Croptalksummer2011

CropTalk

Volume 20 | Issue 3

What’s new with Bayer CropScience products

A logical approach to protect canola W

ith many pests in your crop, you scout for the problem and then make a decision on how to deal with it. But with sclerotinia stem rot on canola, to get the best control you have to apply a fungicide before you even know it’s going to be a problem.

The decision of whether or not to spray is difficult for many farmers, yet the wrong decision can result in a sclerotinia outbreak severely affecting your yield at harvest.

So how do you decide if a fungicide application is worth the investment? First, look at last year’s disease incidence as sclerotinia overwinters in the soil. Second, look at your crop health. Given the widespread incidence of sclerotinia across the Prairies, if you have a thick, healthy crop, you are at risk.

Finally, take a look at the online tool developed by Bayer CropScience to help calculate your potential return on investment from a Proline fungicide application on your canola.

The Proline Logic Calculator will ask you to input agronomic, environmental and economic factors, and then it will calculate how Proline fungicide can protect your crop’s yield and make you money.

The simple-to-use calculator walks you though the decision step-by-step, taking into account the variables that should be considered. These include yield potential, the estimated price of canola, application costs and acres of InVigor and Proline purchased. It also provides a chart for entering potential disease pressure based on past and current regional environmental conditions.

Once all your information is entered, the calculator will provide you with a suggested return on investment from a timely application of Proline. You can expect more from your crop when you choose Proline, and the Logic Calculator will help show how it can protect your investment. CT

http://www.bayercropscience.ca/products/fungicides/proline/logic-calculator/

24 | Farm Forum | Summer 2011

A Newsletter from Bayer cropscience

With the right tools in hand, disease protection is all in the timing L

ast year it was wet on much of the prairies. Really wet. including canola and pulses. It belongs to a class of chemisAnd that meant a jump in disease across most of west- tries which protect, cure and eradicate essential components ern Canada. You saw first hand how disease could take of the disease growth. a good-looking crop and turn it into a poor FUNGICIDE TIMING quality, low-yielding STRATEGO FOLICUR performer. This year PROSARO you can expect more from your crop with a timely fungicide flowering application. late vegetative Bayer CropScience early vegetative Canada offers a family of fungicides for different crops, including Prosaro®, ® Folicur EW and ProGermination End of Beginning First node Node 2 Flag leaf Flag leaf First awns Beginning End of Flowering Grain Ripening tillering of stem at least at least just visible, stage: flag visible of heading heading filling line®. Each product elongation 1 cm above 2 cm above still rolled leaf fully tillering node node 1 unrolled has unique properties to meet your crop’s Proline offers high levels of control against sclerotinia needs. To get the maximum return on your fungicide investment, you need to pick the fungicide that will work best – when stem rot in canola, especially when applied at 20-50% flower. While the symptoms of stem rot don’t appear until later you need it to work. in the crop’s growth, getting it early is key to preserving yield.

Prosaro is the latest On average, canola treated with Proline in the early stages cereal fungicide from saw a 15% yield advantage over the untreated check.

Bayer CropScience.

Proline is also a proven performer against ascochyta Using the two best blight in chickpeas and lentils, which can result in yield active ingredients losses in excess of 70%. Proline can be applied to pulses available, it has pre- at the first sign of disease, and can be sprayed three times ventative and curative properties in the fight against leaf dis- in a crop year. ease and fusarium head blight (FHB) in wheat and barley.

When applied at early flowering of the wheat head and Folicur EW has a just after head emergence in barley, Prosaro protects against flexible window of FHB through the grain fill period, while curing any existing application, a wide leaf disease on the plant. range of application For optimal protection of both leaf disease and FHB, Prorates and an imsaro can be applied to wheat when at least 75% of the wheat pressive spectrum heads on the main stem are emerged up until 50% of the of disease control on wheat, barley and oats. As with most heads on the main stem are in flower. For barley, apply when fungicides, the best results come from application prior to at least 70% of the barley main stem heads are fully emerged infection, or in the very early stages of disease development. with 50% of the florets exposed.

To best combat both leaf and stem diseases, Folicur EW ®

®

®

PHOTOs coutesty bayer cropscience

PROSARO

Providing systemic control, Proline is a fast acting fungicide for broad-spectrum disease control in a variety of crops

should be applied at ¾ rate from the late vegetative state to the end of the flowering stage.

For suppression of FHB and control of septoria glume blotch, Folicur EW should be applied when a minimum of 75% of the heads on the main stem are fully emerged, up until 50% of the heads on the main stem are in flower. CT

Farm Forum.cA | 25

CropTalk Keeping on top of sclerotinia risk now can mean better yields at harvest N

ow that your crop is in the ground, it’s time to start thinking about in-season control. Sclerotinia stem rot struck western growers hard last year, and to keep it from wreaking havoc this season, growers have to be on top of the disease.

“Once the crop is in the ground the only way to keep sclerotinia under control is with a fungicide,” says Roger Rotariu, Manager, Oilseed Crops Fungicides, Insecticides and Seed Treatments with Bayer CropScience. “If you have a good, thick crop you have to assume that if the weather conditions are right, you will have sclerotinia in your crop.”

Most fungicides on the market control about 65-70% of sclerotinia stem rot. Proline from Bayer CropScience, however, is one of the only products available with consistent 80% control.

Sclerotinia can affect yield on all broadleaf crops. A rule of thumb is that yield loss equals disease incidence divided by two. In 2010, many fields saw a 30-40% infection rate, meaning a 15-20% yield loss. High levels of disease last year also meant higher than normal levels of disease inoculum left overwintering in the soil.

“Higher incidence of disease does not necessarily mean higher severity, but it’s a good start,” says Faye Dokken-Bouchard, a plant disease specialist with the Province of Saskatchewan.

“The growth of the disease is heavily dependent on in-season moisture, especially two to three weeks before flowering.”

In 2010, the Province of Saskatchewan collected information on the incidence and severity of sclerotinia stem rot. They found that 91% of the 265 fields reviewed had some signs of the disease, and in moist areas they found sclerotinia on up to 93% of the plants.

Think ahead While rotation is an important crop management tool, the sclerotia that cause stem rot can live in the soil for up to five years, and can affect or

26 | Farm Forum | Summer 2011

be hosted on many crops. However spacing out affected crops will reduce the build-up of the disease inoculum in the soil.

Seed choice can also help reduce disease risk. Bayer CropScience will launch a new InVigor hybrid next year that will offer built-in defense mechanisms to fight against sclerotinia.

“After one year of trials we saw a significant reduction of sclerotinia,” says Rotariu. “We anticipate when you combine this seed with a fungicide like Proline you’ll be able to reduce your infection rate by over 90%.”

There are also soil treatments available for application in fall to kill off the overwintering sclerotia. But growers will need to look at the situation around them. “While crop rotation and disease incidence in their own field is most critical, spores can also spread from field to field through the air,” DokkenBouchard says. “Growers need to be as aware of what’s in their neighbour’s field as they are with their own.” CT

Disease Cycle of Sclerotinia Stem Rot

A Newsletter from Bayer cropscience

PROSARO

Text to win with Prosaro!

It couldn’t be easier to enter. Just text PROSARO1 to 32075 for your chance to win an all-expense paid trip to the 2011 Country Music Association Awards in Nashville, Tennessee. Enter now – contest closes July 30th! The winner will be selected by random draw on August 8, 2011 and contacted by phone. Visit Prosaro online at BayerCropScience.ca/Prosaro for complete contest rules and regulations.

Do you know what fusarium head Premium Protection New Prosaro fungicide from Bayer CropScience delivers blight is costing you? premium protection for your wheat and barley. When ap-

PHOTOs coutesty bayer cropscience

Fusarium head blight (FHB) infections are increasing throughout the Canadian prairies. FHB reduces kernel weight, quality and ultimately the yield of your wheat and barley.

The Canadian Grain Commission announced that as little as 0.2% infection rate could mean the difference between malt barley and feed, with a 0.8% infection rate costing you a full grade.

plied at early heading, Prosaro protects against FHB, reduces DON levels and other mycotoxins, and stops all major leaf diseases.

Prosaro contains two leading active ingredients – tebuconazole for fast activity and prothioconzole for future defense.

Prosaro will deliver the highest level of control and curative activity on leaf diseases and the highest level of protection against FHB in wheat and barley.

With Prosaro you can protect your wheat and barley against the threat of FHB. CT

Always read and follow label directions.

Folicur®, Proline®, Prosara® are trademarks of Bayer. All other products mentioned are trademarks of their respective companies.

Bayer CropScience is a member of CropLife Canada.

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