Page 13 October, 2020
FHB (Fusarium Head Blight) – Let’s Manage It Alberta has a very diverse geography and a crop growing area that spans a wide range of climates. Milk River, Alberta is closer to Winnipeg, Manitoba than it is to Fort Vermillion, Alberta. It is 1,246 kilometres from Milk River to Fort Vermilion. Milk River is nearer to Vancouver via the Crowsnest Pass than it is to Fort Vermilion. I grew up in Manitoba, and I know that growing wheat “back home” is different than growing wheat in Alberta. Thus, it is understandable that climate, pests and other factors affecting wheat production differ between Milk River and Fort Vermilion. Different conditions exist from one side of the Peace River to the other side of the Peace River. What works well in Winnipeg or Milk River may not be the best option in Fort Vermilion or Rycroft. What worked well in 1928 in southern Saskatchewan did not work well in 1929. The bottom line is things change. Over time, between different climates, and even between other geographic regions in the same province. I remember when Fusarium graminearum (Fg) became established in Manitoba in the late 1980s, nobody knew what to do or how to manage it. It was not a new disease in Canada, having been identified in Eastern Canada as far back as the 1940s. It was still new to Manitoba, and best management practices were hard to find without ubiquitous internet access. It was a disaster! But it is
not any longer. Farmers in Manitoba still grow a lot of wheat and have adopted best management practices to limit losses and keep the disease at bay. The disease slowly moved northwest over the ensuing decades across Saskatchewan and into Alberta. A regulatory approach was implemented to delay the introduction and spread of Fg in Alberta. Alberta declared Fg a pest in 1999. Farmers were unable to acquire, sell, use or distribute seed containing Fg. To further attempt to limit the spread of the disease, the Alberta Fusarium graminearum Management Plan was rolled out in 2002 by the Alberta Fusarium Action Committee; a committee formed to address the management and mitigation of the pest. Whether or not the regulatory approach to Fg in Alberta can be quantifiably proven to have slowed disease spread is open for debate. Once a pathogen is established in a region and its’ pathology is understood, a singular regulatory approach is no longer effective in managing a pest. Fg is a slow-moving, air-borne disease, and our understanding of Fgs’ spread has evolved. Fg can be found across Alberta and has become endemic in many regions. Times change. On June 3, 2020, Alberta’s Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Devin Dreeshen, issued a ministerial order to remove Fg from the Pest Nuisance Control
