The availability of plant disease risk assessment tools to guide farmers and the crop consultants they are working with is an important component of the fungicide decision process.
To help guide farmers and crop consultants with sclerotinia stem rot risk assessments a tool has been developed. Chris Manchur, Agronomy Specialist – Eastern Manitoba, Canola Council of Canada, has provided a short blurb that outlines the objectives and process for the sclerotinia risk assessment tool.
Sclerotinia Risk Assessment Tool – Beta-testers for the 2023 season:
In collaboration with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and SeedWorld Group, the Canola Council of Canada is developing a risk assessment tool to help growers make timely decisions on whether a foliar fungicide application is advised. For 2023, we are looking for beta-testers to use this tool and confirm whether a recommendation is accurate for that growing area. Our 2023 target is 100 fields surveyed across western Canada.
What would I need to do?
1) At fungicide decision time (early flowering), visit your test field and enter the following field information (multiple choice options): precipitation in the past two weeks, forecasted precipitation, plant density, years since last host crop, sclerotinia severity in last host crop, and presence of spore-producing apothecia in the field. Your risk score and spray recommendation based on these factors will be provided.
2) If spraying a fungicide, use the two marker flags provided by the CCC to leave an unsprayed check strip.
3) Revisit your test field at 30 – 60% seed colour change and assess sclerotinia severity on 100 plants in both sprayed and unsprayed parts (if you left a check strip) on a 0-5 scale. In addition, collect sclerotia/infected stem pieces for AAFC to test fungicide resistance.
4) Collect your gift card upon completion!
How do I sign up?
Beta-testers can sign up by contacting Chris Manchur, CCC Sclerotinia Lead, at manchurc@canolacouncil.org. Testers who complete both steps will be eligible for a gift card and are eligible for one gift card per field submitted (no limit to the number of fields that can be submitted). A link to the tool's website, markers flags, and postage-paid collection envelopes will be provided in early-mid June.