and potential disease issues.  End-of-season scouting can be useful to a keep on top of issues from summer 2021 and to assess fungicide response or lack thereof.  This information can also be used as part of your crop planning exercises for 2022 and beyond.

Here is updated information regarding identification and scouting for both sclerotinia and blackleg of canola.

Disease identification cards

Sclerotinia: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1049a-UAekFLxRxxlDFiEIH90hSZXFPWN/view?usp=sharing

Blackleg: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hl9iPHjcjqeJp3ZXR-ovzHlmgMc4rcB0/view?usp=sharing

Disease scouting and assessment protocols

Sclerotinia: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hl9iPHjcjqeJp3ZXR-ovzHlmgMc4rcB0/view?usp=sharing and https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IdWH9Wgc1alQBVs146jC_48F-wNmjFbT/view?usp=sharing

Blackleg: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uUVlS6owQ-8yXhe9Hh5J-kMFhZSXuLcj/view?usp=sharing and https://drive.google.com/file/d/1B24FneDtKtUo8FI2NpaHk6kIXbFL9VlO/view?usp=sharing

2021 Cereal Rust Risk Report (June 22-28, 2021)

The latest Prairie wind trajectory cereal rust risk report is available for download now at the following link: June 22-28, 2021 report.  

As of the week of June 22-28, 2021 the overall Prairie cereal rust risk assessment and need for in-crop scouting is as follows:

Pacific Northwest – There were a limited number of wind trajectories that passed over the PNW region and into the Prairies for June 22-28, 2021.  Also, there is generally limited stripe rust development in the PNW, and hot dry conditions in a significant portion of the Prairie region.  Thus, for the week of June 22-28, 2021 the risk of stripe rust appearance from the PNW is limited and scouting for this disease from this US region is generally not urgent.  There have been some reports of stripe rust in barley from Washington State and Oregon and central to western Prairie producers and consultants may want to keep an eye out for this disease as barley fields progress.

Kansas-Nebraska corridor – Although stripe rust has developed in Kansas, and was progressing in Nebraska, winter wheat crops in these regions are moving towards later growth stages and harvest, thus active sporulation is declining or has stopped, especially in Kansas.  There were no wind trajectories from this area into the Prairie region for June 22-28, 2021, as well as generally limited Prairie rainfall.  As a consequence for the week of June 22-28, 2021, the risk of leaf and stripe rust appearance from the Kansas-Nebraska corridor is low.  Note the Kansas winter wheat crop continues to be harvested, while harvesting of the Nebraska winter wheat crop has just started or will likely start over the next 1-2 weeks.  Scouting for rusts from this US region is generally not urgent in the Prairie region.  Given the advancing state of winter wheat development in Nebraska and continued harvesting in Kansas, this region generally no longer represents a significant source of rust inoculum for the Prairie region.

Note, hot dry conditions in many prairie regions have impacted crop development and may impact yield potential.  In crops experiencing significant heat and drought stress, yield potentials and foliar disease risk may be limited and thus the need for fungicide application for leaf spot and rust management is likely limited. However, localized weather systems with rainfall may have occurred and as a consequence disease risk may be somewhat higher.  

2021 Cereal Rust Risk Report (June 16-21, 2021)

The latest Prairie wind trajectory cereal rust risk report is available for download now at the following link: June 16-21, 2021 report.  

As of the week of June 16-21, 2021 the overall Prairie cereal rust risk assessment and need for in-crop scouting is as follows:

Pacific Northwest – Even though there was a moderate number of reverse wind trajectories that passed over the PNW region and into the prairies, given limited stripe rust development in the PNW, and dry conditions in a significant portion of the Prairie region, for the week of June 16-21, 2021 the risk of stripe rust appearance from the PNW is limited and scouting for this disease from this US region is generally not urgent.  There have been some reports of stripe rust in barley from Washington State and Oregon and central to western Prairie producers and consultants may want to keep an eye out for this disease as barley fields progress.

Kansas/Nebraska – Although stripe rust has developed in Kansas, and was progressing in Nebraska, winter wheat crops are moving towards later growth stages, while active sporulation is declining or has stopped, especially in Kansas.  There was a low number of recent wind trajectories from this area into the Prairie region for June 16-21, 2021, as well as generally limited rainfall in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.  As a consequence for the week of June 16-21, 2021, the risk of leaf and stripe rust appearance from the Kansas-Nebraska corridor is low, especially as the Kansas winter wheat crop continues towards maturity and harvest, while harvesting of the Nebraska winter wheat crop will start over the next 1-3 weeks.  Scouting for this disease from this US region is generally not urgent in the Prairie region. 

Announcing the Prairie Crop Disease Monitoring Network Quick Disease Reporter Tool (PCDMN QDRT)

Prairie Crop Disease Monitoring Network Quick Disease Reporter Tool (PCDMN QDRT)

Introduction

Each growing season Prairie field crop producers are faced with multiple abiotic and biotic issues.  Of the biotic issues plant diseases can have a critical impact on crop productivity and grain quality.  For some issues prior knowledge of disease history and impact can be used to modify cropping plans to minimize the impact of these issues in future growing seasons.  These plans can include strategies such as extending the rotational interval between host crops, choosing a more resistant variety, and using good agronomics to promote overall plant health.

Unfortunately for some plant disease issues, management decisions need to be made during the growing season and these typically involve the decision to apply a fungicide.  For some issues such as sclerotinia stem rot in canola and fusarium head blight in small grain cereals, the decision to spray or not to spray comes too late if symptoms in the crop are already apparent.  In contrast, for cereal leaf spots and rusts, and foliar pulse crop diseases a producer or crop consultant can follow their development to gauge risk and the need for an initial and subsequent fungicide applications. 

The growing season is extremely busy for producers and crop consultants and thus awareness of developing issues on a regional- or prairie-wide basis is critical as one can then prioritize the scouting of fields for specific issues that are just starting to develop. 

To help facilitate awareness of developing plant disease issues on a regional- and prairie-wide basis, the PCDMN and the three Prairie provincial pathologists have worked with colleagues from the AAFC Geomatics Group.  The result of this collaboration is the development and deployment of the Prairie Crop Disease Monitoring Network Quick Disease Reporter Tool (PCDMN QDRT).

 
Description

The PCDMN QDRT can be used to make quick general reports of diseases in common crops over the Prairie region as part of the Prairie Crop Disease Management Network.  This information can be used to identify regions where Prairie crop disease outbreaks are starting to occur and where further in-crop scouting and risk assessment are needed, especially when a fungicide application is being considered. 

Please note that if you are reporting on the observation of clubroot symptoms in Saskatchewan canola fields you are asked to also report the case to the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture using the information outlined via this link: https://pubsaskdev.blob.core.windows.net/pubsask-prod/119190/Reporting%252Ba%252BClubroot%252BField%252Bin%252BSaskatchewan%252BWeb%252BPage.pdf.

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about the PCDMN please visit: https://prairiecropdisease.blogspot.com/.
More information on disease identification, scouting tips and disease surveillance protocols can be found at: https://prairiecropdisease.blogspot.com/p/scouting-tips-calendar.html and https://prairiecropdisease.blogspot.com/p/surveillance-protocols.html. 

Contact info regarding the PCDMN and Provincial Pathologists is as follows
 
PCDMN – T. Kelly Turkington: kelly.turkington@agr.gc.ca; 

Alberta Agriculture and Forestry – Michael Harding: Michael.Harding@gov.ab.ca;

Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture – Alireza Akhavan: alireza.akhavan@gov.sk.ca;

Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives – David Kaminski: David.Kaminski@gov.mb.ca.
 

On June 1, 2022 we launched the updated Prairie Crop Disease Monitoring Network Quick Disease Reporter Tool (PCDMN QDRT) for the 2022 growing season (https://prairiecropdisease.blogspot.com/2022/06/announcing-2022-launch-of-prairie-crop.html).  

This blog post and others regarding the PCDMN QDRT in 2021 and 2022 are now outdated as various updates have been done with the app as of May 2023.  These updates have been focused on addressing privacy concerns from farmers, crop consultants and others who may use the app as well as functionality.   The new tutorial can be found at this link (https://prairiecropdisease.blogspot.com/2023/05/prairie-crop-disease-monitoring-network.html), while the new QR code for the PCDMN QDRT app is as follows:

How do I access and use the PCDMN QDRT?

The PCDMN has prepared a tutorial outlining how to access and use the PCDMN QDRT.  Before using the PCDMN QDRT please review the tutorial document (updated as of May 2023) that can be found at this link: PCDMN QDRT Tutorial.  

2021 Cereal Rust Risk Report (June 11-15, 2021)

The latest Prairie wind trajectory cereal rust risk report is available for download now at the following link: June 11-15, 2021 report.  

As of the week of June 11-15, 2021 the overall Prairie cereal rust risk assessment and need for in-crop scouting is as follows:

Pacific Northwest – Even though there were relatively large numbers of reverse wind trajectories that passed over the PNW region and into the prairies, given limited stripe rust development in the PNW and dry conditions in the central to western Prairie regions, for the week of June 11-15, 2021 the risk of stripe rust appearance from the PNW is limited and scouting for this disease from this US region is generally not urgent.  There have been some reports of stripe rust in barley from Washington State and Oregon and central to western Prairie producers and consultants may want to keep an eye out for this disease as barley fields progress.

Texas-Oklahoma corridor – With the state of winter wheat crop development in the Texas to Oklahoma region, Prairie cereal rust risk reports from this region have ended for 2021.

Kansas-Nebraska corridor – Although stripe rust has developed in Kansas, and is progressing in Nebraska, winter wheat crops are moving towards later growth stages, while active sporulation is declining or has stopped, especially in Kansas.  There were a relatively low number recent wind trajectories from this area into the Prairie region for June 11-15, 2021, although some rainfall has occurred from central Saskatchewan to central Manitoba.  As a consequence for the week of June 11-15, 2021, the risk of leaf and stripe rust appearance from the Kansas-Nebraska corridor is generally low, especially as the Kansas winter wheat crop continues towards maturity.  Scouting for these diseases in winter wheat fields, although not urgent, is recommended over the next 1-2 weeks, especially in central to eastern Prairie regions that had some moisture during early to mid June. 

2021 Cereal Rust Risk Report (June 4-10, 2021)

The latest Prairie wind trajectory cereal rust risk report is available for download now at the following link: June 4-10, 2021 report.  

As of the week of June 4-10, 2021 the overall Prairie cereal rust risk assessment and need for in-crop scouting is as follows:

Pacific Northwest: Even though there were relatively large number of reverse wind trajectories that passed over the PNW region and into the prairies, given limited stripe rust development in the PNW and dry conditions in a number of Prairie regions, for the week of June 4-10, 2021 the risk of stripe rust appearance from the PNW is limited and scouting for this disease from this US region is generally not urgent.  There have been some reports of stripe rust in barley from Washington State and Oregon and central to western Prairie producers and consultants may want to keep an eye out for this disease as barley fields progress from the tillering to stem elongation stages.

Texas-Oklahoma corridor: Given the winter wheat crop in these regions is mature and harvesting is underway, a relatively low number of wind trajectories from this area, and dry conditions in large areas of the Prairies, for the week of June 4-10, 2021, the risk of leaf and stripe rust appearance from the Texas-Nebraska corridor is low.  With the state of winter wheat crop development in the Texas to Oklahoma region, this will be the last Prairie cereal rust risk report from this region for 2021.

Kansas-Nebraska corridor: Although stripe rust has developed in Kansas, and is progressing in Nebraska, winter wheat crops are moving towards later growth stages, while active sporulation is declining or has stopped, especially in Kansas.  There were a relatively low number recent wind trajectories from this area into the Prairie region for June 4-10, 2021, and dry conditions in large areas of the Prairies.  As a consequence for the week of June 4-10, 2021, the risk of leaf and stripe rust appearance from the Kansas-Nebraska corridor is generally low, especially as the Kansas winter wheat crop continues towards maturity.  Scouting for these diseases in winter wheat fields, although not urgent, is recommended over the next 1-2 weeks, especially in regions of Manitoba that had some moisture during late May and early June. 

2021 Cereal Rust Risk Report (May 28-June 3, 2021)

The latest Prairie wind trajectory cereal rust risk report is available for download now at the following link: May 28 to June 3, 2021 report.  

As of the week of May 28 to June 3, 2021 the overall Prairie cereal rust risk assessment and need for in-crop scouting is as follows:

Pacific Northwest: Even though there were a number of reverse wind trajectories that passed over the PNW region and into the prairies, given limited stripe rust development in the PNW and early stages of Prairie spring crop development, for the week of May 28 – June 3, 2021 the risk of stripe rust appearance from the PNW is limited and scouting for this disease from this US region is generally not urgent.

Texas-Oklahoma corridor: Given crop development is moving towards maturity and harvest in this region, no recent wind trajectories from this area, dry conditions in the eastern Prairie region, and early stages of Prairie spring crop development, for the week of May 28 – June 3, 2021, the risk of leaf and stripe rust appearance from the Texas-Nebraska corridor is low.  However, scouting for these diseases in winter wheat fields in central to eastern Saskatchewan, although not urgent, is recommended over the next 1-2 weeks given previous trajectories from May 21-27, 2021, and especially  in those fields planted to stripe rust susceptible varieties. 

Kansas-Nebraska corridor:  Stripe rust is continuing to develop in Kansas, and is progressing in Nebraska, while there were limited to no recent wind trajectories from this area into the Prairie region.  For the week of May 28 – June 3, 2021, the risk of leaf and stripe rust appearance from the Kansas-Nebraska corridor is generally low, especially in relation to the limited number of wind trajectories from this region over this period.  Scouting for these diseases in winter wheat fields, although not urgent, is recommended over the next 1-2 weeks given previous trajectories from May 21-27, 2021, and especially in those fields planted to stripe rust susceptible varieties. 

2021 Cereal Rust Risk Report (May 21-27, 2021)

The latest Prairie wind trajectory cereal rust risk report is available for download now at the following link: May 21-27, 2021 report.  

As of May 27, 2021 the overall Prairie cereal rust risk assessment and need for in-crop scouting is as follows:

Pacific Northwest: Even though there were a number of reverse wind trajectories that passed over the PNW region and into the prairies, given limited stripe rust development in the PNW and early stages of Prairie spring crop development, as of May 27, 2021 the risk of stripe rust appearance from the PNW is limited and scouting for this disease from this US region is generally not urgent.

Texas-Oklahoma corridor: Given increasing stripe rust development in this corridor (especially Oklahoma), an increased number of recent wind trajectories from this area into the central to western Prairie region, as well as the Kindersley, SK area, and early stages of Prairie spring crop development, as of May 27, 2021 the risk of leaf and stripe rust appearance from the Texas-Nebraska corridor is low-moderate.  Scouting for these diseases in winter wheat fields in central to eastern Saskatchewan as well as the Kindersley region, and Manitoba locations is recommended over the next 1-2 weeks, especially those planted to stripe rust susceptible varieties. 

Kansas-Nebraska corridor: Stripe rust is continuing to develop in Kansas, and is progressing in Nebraska, while there were limited to no recent wind trajectories from this area into the central to western Prairie region, except for Kindersley, SK.  However, there have been a number of trajectories that have passed over the central to eastern Prairie region.  As of May 27, 2021 the risk of leaf and stripe rust appearance from the Kansas-Nebraska corridor is low for the central to western Prairie region and moderate (mainly for stripe rust) for the central to eastern Prairie region as well as the Kindersley area.  Scouting for these diseases in winter wheat fields is recommended over the next 1-2 weeks, especially those planted to stripe rust susceptible varieties.  

2021 Cereal Rust Risk Report (May 12-20, 2021)

The latest Prairie wind trajectory cereal rust risk report is available for download now at the following link: May 12-20, 2021 report.  

As of May 20, 2021 the overall Prairie cereal rust risk assessment and need for in-crop scouting is as follows:

Pacific Northwest – Even though there were a number of reverse wind trajectories that passed over the PNW region and into the prairies, given limited stripe rust development in the PNW, generally dry Prairie weather conditions during the week of May 10-16, 2021, and early stages of Prairie crop development, as of May 20, 2021 the risk of stripe rust appearance from the PNW is limited and scouting for this disease is generally not urgent.

Texas-Oklahoma corridor – Given limited leaf and stripe rust development in this corridor (especially Texas), a smaller number of recent wind trajectories from this area, generally dry Prairie weather conditions, and early stages of Prairie crop development, as of May 20, 2021 the risk of leaf and stripe rust appearance from the Texas-Nebraska corridor is low and scouting for these diseases is not urgent. 

Kansas-Nebraska corridor – Stripe rust is continuing to develop in Kansas, and is progressing in Nebraska, while there were limited to no recent wind trajectories from this area into the central to western Prairie region.  However, there have been a number of trajectories that have passed over the central to eastern Prairie region.  Overall Prairie weather conditions have been dry during the period of May 10-16, 2021, and generally dry in Saskatchewan and Manitoba from April 17-May 16, 2021.  Prairie spring wheat development is still early, while winter cereals continue to develop.  As of May 20, 2021 the risk of leaf and stripe rust appearance from the Kansas-Nebraska corridor is low for the central to western Prairie region and moderate (mainly for stripe rust) for the central to eastern Prairie region.  Scouting for these diseases in winter wheat fields is recommended over the next 1-2 weeks, especially those planted to stripe rust susceptible varieties. 

Recent reports of stripe rust in Minnesota and Illinois suggest more northerly development of this disease and as a consequence growers in the central to eastern Prairie region should be on the look out for stripe rust over the next couple of weeks, especially in fields planted to susceptible winter wheat varieties. 

Mid-week mini cereal rust risk update - May 19, 2021

There has been a significant increase in the number of wind trajectories, originating over a number of states in the USA, that have crossed the prairies (Fig. 1). These air currents may introduce cereal rust spores into to the Prairie region. ECCC trajectory models indicate that air trajectories, originating over the Pacific Northwest (Idaho, Oregon, Washington), have crossed Alberta, Saskatchewan and western Manitoba (Fig. 2). Trajectories originating over Texas and Oklahoma have passed over eastern Saskatchewan and Manitoba (Fig. 3). A third group of trajectories, originating across Kansas and Nebraska have also crossed eastern Saskatchewan and Manitoba (Fig. 4). Though these US regions can be a source of cereal rust spores, the ECCC models predict air movement, not actual occurrence of cereal rust spores.  However, stripe and leaf rust continue to develop in the Oklahoma to Nebraska corridor, while development of stripe rust has generally been more limited in the Pacific Northwest.  Dry conditions in some Prairie regions and early crop development, especially in relation to spring cereals, may limit the risk.  However, scouting of winter wheat fields over the next 1-2 weeks, especially those planted to stripe and leaf rust susceptible varieties, should be considered in Prairie regions where these trajectories have occurred. 

The full PCDMN weekly cereal rust risk report will be available later this week and will include an overview of the cereal rust situation in key source regions in the USA.  

The PCDMN thanks Ross Weiss and Meghan Vankosky, AAFC Saskatoon, Jennifer Otani, AAFC Beaverlodge, and the PPMN for passing along this recent wind trajectory information. 

Figure 1. Summary of the average number (5 day running average) of reverse trajectories that have crossed the Canadian prairies (May 1-19, 2021).

Figure 2.  The green region indicates potential introduction of stripe rust uredospores from the Pacific Northwest (Idaho, Oregon, and Washington) to the Canadian prairies (May 18-19, 2021).

Figure 3.  The green region indicates potential introduction of stripe and leaf rust uredospores from Texas and Oklahoma to the Canadian prairies (May 18-19, 2021).

Figure 4.  The green region indicates potential introduction of stripe and leaf rust uredospores from Kansas and Nebraska to the Canadian prairies (May 18-19, 2021).

2021 Cereal Rust Risk Report (May 1-13, 2021)

Since 2019, the Prairie Crop Disease Monitoring Network (PCDMN) has released a series of weekly Cereal Rust Risk Reports throughout May and June.  Read the OVERVIEW describing the collaborative nature of this effort and the methods employed.  Information related to trajectory events based on forecast and diagnostic wind fields and cereal rust risk is experimental, and is offered to the public for informational purposes only.

The latest Prairie wind trajectory cereal rust risk report is available for download now at the following link: May 1-13, 2021 report.  

As of May 13, 2021 the overall Prairie cereal rust risk assessment and need for in-crop scouting is as follows:

a. Rust inoculum from the Pacific Northwest – Even though there were a number of reverse wind trajectories that passed over the PNW region and into the prairies, given limited stripe rust development in the PNW, generally dry Prairie weather conditions, and early stages of Prairie crop development, as of May 13, 2021 the risk of stripe rust appearance from the PNW is limited and scouting for this disease is generally not urgent.

b. Rust inoculum from the Texas-Oklahoma corridor – Given limited leaf and stripe rust development in this corridor, a limited number of recent wind trajectories from this area, generally dry Prairie weather conditions, and early stages of Prairie crop development, as of May 13, 2021 the risk of leaf and stripe rust appearance from the Texas-Nebraska corridor is limited and scouting for these diseases is not urgent. 

c. Rust inoculum from the Kansas-Nebraska corridor – Although stripe rust is continuing to develop in Kansas, it is just starting to develop in Nebraska, there were a limited number of recent wind trajectories from this area, generally dry Prairie weather conditions, and early stages of Prairie crop development, as of May 13, 2021 the risk of leaf and stripe rust appearance from the Kansas-Nebraska corridor is limited and scouting for these diseases is not urgent.  However, rust risk for the prairie region, especially for stripe rust, may increase with further rust development in these States coupled with more frequent wind trajectories from this region. 

 

Access ALL the full reports as downloadable PDF files by clicking the Cereal Rust Risk page.