Sclerotinia stem rot infection often starts when spore-infested petals drop onto leaves and create lesions. (Supplied photo/Canola Council of Canada)

By Alice McFarlane

Sclerotinia risk assessment tool

New sclerotinia tool helps growers assess disease risk and severity

Jul 5, 2024 | 2:28 PM

Growers and agronomists looking for help in making sclerotinia spray decisions this summer will have access to a new online tool from the Canola Council of Canada (CCC).

The tool, CanolaCalculator.ca, provides a recommendation about whether or not to spray a canola crop based on several inputs provided by the user, along with an opportunity to assess the spray decision by rating sclerotinia severity at maturity.

The second part of the tool is a calculator that provides an estimated return on a fungicide application based on different scenarios. These include percent of infection, fungicide cost, expected yield and market price.

Chris Manchur is a CCC agronomy specialist and lead on sclerotinia stem rot. He said the tools were designed to help growers and agronomists make timely, informed decisions on whether a foliar fungicide application is advised.

“Farmers have a lot of choices to make throughout the growing season,” he said. “It’s very exciting to put this new technology in their hands to help simplify decision making and assess potential impacts on productivity and profitability.”

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Sclerotinia stem rot is one of the most economically significant canola diseases in Canada. Caused by the fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, the disease is influenced by environmental conditions leading up to and during the flowering period of canola. It can be difficult to predict outbreaks and make the decision to spray based on the environment.

That is where the tool comes in.

The tool also includes a resource library with images, videos and other educational materials, serving as a central location for information for growers and agronomists in sclerotinia management.

These tools were built following three years of collaboration with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and extensive testing with agronomist partners and are an evolution of the sclerotinia stem rot checklist.

The project was funded in part by the federal government under the previous Canadian Agricultural Partnership – AgriScience Program, along with support from Alberta Canola, SaskCanola and Manitoba Canola Growers.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

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