Prairie farmers may have to contend with rust this year, a disease that can significantly impact crop yields.
Dr. Kelly Turkington, a research scientist in plant pathology with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at Lacombe, explains that rust spores typically originate from the Pacific Northwest and the Texas-to-Nebraska corridor in the U.S. These spores, which include stripe rust, leaf rust, stem rust, and crown rust in oats, are carried by the wind and usually start appearing in the prairies in June.
"The big impact with the rusts in terms of causing catastrophic yield losses occurs when that infection initiates well before head emergence, so sometime around stem elongation to emergence of the upper canopy leaves," Turkington says.
Over the years, research scientists, breeders, and pathologists have been working on developing crop varieties with increased rust resistance. "We have some really good varieties across the cereal spectrum in terms of rust management, especially for leaf stem rust and stripe rust in wheat." Turkington adds "For barley, the primary rust we focus on in terms of the variety registration process is stem rust. "
He notes we've got some good sources of resistance; varieties with a moderately resistant (MR), or resistant (R) rating can control the disease effectively, making fungicide application unnecessary.
Reports of low levels of stripe rust are already emerging from parts of the U.S. Turkington emphasizes that the timing of rust infection is crucial. "Your levels of yield loss could range from 40 to 90 percent in susceptible or highly susceptible varieties if the infection occurs before head emergence. However, if rust arrives after head emergence, the extent of yield loss decreases."
Farmers can stay informed about potential disease issues by subscribing to the Prairie Crop Disease Monitoring Network's free weekly newsletter. The latest Cereal Rust Risk Report is available on their website here.
To hear Glenda-Lee's conversation with Dr. Kelly Turkington, click on the link below.