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Spring
2018
grainswest.com31
Feature
N 2016, FARMERS FACED POSSIBLY THE WORST
Fusarium head blight (FHB) damage year in Canadian
history. Already established in Manitoba and
Saskatchewan, the disease is now spreading across Alberta,
where tight regulations leave some farmers scrambling to
source clean seed. Prevention and rotation are crucial in
avoiding losses, and new tools are available to help farmers
fight the disease.
Each year, the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) posts
its annual harvest survey results for FHB. According to CGC
research scientist TomGräfenhan, 2016 was a benchmark year
for Fusarium damage. “We had over 70 per cent of durum
samples affected by the disease,” he said. “A significant amount
of that 70 per cent ended up in the feed or lower grade. A lot of
durum was not marketable.”
While the numbers for 2017 haven’t been posted yet,
Gräfenhan said damage wasn’t nearly as bad as in the previous
year. In durum, Fusarium was present in only two per cent of
western Canadian samples. By comparison, it was present in
just six per cent of 2017 red spring wheat samples; in 2016,
over 50 per cent of red spring wheat crops were affected. “Red
I
spring gives you the best picture, while durum gives you the
worst picture,” said Gräfenhan.
Fusarium regulations vary from province to province. In
Manitoba, where there are no restrictions or thresholds for
planting infected seed, it’s advised that seed grain be tested
for germination and infection. Saskatchewan doesn’t regulate
the disease as a pest, but the province recommends growers
not use seed containing more than five per cent
Fusarium
graminearum
to minimize its spread.
In Alberta, however, the disease is a declared pest under the
Agricultural Pests Act, meaning grain containing detectable
levels of
F. graminearum
cannot be used for seed.
The regulation put Alberta in a tight spot in 2016 when
Fusarium levels were high. “This is where it becomes
contentious,” said Michael Harding, a plant pathology research
scientist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. “It really
negatively affects seed producers that end up with Fusarium on
their grain because, according to the Agricultural Pests Act, it’s
against the law to sell it for propagation purposes.
“Alberta growers could sell infected grain for milling as seed
into another province as long as it’s transported according
BY MELANIE EPP • IMAGES COURTESY OF KELLY TURKINGTON
FHB regulations, complications andmanagement
Fight
the
blight