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AND
6 | Crown rust in oats
This perennial disease needs dethroning
By Bruce Barker
10 | Predicting insect pest risk on the Prairies
Insect pest monitoring and survey data enhance risk prediction modelling By
Donna Fleury
Sorting through Fusarium complexities
Carolyn King
14 | Alfalfa weevil resistance investigated Widespread deltamethrin resistance found in southern Alberta
By Bruce Barker
Herbicide resistance makes kochia management challenging
Donna Fleury
By Bruce Barker
ON THE WEB
NEW BUILDING ELEVATES AG RESEARCH IN ALBERTA
Agricultural research in northern Alberta got a boost when a brand new $2 million facility opened earlier this year. The building is the new home of SARDA Ag Research and brings new capacity and improved efficiency to the organization. It’s also an addition to the community of Donnelly, Alta.
DEREK CLOUTHIER EDITOR
ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL SUMMIT
Another year, another successful Top Crop Summit is under our belts! This year’s event in Saskatoon, Sask., Feb. 27-28 was packed with great speakers talking about all of the key issues and latest research in the agriculture sector, including disease, physical impact mills, agricultural practices around the world and of course, what everyone is talking about in the industry of late, drones.
Over the course of a day and a half, attendees were treated to an agenda that answered many of their most pressing questions, with expert speakers with decades of experience in their respective fields.
But one of the aspects of this year’s summit that stood out to me the most was the number of young women who are making their mark on this industry. In addition to many who attended, we had several female speakers at Top Crop Summit, including Breanne Tidemann, who has presented at the event before, Michelle Hubbard, Maria Alejandra Oviedo-Ludena and Valentina Anastasini, a master’s student in cereal and flax pathology. Anastasini gave a great overview on the research her department at the University of Saskatchewan is doing on bacterial leaf streak, and following her presentation several attendees and fellow speakers applauded the job she did.
Here at Annex Business Media, our agriculture group created Influential Women in Canadian Agriculture (IWCA) to recognize and promote the women who are making a difference and an impact in the industry. And, the women who presented at Top Crop Summit, as well as those in attendance, are certainly making their mark on the ag sector, and it was a pleasure to meet and introduce them to the 200 who came out our event.
If you’re interested in learning more about IWCA, visit agwomen.ca and keep your eye open for our 2024 recipients.
April issue
The issue you are holding takes a deep dive into the latest research on pests and disease. Everything from the issue of widespread deltamethrin resistance in alfalfa weevil in southern Alberta and using insect pest monitoring and survey data to enhance risk prediction modelling to combatting crown rust in oats and sorting through Fusarium complexities, our April publication has a clear focus to help you understand the work being done to minimize the impact of pests and disease in Western Canada.
So, as the ground (hopefully) starts to thaw and farmers gear up for another growing season, I hope this issue provides some valuable insight you can use in the field. And be on the lookout for our next publication, as it will be Top Crop Manager’s 50th anniversary issue, something our team is very excited for.
2024, VOL 50, NO. 4
Service Print and digital subscription inquires or changes, please contact Angelita Potal, Customer Service 416.510.5113 • apotal@annexbusinessmedia.com Mail: 111 Gordon Baker Rd., Suite 400, Toronto, ON M2H 3R1
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CAREY MATTHIESSEN DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, 20/20 SEED LABS
SUMMER IS GROW TIME.
Get the most out of your acres with 20/20 Seed Labs
20/20 Seed Labs Inc. is Canada’s first fully accredited, independently owned seed testing laboratory. Trusted by the agriculture industry since 1989, serving customers with labs in Alberta, Manitoba, and Chile.
We offer testing for domestic and international clients, seed and plant pathology, molecular diagnostics, and crop inspection. We are locally, nationally, and internationally accredited and certified and members of the following organizations: Seeds Canada, ISTA, SCST, CSGA, ISSS, SCC; ISO/ IEC 17025:2017, ISO 9001:2015. Follow us on X, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and at 2020seedlabs.ca.
Coming to a field near you this summer.
Our team at 20/20 Seed Labs is a leader in new and improved technology. Our research team, crop inspection personnel, and disease diagnosticians are breaking new ground with exciting trials. Plant disease, in-field diagnostics, and full-service crop inspection programs are priorities for this summer. Take full advantage of our summer programs to get more out of your seeded acres. Our team of experts continues to “never stop growing” by listening and responding to your needs.
Field trials
Mechanical damage continues to be complicated for oilseed (soybean) and pulse crops (peas) across the prairies. Understanding how mechanical damage affects the physiology of your seed is important in assessing how it will impact crop performance. It is caused when vulnerable seed is over or incorrectly handled. It is most prevalent in
large pulse crops where cracks in the seed coat and tissue can cause uneven moisture uptake during germination. The result is rapid and damaging tissue swelling, causing some seeds to fatally split open during the early stages of germination. Slightly damaged seeds will perform less vigorously than undamaged seeds but may produce a mature plant under suitable conditions. Moderately damaged seeds can perform poorly in a lab test yet do well in the field. Severely damaged seeds will not grow.
To understand this phenomenon, our research team is now focusing on germination and vigour methods nationally and internationally that will provide more accurate results. Understanding seedling performance in the lab is critical to providing accurate information to the grower. That’s why we are partnering with Olds College this summer to showcase mechanical damage in field plots to help our growers better understand the field behaviour.
Join our team at AgSmart in Olds, Alberta, on July 30th and 31st, where we will explain how laboratory results correlate with the plant establishment.
For the second year running, our soybean vigour methods will be showcased in Manitoba. Please join us for an on-farm demonstration. We will discuss seeding dates, seeding depth, soil temperature, and other factors and explain how our robust vigour methods have provided reliable seeding calculations.
Crop Inspection
As seed analysts, we are often diagnosing field issues through the testing we do in the
lab. Seedlings with certain types of damage may tell us there’s been a very hot and fast dry down, an early frost or even excessive rain. When our observations are combined with field experience, we can create a comprehensive quality assessment of the crop that goes beyond individual test values. Your seed has a story to tell - allow our seed technologists to translate.
We have been conducting crop inspections across the prairies for over 25 years. Through expanding our scope each year, we now offer inspections in Groups 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6, including Cereals, Pulses, Hybrid Canola and Mustard, Forages, Turf Grasses, Forage Legumes, and Specialty Crops (including industrial Hemp). We are authorized for all levels of pedigreed seed inspections, including Breeder, Select, Foundation and Probation plots in regions 9, 8, 7 and 6.
Plant disease and in-field diagnostics.
Our disease diagnosticians are highly trained experts. We can diagnose plant diseases directly from plant tissue during the growing season. We can identify diseases in your field with a photo, through a Zoom or Teams meeting, or upon receipt of a sample.
Remaining on the cutting edge of agricultural technology, 20/20 Seed Labs will be testing a new in-field airborne disease diagnostic tool this summer. In-field diagnosis is the next step of agricultural science technology, and our research team is ready to use it in your fields. Watch for our social media channels and website as we progress with our next research and development projects.
20/20 Seed Labs is looking forward to meeting you or seeing you again. For more information on how we can help you get the most of your crop this summer, give us a call (1-877-420-2099) or email us at joel@2020seedlabs.ca (crop Inspection), trevor@2020seedlabs.ca (disease diagnostics) and sarah@2020seedlabs.ca (business development and research opportunities). We’d be happy to meet with you in whatever way works best.
CROWN RUST IN OATS
This perennial disease needs dethroning.
by Bruce Barker
Crown rust in oats is a royal pain. It is a worldwide problem wherever oats grow, except in dry, arid areas.
Crown rust, caused by Puccinia coronate var. avenae f. sp. avenae, is economically significant in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan.
“Crown rust is the most widespread and damaging disease of oats,” says Jim Menzies, a plant phytopathologist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at Morden, Man. “Yield losses can range from 10 to 40 per cent or higher in severe epidemics, and it can cause losses in grain quality as well.”
In 2022, crown rust was at epidemic levels on the eastern Prairies, with 97 per cent of fields surveyed having the disease. The mean number of plants infected per field was 38 per cent, and the severity of infection was higher than what has been seen over the past 10 years. This was followed in 2023 with 90 per cent of fields surveyed having the disease, with an average of 45 per cent of the plants being infected and an infection severity slightly higher than what was observed in 2022.
“Some fields were severely infected and suffered yield losses in both years,” says Menzies.
Another severe year was 2020, with 86 per cent of fields infected, while 2018, 2019 and 2021 had minor disease pressure, likely caused by low precipitation in those three years.
The optimum conditions for crown rust development are warm sunny days of around 20°C to 25°C and mild nights with temperatures around 15°C to 20°C and adequate moisture for dew formation. The crown rust fungus can overwinter on stubble and grasses on the eastern Prairies but can only infect buckthorn plants in the spring. On buckthorn, the fungus reproduces into a form that can infect nearby oat crops. But, because buckthorn is not commonly found on the Prairies except for city parks, ravines and riverbanks, this source of infection is of minor concern.
The main source of crown rust infections on the Prairies is caused by spores that blow up on southerly winds from the U.S. on
ABOVE: Crown rust can cause up to 40 per cent yield loss, or more.
the ‘Puccinia Pathway.’ The first inoculum usually arrives around late June or early July. During the growing season, agronomists and growers can follow the rust situation in the U.S. through the USDA’s Cereal Rust Bulletins.
Symptoms of crown rust on oats are orange pustules on the upper and lower leaf surfaces. Sheathes and glumes can also be infected under severe infestations.
The crown rust fungus is genetically very variable. Eastern and western Canadian populations are very different, but both are equally variable. Since 2002, approximately 2,500 isolates have been assessed for virulence — the ability of the pathogen to infect a host. In any given year, about 80 per cent of the isolates are unique races. Menzies says only about two per cent of races are found repeating over a five-year period, and if a race is found at four per cent of the population, it is considered to be a dominant race.
Controlling the disease
The foundation of crown rust management is the use of resistant oat varieties. Provincial Seed Guides provide crown rust disease
resistance ratings; however, the genetic diversity of the fungus means that plant breeders must continually use new sources of resistance. For example, the oat varieties Stainless, Souris and AAC Justice relied on the Pc91 gene as a source of effective resistance, but virulence was first noted in 2012 at six per cent and had risen to 67 per cent by 2015, effectively overcoming the resistance.
Similarly, the Pc94 gene used in some varieties was effective, and virulence remained low at around two per cent in 2015 but is now at 20 per cent. “Honestly, it could go up to 60 per cent next year. I don’t know. The pathogen is just that variable.”
The genetic diversity of the pathogen becomes an issue with variety ratings.
“A crown rust resistant gene remains viable as an effective gene for resistance, on average, less than five years,” says Menzies.
Even though resistance genes may be overcome, Menzies says that growers should still grow a variety with a resistant or moderately resistant rating.
“Yield losses can range from 10 to 40 per cent or higher in severe epidemics, and it can cause losses in grain quality as well.”
“Use resistant varieties. Go to the Seed Guide, and if it gives it a good rating, I would use it anyway. Even if the pathogen population has changed, lines that had good resistance tend to do better than lines that never did have good resistance, even if the resistance is overcome,” says Menzies. “And to be fair, some of those lines do have good resistance. So, it is kind of the luck of the draw, I’m sorry to say that, but those resistant ratings have been done, and there is a lot of work behind those ratings.”
Menzies says another management strat-
Crown rust can be a problem wherever oats are grown.
PHOTO BY BRUCE BARKER.
egy is to seed early. This will allow the oat crop to mature earlier and avoid inoculum buildup and disease development. As a result, the severity of the disease could be lower with the earlier seeded crop.
Another strategy is to select fields away from buckthorn infestations. As an alternative host for crown rust, sexual reproduction of crown rust and infection of oat will start earlier in the year than if the fungus is blown in from the U.S.
Foliar fungicide application is the last line of defence. Menzies recommends that oat fields be scouted in early July for signs of the disease. The ideal application timing is at flag leaf emergence. Once the flag leaf is infested with pustules, it is too late to apply a fungicide. Growers should consult with their oat buyer to ensure that a foliar fungicide application is acceptable to the end-use market.
Growers are also encouraged to consider the weather and the potential for disease development. Menzies says if the weather is dry and little disease has developed by late July, fungicide application may not be warranted. He also recommends that growers rotate fungicide groups to help prevent the development of fungicide resistance.
“It is the same as the resistance gene. If you put a resistance gene out on a huge acreage, the pathogen will evolve to overcome that resistance. If you use the same fungicide over a large acreage, the pathogen will evolve to overcome that fungicide,” says Menzies.
RIGHT: Crown rust severity was
PREDICTING INSECT PEST RISKS ON THE PRAIRIES
Insect pest monitoring and survey data enhance risk prediction modelling.
by Donna Fleury
Through the Prairie Pest Monitoring Network (PPMN), growers across the Prairies have access to extensive tools and resources for assessing insect pest risk and making informed management decisions. Established in 1997, PPMN provides growers with insect pest monitoring and management information, including weekly in-season updates and maps showing the distribution and relative abundance of priority insect pests. The network also employs models to predict when insect pests will be active, aiding farmers in timing their on-farm scouting during the growing season.
“A new five-year project launched in 2023 provides funding to continue the monitoring and annual surveys conducted by PPMN and includes funding for additional research specific to some of the current priority insect pest populations on the Prairies,” explains Meghan Vankosky, field crop entomologist with Agriculture
and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) in Saskatoon, Sask. “This includes lab and field experiments to help create more detailed profiles of pest behaviour, development and population dynamics. Detailed insect pest profiles are necessary to identify the cycles and patterns of insect pest populations and to create models that predict their behaviour and risks to prairie cropping systems.”
One of the research priorities is to better understand grasshopper biology. Only a handful of grasshopper species are considered economic threats, including the clear-winged grasshopper, Packard’s grasshopper, the migratory grasshopper and the two-striped grasshopper.
“However, in the Aspen Parkland region of the Prairies, including around Edmonton and in the Peace River regions in Alberta,
ABOVE: Grasshopper nymphs caught in a sweep net in July 2023.
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the Bruner’s spur-throated grasshopper tends to be very prevalent every second year,” says Vankosky. “The Bruner’s grasshopper appears to have a two-year life cycle compared to a one-year cycle more common for other grasshopper species. Research at the AAFC Research Farm in Beaverlodge, led by Jennifer Otani, is being conducted to learn more about the factors driving Bruner’s grasshopper development, population changes and distribution.”
Another research project, led by Boyd Mori, assistant professor of agricultural and ecological entomology at the University of Alberta, is conducting lab experiments to assess the current status of insecticide resistance in populations of pea leaf weevil, cabbage seedpod weevil and diamondback moth in Western Canada. The project started assessing populations in Alberta in 2023 and will be expanding to include populations from across Saskatchewan and Manitoba over the five-year project.
Vankosky adds that although insecticide resistance is not generally considered a problem for most insect pests on the Prairies, it is important to assess and proactively manage. It is crucial to know whether there are populations of these insect pests that are becoming or could potentially become resistant to pesticides typically used to manage them.
“Looking forward to the 2024 cropping season, potential insect
pest issues will depend on field location and weather conditions,” says Vankosky. “We encourage growers to review the insect pests that were a problem in their area last year. Then, go to the PPMN website and look at the 2023 pest risk maps to see the density for their area, which informs what to expect in 2024. All of the maps for the key insect pests should be available on the website by the end of March. For example, bertha armyworm populations were low in 2023, so there probably isn’t a lot of risk for 2024, but it’s still important to be vigilant.”
Vankosky emphasizes that weather is one of the significant factors impacting the risk of various insect pests. Insects that prefer hot and dry weather include grasshoppers, wheat stem sawfly, crucifer flea beetle and diamondback moth. Conversely, insects that thrive in cool and wet weather include wheat midge, striped flea beetle, cabbage seedpod weevil, and swede midge.
“If hot and dry conditions continue like last year, then grasshoppers are going to be a significant potential issue for growers in 2024. If we have a dry, warm spring like last year, then grasshopper development can start very early. Start scouting early in May, looking for very tiny grasshopper nymphs and consider applying insecticides early if densities exceed economic thresholds. Grasshoppers are much easier to manage with insecticides when they
Results of the 2023 bertha armyworm monitoring program; cumulative capture of male bertha armyworm moths was below 300 per trap at the majority of sampling sites across the Prairie region in 2023.
are nymphs. If conditions stay hot and dry in 2024 in southern Alberta and southwest Saskatchewan, then wheat stem sawfly could also be problematic in those areas. However, if we get a cooler and wetter spring, then issues with wheat midge are more likely than issues with grasshoppers and wheat stem sawfly.”
The PPMN relies heavily on volunteers, including farmers, agronomists, researchers, industry commissions and provincial experts, to assist with monitoring and annual surveys. Researchers are always looking for partners willing to share data or to have researchers come onto their farms to collect samples, set up pheromone traps or provide other support for the survey and monitoring work.
In Alberta, Shelley Barkley, with Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation, leads the insect monitoring work. John Gavloski, with Manitoba Agriculture, leads the insect monitoring in Manitoba. In Saskatchewan, there is a Saskatchewan Agriculture database grower volunteers can sign up for if interested to allow access to their land and to get involved with monitoring. Growers can also contact Vankosky directly if they have questions or want to learn more about getting involved with insect monitoring activities.
“In collaboration with our partners and volunteers, we continue to grow and improve our knowledge and resources of priority insect pests and risk prediction capabilities,” notes Vankosky. “It will take a few years to collect and analyze all of the data from the various projects. In the meantime, we will continue with annual
monitoring and other activities, which, combined with historic and current pest monitoring data, will contribute to expanding and improving pest risk models. Researchers will be able to use different models to assess potential pest populations under different climate and weather scenarios to provide current and future insect pest distribution and forecasts. Ultimately, this will help researchers and growers be better prepared to make informed management decisions to reduce the impacts of insect pests in field crops across the Prairies.”
The project is co-funded by the Saskatchewan Agriculture Development Fund (ADF) and several industry commissions and organizations. For more information, visit prairiepest.ca.
When recycling ag containers, every one counts
Great job recycling your empty pesticide and fertilizer jugs, drums and totes. Every one you recycle counts toward a more sustainable agricultural community and environment. Thank you.
2024 COLLECTION SITES OPEN APRIL 1.
Ask your ag retailer for an ag collection bag, fill it with rinsed, empty jugs and return jugs, drums and totes to a collection site for recycling. In Alberta and Manitoba, ask your ag retailer if it’s a jug recycling location. Details at cleanfarms.ca
NEW! Return empty seed, pesticide and inoculant bags for environmentally safe management.
RIGHT: The egg, larval, pupal and adult stages of development of bertha armyworm.
PESTS AND DISEASE
ALFALFA WEEVIL RESISTANCE INVESTIGATED
Widespread deltamethrin resistance found in southern Alberta.
by Bruce Barker
These alfalfa weevils wobble but they don’t fall down. That’s the finding from southern Alberta research that looked into whether alfalfa weevils were resistant to the insecticide deltamethrin (Decis; Group 3).
“Alfalfa weevil can cause damage, particularly in seed fields, by stripping the plant and leaving skeleton-like leaves that result in a huge reduction in photosynthesis and resulting yield,” says entomologist Boyd Mori with the University of Alberta.
The alfalfa weevil overwinters as an adult under plant material along field margins. The adult is described as four to five mm long (approximately 3/8 inch) with a weevil snout and dark brown stripe from the top of the head down the middle of two-thirds of the body. Eggs are laid in May and hatch in four to 21 days. The green larvae, typically up to 10 mm long (about 3/8 inch) with a black head and white stripe down the body, begin to feed on stems, leaves and buds for three to four weeks, peaking in mid-June to mid-July. The larvae then pupate, and new adults emerge later in the year before overwintering.
“Fortunately, there is only one generation per year,” says Mori. The first suspected insecticide resistance was noted in Alberta and other parts of the Prairies in 2015. The suspicion was warranted since alfalfa weevil insecticide resistance was first noted in the USA in the 1960s, followed by confirmation of pyrethroid (Group 3) resistance in California in the 2010s. In 2015, Alberta Agriculture entomologist Scott Meers conducted a rapid test on a population in southern Alberta and concluded that pyrethroid resistance existed.
By 2018, there seemed to be a resurgence of alfalfa weevil on the Prairies, leading to research into whether insecticide resistance could be the cause. In 2018, two alfalfa weevil populations with suspected resistance were collected near Rosemary, Alta., along with a population at Lethbridge, Alta. The Lethbridge popu-
TOP: Unsprayed plots had severe alfalfa weevil damage with yield loss of approximately 90 per cent.
INSET: Alfalfa weevil adult.
lation had not been exposed to an insecticide and was assumed to be susceptible to insecticides.
Using a protocol established by the Insecticide Resistance Action Committee, 10 adult weevils were added to a vial and replicated with six to seven vials. The weevils were exposed to the recommended high rate of deltamethrin, one-half rate, one-quarter rate and a control without insecticide. The one-half and full rate of deltamethrin never achieved more than 60 per cent control with the two Rosemary populations. One hundred per cent control was achieved with the Lethbridge population.
“If mortality is less than 90 per cent, the population is considered to have insecticide resistance,” says Mori.
Another simplified method was tested on the three populations. Alfalfa plants were treated with deltamethrin and then exposed to alfalfa weevils. The Rosemary populations caused feeding damage, but the Lethbridge population did not.
In 2019, alfalfa weevil populations were again collected from Lethbridge and one site at Rosemary. Using the same vial test method, the populations were exposed to 0.1X, 1X, 10X and 100X of the recommended rate of deltamethrin. The purpose was to see how much insecticide was needed to control the populations. At Lethbridge, the 1X rate achieved over 90 per cent control, but the best control of the Rosemary population never reached 40 per cent even at the 100X rate.
In the spring of 2022, 15 grower fields in southern Alberta were sampled for deltamethrin resistance testing by Michelle Reid, an MSc student supervised by Mori. Mortality was on aver-
age less than 60 per cent, indicating widespread resistance in the southern Alberta alfalfa seed production region.
Management options
Scouting for alfalfa weevil should occur during the May and June timeframe when larvae emerge and start to feed on alfalfa plants. In hay crops, collect 30 stems in an M-shaped pattern and beat the stems in a pail to knock off the larvae. The economic threshold is one larvae per stem for plants less than 12 inches (30 cm) tall and two larvae per stem if the plant is less than 16 inches (40 cm) tall. But if three larvae per stem are found, action is required regardless of the height of the crop.
Economic thresholds for alfalfa seed crops are different than forage crops. Twenty to 25 larvae per 90-degree sweep or 35 to 50 per cent of leaf tips showing damage meets the economic threshold level.
Several parasitoids can provide biological control of alfalfa weevil. Bathyplectes curculionis and Oomyzus incertus are two parasitic wasps that can parasitize alfalfa weevil larvae. Reid and Mori collected parasitoids from southern Alberta in 2020 and 2021 to see what levels of control they were able to achieve. The parasitism rates varied widely across the sites ranging from zero to 90 per cent.
Based on the research, Mori says insecticide resistance to deltamethrin is well established in the Rosemary area, and that pyrethroid insecticides should be avoided in this region. He says preliminary research has found that organophosphates are still effective. Further research is needed to find out how widespread resistance is in Western Canada, and there is a need for a field-based quick test to rapidly detect resistance.
PHOTO COURTESY OF LARRY GRENKOW.
Alfalfa weevil larvae feeding on alfalfa.
PESTS AND DISEASE
SORTING THROUGH FUSARIUM COMPLEXITIES
A study to identify FHB species generates some intriguing results and an improved diagnostic toolkit.
By Carolyn King
Sometimes going the extra mile can take you much farther than expected. That was Reem Aboukhaddour’s experience in her recent study of Fusarium head blight (FHB) species in wheat.
Her study was part of a major, five-year project led by plant pathologist Kelly Turkington with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC). The project investigated crop management options to lessen the impact of FHB in wheat. It looked into the effects of crop rotation, residue management, row spacing, seeding rate and fungicide timing on FHB, leaf disease and yield of spring wheat. It took place at nine sites in five provinces and started in 2018.
Turkington asked Aboukhaddour, who leads the cereal pathology lab at AAFC-Lethbridge, and Adam Foster, a plant pathologist with AAFC-Charlottetown, to detect and quantify F. graminearum in grain and node samples from the different treatments. Aboukhaddour’s research team analyzed the samples from the project’s four western Prairie sites – Lethbridge, Lacombe and Beaverlodge, Alta., and Scott, Sask. – and Foster’s group worked on samples from the five sites in the eastern Prairies and Eastern Canada.
At first, Aboukhaddour was a bit worried by the amount of work that would be involved, especially since she had never worked onFusarium before. But she very quickly realized that this task was a generous opportunity: it provided her team with a treasure trove of wheat samples for pathogen analysis.
“My team and I brainstormed about how to plan the work and whether we could also expand the use of the samples beyond detecting F. graminearum,” she says. “We decided to look at all the fungi in the samples and look at Fusarium in depth. We thought that having five years of all this information might guide us into some new or interesting research areas.”
All fungal species
Over the five years of the project, Aboukhaddour’s team found a total of 27 species belonging to 15 genera, based on studying the pathogen cultures under a microscope and using molecular testing.
“The most frequently isolated genera from the grain and nodes were Alternaria, Parastagonospora and Fusarium. Those three genera represented over 90 per cent of all isolates. Alternaria species are not known to be major plant disease concerns, although some species can cause minor disease in cereals,” she notes.
“However, the Parastagonospora species we detected were mainly Parastagonospora nodorum and its sister species Parastagonospora pseudonodorum, which cause septoria nodorum. This is an important leaf spot disease, but people sometimes forget that these pathogens can also cause glume blotch. As someone who works on leaf spots, finding Parastagonospora nodorum on both grain and node samples was really interesting.”
Out of the study’s Parastagonospora findings came a new project led by Aboukhaddour to investigate Parastagonospora nodorum and related species in wheat.
FHB disease complex
“Fusarium head blight is a disease complex caused by many different species. F. graminearum is the predominant FHB-causing pathogen in Canada and worldwide. But many other Fusarium species can be involved, and those species are varied in their response to fungicides, weather conditions and many other factors. Besides causing significant yield losses, FHB pathogens reduce grain quality and may produce harmful mycotoxins,” explains Aboukhaddour.
TOP: Mohamed Hafez and a summer student with some of the many Fusarium isolates analyzed during this project.
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“It’s important to know which Fusarium species are involved in causing FHB in a crop because different species may be affected differently by management measures. Also, different species produce different mycotoxins. These mycotoxins can affect the pathogen’s virulence on the plant, and some of these mycotoxins may affect food and feed safety. For example, DON (deoxynivalenol) is a key mycotoxin of concern because it can cause toxicity to animals and humans. F. graminearum produces DON and so does F. culmorum.”
Aboukhaddour’s team cultured isolates from the grain and node samples and examined the cultures under a microscope to identify all the Fusarium species. Then, they confirmed the species identification through molecular tests.
A better diagnostic tool
Some Fusarium species are extremely difficult to tell apart based on their morphology in lab cultures and under the microscope, but a further challenge in identifying Fusarium species is the changing scientific opinions about the species classifications.
“Fusarium taxonomy has been a controversial issue and many taxonomical concepts have been used to define species limits for Fusarium. In recent decades, the application of the phylogenetic species concept based on DNA sequencing has resulted in many taxonomic revisions within the genus Fusarium,” Aboukhaddour says.
“For example, in the early 2000s, experts determined that what had been identified as F. graminearum was actually comprised of 16 different species, collectively known as the F. graminearum species complex. One of the 16 has been designated as F. graminearum itself.”
Fortunately, at the start of this study, Aboukhaddour added Mohamed Hafez to her team. Hafez had previously studied Fusarium species in cereals and pulses and had experience in developing molecular diagnostic kits for differentiating certain Fusarium species.
Hafez pointed out that the markers developed before 2000 were not very good at accurately differentiating between the 16 FHB species. As a result, Aboukhaddour’s team ordered various FHB species from culture collections, tested the available markers and confirmed the markers were not able to accurately tell all the species apart.
So, through a lot of testing and tweaking, the team developed a set of quantitative PCR markers for the four most abundant wheatassociated Fusarium species in Canada: F. avenaceum, F. culmorum, F. graminearum and F. poae. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) tests not only determine whether or not a particular pathogen is present in a sample but also how much of that pathogen is present.
The team also optimized the protocol for using this set of qPCR assays, and they validated that the assays reliably and accurately differentiated the four species from each other and from other Fusarium species.
Developing this diagnostic toolkit took about a year. Aboukhaddour had hoped to also develop markers for two more Fusarium species, but that additional work was put on hold due to pandemic restrictions on lab work.
Aboukhaddour’s team immediately shared the toolkit with Foster and other colleagues working on Fusarium, and they published the toolkit in 2022 so researchers anywhere can now use it.
“This diagnostic tool has a really powerful potential for improving our understanding of the FHB complex,” says Aboukhaddour. “For instance, by collecting accurate information over time about how much of a particular pathogen is present in your samples, you can track changes in the pathogen populations and see which is the main pathogen causing FHB. You can look for patterns to see how changes in the proportion of the different species relate to differences in things like weather conditions, cultivars or management practices.”
For all five years of the project, Aboukhaddour’s team used the qPCR tests for F. graminearum for Turkington to use in his analysis.
However, for the three other species, the team was only able to run the qPCR tests for the samples collected in 2018, again because of pandemic restrictions. With data for only one year, they can’t draw any firm conclusions about the effects of the different management practices on the quantity of F. avenaceum, F. culmorum and F. poae
Key Fusarium species findings
Aboukhaddour summarizes the Fusarium species results for the four western Prairie sites.
Turkington at his Beaverlodge field site talking about his multisite project to investigate crop management options to lessen the impact of FHB in wheat.
Aboukhaddour and some of her team members: instead of just detecting Fusarium graminearum, they decided to look at all the fungi in the samples.
PHOTO COURTESY OF GREG SEMACH, AAFC-BEAVERLODGE.
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“We found three species on the grain and nine on the nodes. F avenaceum was the most abundant species in node samples, whereas F. poae was the most abundant in grain samples.
“F. avenaceum was recovered from node and grain samples in all locations. F. culmorum was exclusively recovered from node samples in all four locations and was the most abundant species in Beaverlodge.
“F. graminearum was recovered at low frequency from node and grain samples collected from Lethbridge and Scott and was not detected in Beaverlodge or Lacombe.”
Aboukhaddour notes that F. graminearum tends to be much more predominant in regions with moister growing conditions, such as Manitoba, compared to Alberta. “Maybe in Alberta, we should also look at F. avenaceum, F. culmorum and F. poae – along with F. graminearum – because those three species seem to also be an important part of the FHB complex here.”
Learning more about the impacts of these other species on wheat yields and mycotoxin levels might be especially important if the coming years bring more of the hotter, drier conditions that seem to favour species like F. poae
Aboukhaddour thinks it might also be worth looking into crop
management effects on these other FHB species. For instance, she notes that recent research led by Xiben Wang at AAFC-Morden indicates that different FHB species on barley might have different sensitivities to fungicides.
Going above and beyond
“This whole study was really born by accident. I’m happy I went beyond the original task of detecting F. graminearum. The samples from Kelly’s project were hugely valuable for us, for this study and beyond. Now we have this diagnostic tool for Fusarium that can help a lot of other people. And my team has a big project on Parastagonospora nodorum about an aspect that I hadn’t considered very much before,” Aboukhaddour says.
“By going beyond the original task, we opened a door to new questions and new research areas that could help toward a better understanding of important cereal diseases in the western Prairies.”
Funding for this FHB study came via Turkington’s project, which was supported by the Wheat Cluster (Canadian Wheat Research Coalition and AAFC). Aboukhaddour’s lab was also the recipient of additional funding from AAFC, Alberta Grains (formerly Alberta Wheat) and Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission.
Aboukhaddour’s team analyzed grain and node samples from Turkington’s site at AAFC-Lacombe (shown here) and three other western Prairie sites.
Turkington’s site at AAFC-Scott.
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HERBICIDE RESISTANCE MAKES KOCHIA MANAGEMENT CHALLENGING
Integrated management strategies can help to reduce kochia biomass and seed production in crops.
by Donna Fleury
Kochia is a significant weed problem for many growers and is now widespread across Western Canada. Along with its ability to thrive in challenging conditions such as heat, drought and high-saline soils, increasing herbicide resistance to glyphosate and dicamba across the Prairies is making kochia management more challenging. Researchers are investigating cultural strategies that may help to reduce kochia populations while reducing the burden on herbicides.
“Kochia is fairly widespread across all three prairie provinces, and herbicide resistance to glyphosate and also dicamba is on the rise,” says Shaun Sharpe, research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) in Saskatoon, Sask. “Although a lot of kochia is found in field margins, ditches, railways and oil and gas sites, the populations in crop fields are increasing. We recently completed a field survey in 2019 across Saskatchewan that found
87 per cent of kochia had glyphosate resistance within 137 rural municipalities, and dicamba was detected in 45 per cent of kochia samples in 87 rural municipalities. With the drier drought conditions in many areas over the past couple of years, those numbers are expected to increase as kochia spreads really quickly and populations can escalate very fast.”
Field surveys in Manitoba in 2018 detected 58 per cent of kochia samples with glyphosate resistance, and in 2021 in Alberta, 78 per cent of kochia had some level of glyphosate resistance.
In the study, resistance was expressed as low (one-20 per cent), moderate (21–60 per cent) and high (61–100 per cent), which
ABOVE: Shaun Sharpe, AAFC research scientist, investigating patch management strategies that may help reduce kochia populations, seed production and the risk of herbicide resistance in fields.
corresponds to the percentage of resistant plants within each population. In Saskatchewan, over 60 per cent of the glyphosateresistant populations sampled were at the high resistance level, where many of the kochia plants can live and continue to grow after three weeks. On the other hand, only one to 20 per cent of the dicamba-resistant samples were at the high level of resistance. With dicamba, the resistance overall was a lot lower and the plants were typically quite injured and few were able to continue growing. However, to reduce the risk of increasing the level of resistance to dicamba over time, growers should consider including other modes of action in their herbicide management.
“When managing kochia with herbicides, consider what other modes of action can be mixed, either in the tank or applied at a different time. Herbicide management for kochia usually includes early pre-seed burndown and other early applications, and it is really important for growers to use tank mixes with alternative modes of action,” adds Sharpe. “Talk to an agronomist about options that could be best for your area, and whether residual herbicides are a consideration. Group 14 herbicides can be an option for canola and pulse growers; however, some resistance concerns have been reported, and growers need to be careful not to overuse Group 14 pre-herbicides. The tumbleweed properties of kochia mean that one resistant plant can spread seed to multiple distant fields in a single year. Watch where the plants typically move into a field and monitor those areas and other areas such as low spots and field margins for higher kochia populations. With dicamba, the resistance issues are still fairly low; however, it is important to start looking at what other modes of action can be included to reduce the risk of increasing resistance.”
Sharpe was also interested in investigating other cultural practices that may help reduce kochia populations and seed production in fields. In 2021, a three-year project on six sites was launched to study kochia patch management. In collaboration with growers, established patches were identified where kochia persisted in their fields. Several different cultural treatments were compared at each site including mowing, black plastic mulch, hydromulch and piling chaff on weedy patches in field margins. The treatments were applied in late May
A camelina/pea intercrop plot, heavily dominated by camelina, with kochia plants growing next to the plot.
when the kochia plants were about the two- to five-leaf stage. The mowing treatment included mowing very close to the soil at that stage and every three to four weeks throughout the growing season. In 2021, the plots averaged about 800 plants/m 2 and in 2022 populations spiked to over 10,000 plants/m 2 at times during the growing season. The 2023 data is still being finalized.
“Overall, the chaff treatments performed the best, and we were able to reduce kochia plant stands by up to 90 per cent,” says Sharpe. “Wheat chaff was piled about six centimetres deep on top of the kochia patches at four sites where chaff was available. On two other sites, either kochia plants were used or adjacent cattails were cut and used to bury the plants. The treatments using either kochia plants or cattails to bury the kochia patches also worked well. This treatment was pretty promising, and with chaff usually available in the field, it is fairly easy with no additional input costs to collect and spread on the kochia patches. We only had the one treatment, so it would be good to do some additional trials to determine the best chaff depth to optimize control. Within fields, we expect that crops would be able to grow through this chaff layer while keeping the kochia seedlings buried.”
Sharpe adds that the mowing treatment worked well in the first year, especially if the mowing was done close to the ground. In drought years, kochia plants continue to grow and produce seed even if they are stunted and short. Although the kochia continued to grow, repeated mowing usually stopped any growth by the end of the season. However, this treatment is more labour-intensive, with multiple mowing passes required. The black plastic mulch worked well and kept the kochia plants from growing through the plastic. The hydromulch treatment, typically used for erosion control, was applied as a slurry and water mix in a layer about one to two centimetres deep. Although it worked well in the first year, in subsequent years when the hydromulch didn’t form a hard mat, the kochia plants started growing through the treatment. One additional treatment included seeding forages to the salt-prone field margin areas; however, with the very dry conditions, the crop did not get established.
“We also trialled intercropping camelina and peas as a possible cultural treatment to manage kochia,” explains Sharpe. “In 2022, we seeded the intercrops in alternate rows in a plot that had some kochia plants, but we didn’t end up with a lot of kochia. So, in the next year, we added kochia seeds to the plots to provide a more even stand. The treatments included both an Edge pre-seed treatment followed by a pre-seed burndown on the plots, but no postemergent applications were applied. Edge can be used safely with both crops and where it was applied kochia was controlled quite well. Although in the first year, the intercrop was mostly camelina, in 2023 we had more moisture, and the intercrop was about 60 per cent camelina and 40 per cent peas. The intercrop performed quite well, with the peas using the camelina as a substrate to grow on, keeping the canopy upright and closing over more quickly. The intercrop kept upright and was quite competitive, and with a fairly fast canopy closure, reducing weed pressure. However, in the single crop treatments with peas only, the crop lodged quite a bit.
“Herbicides will continue to be an important management tool, but growers must use as many modes of action as possible through the year to help keep those chemicals in use. Growers should also look at their cropping systems to find ways they may be able to incorporate additional cultural methods to help take the burden off the herbicides. Using all strategies available to reduce the risk of resistance and protect the herbicide tools available is key. Implementing patch management strategies such as burying weedy patches with chaff can help by reducing kochia emergence, reducing the areas that need spraying, and reducing the risk of developing herbicide resistance. Intercropping and other cropping systems that increase crop competitiveness and faster canopy closure can also help reduce kochia populations. In field margins or areas with significant kochia patches that are low-yielding or not productive, consider seeding a saline-tolerant perennial forage or cover crop to help compete against kochia and build carbon in the soil for a few years. Using all strategies available to reduce kochia biomass and seed production and the risk of herbicide resistance will help to protect available herbicide tools.”
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BRUCE BARKER, P.AG CANADIANAGRONOMIST.CA
REVISING LYGUS BUG ECONOMIC INJURY LEVELS
The historical lygus bug economic threshold of 15 lygus bugs per 10 sweeps was established in the early 1990s on conventional canola cultivars and canola prices in the $6 to $7 range. With the development of higher-yielding and more vigorous hybrid canola, there was a need to update the economic threshold for lygus bugs in canola.
Research led by Hector Cárcamo with Agriculture and AgriFood Canada at Lethbridge was conducted in Alberta to validate a Lygus threshold for canola. It used data collected over 23 years from 1999 to 2021 from small plots and commercial fields. The 97 study sites were in southern and south-central Alberta.
Canola yield and lygus abundance of both adults and juveniles were collected for all trials. Canola yield in commercial field trials was obtained from combine yield monitors or weigh wagons, and in some trials, were harvested manually at two locations in each plot to provide an additional estimate of yield. Lygus sampling was conducted at late flower or early pod stage before insecticide application and within one week after application.
Commercial field trials from 2010 to 2019 (farm study one 20102013; farm studies two and three 2016 – 2019) were used to help validate the lygus threshold. These trials had four blocks per farm, and each block contained large plots of sprayed and unsprayed treatments. In the sprayed plots, a pyrethroid insecticide of either lambda-cyhalothrin or deltamethrin was applied. Lygus bug abundance in these trials averaged from 15.4 to 25.5 lygus per 10 sweeps.
In 2021 during a severe lygus outbreak, three commercial fields (farm study four) were studied where farmers left unsprayed strips to assess feeding damage. The fields were near Airdrie, Nanton and Stavely. Lygus bug abundance was approximately 220 Lygus per 10 sweeps but reached up to 1,400/10 sweeps at the Airdrie field.
Plot trials were also conducted intermittently between 1999 and 2019. These trials typically had randomized sprayed and unsprayed treatments within a matrix of plots. Lygus bug abundance was around 58 lygus per 10 sweeps.
In farm study one from 2010 to 2013, sprayed plots yielded 10.6 per cent higher than unsprayed plots.
For farm study two from 2016 to 2019, data analysis identified three lygus population groupings that influenced yield. In 141 observations with less than 17 lygus per 10 sweeps, canola yield was slightly higher in unsprayed plots than in sprayed plots. For popu-
lations between 17 and 30 lygus per 10 sweeps, yield was similar between sprayed and unsprayed treatments. This suggested that canola plants compensated for lygus feeding damage. When lygus populations were greater than 30 lygus per 10 sweeps, yield declined significantly in the 45 treatments analyzed.
In farm study three from 2017-2019, conducted in south-central Alberta (Lacombe area), there were no treatment effects as far as yield responses, suggesting that lygus are less damaging to canola in this fertile and moist black soil zone. This agrees with the observation from local canola growers that even 50 lygus per 10 sweeps did not appear to cause damage. It also confirms an earlier study from the Vegreville area in the same eco-region, which noted that yield losses were highest when lygus surpassed 50 per 10 sweeps.
In farm study four during the 2021 severe outbreak, crop yields were significantly higher at the three sites when sprayed with an insecticide. At the field near Nanton, yield was 20 per cent higher in the sprayed treatments, while the Stavely site had 15 per cent higher yield and the field near Airdrie had 2.8 per cent higher yield.
To determine the economic injury level (EIL), data from all plots and commercial fields (1,229 observations) were merged. Yield was modelled as a function of lygus abundance. The 2023 canola commodity price used in the calculations was $15.47/bu. ($682/tonne) and an aerial application cost of $18/ac. ($44.48/ha) was used.
The researchers considered that the EIL and the economic threshold would be the same since spraying often takes place quickly after scouting. Linear and non-linear models suggested the EILs ranged from 8.9 lygus per 10 sweeps up to 23.2 lygus per 10 sweeps at the pod stage, which were similar to the historical threshold. But a detailed analysis of precision yield data from commercial fields found yield was protected from lygus feeding by spraying a foliar insecticide at the early pod stage only when populations exceeded 30 lygus per 10 sweeps.
Modelling also found the threshold can rapidly rise when canola prices are in the $11.34 to $13.60/bu. ($500 to $600/tonne) range. Conversely, the threshold population would be lower when canola prices move higher than the 2023 commodity price used in these calculations.
The study highlighted the value of on-farm yield and long-term plot data in validating decision-making tools and is now leading to the era of big data in agricultural research.
Bruce Barker divides his time between CanadianAgronomist.ca and as Western Field Editor for Top Crop Manager. CanadianAgronomist.ca translates research into agronomic knowledge that agronomists and farmers can use to grow better crops. Read the full Research Insight at CanadianAgronomist.ca.
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