GrainsWest Fall 2020

Fall 2020 grainswest.com 39 “The regulation was put in place to try and mitigate introduction of the disease, but it hasn’t been effective in that regard.” —Shannon Sereda long been an advocate for moving from regulatory control of Fusarium to promotion of best management practices. “The regulation was put in place to try and mitigate introduction of the disease, but it hasn’t been effective in that regard,” said Sereda. “Our group brought together members of the industry to develop and support a plan for Fusarium mitigation, and part of that advocacy position was removal of the disease from the pest regulation.” Part of the strategic shift in dealing with Fusarium involves updating the Alberta Fusarium graminearum Management Plan. The plan was released in 2002 by the Alberta government to limit the spread and impact of the disease. “The plan will be updated to include new disease management tools that have recently become available such as the Alberta Climate Information Service Fusarium weather- based risk assessment tool,” said Michael Harding, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry (AF) research scientist, crop health and surveillance. “Furthermore, the revisions will remove information on legislation, regulation and enforcement that is no longer applicable.” Harding is also a former chair of the Fusarium Action Committee (FAC). Led by the Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC) and Alberta Barley, the committee is comprised of industry representatives. It offers recommendations on Fusarium -related issues and best management practices to the AF pest surveillance section. In Harding’s view, the change in approach to Fusarium was a natural evolution. “Where Alberta was once the only jurisdiction to regulate Fusarium , we are now on the same playing field as other provinces,” he said. “ Fusarium graminearum in Alberta will no longer be regulated by the province, but the responsibility to manage this pest will be shared by producers, industry and governments.” While the decision removes regulation, legislation or enforcement under the Agricultural Pests Act, “best practices such as seed testing, cultivars with tolerance or resistance to Fusarium head blight [FHB], high quality, disease-free seed, risk assessments and fungicide applications will remain essential to successful management of FHB,” said Harding. AWC chair Todd Hames said the change in regulation and update to the Fusarium graminearum Management Plan reflects the reality of the modern farm. “ Fusarium is widespread in Alberta and it is an airborne and soil disease, so regulations can’t keep it from crossing the border,” he said. “Nobody wants to use the regulation as a big stick enforcement tool and make people feel badly about what is happening on-farm. Given a more realistic approach, we can manage Fusarium with our heads up rather than with our heads in the sand. For me, that is the key aspect to this in that we need to give farmers the freedom to make decisions that make sense for their operations.” The emphasis on a realistic approach to Fusarium also rings true for many Alberta seed processors. “We have been involved in Fusarium management since it was added to the Agricultural Pests Act in 2002, insofar as plant operators submitting samples for growers to seed labs,” said Monica Klaas, general manager of Alberta Seed Processors (ASP). “Because of the regulation, seed plants were prohibited from cleaning or handling any seed that had Fusarium infection. Plant operators ensured there was a Fusarium test done on seeds, and if the test was positive, even if the test showed a minute trace infection level, we had to tell farmers they couldn’t use the seed.” With Fusarium now prevalent across Alberta, many ASP members would likely see a negative impact on their business volume if they kept to the letter of the law. “We are not the only game in town, so if we refuse to clean seed, farmers will find another way to do it; or worse, use uncleaned seed,” said Klaas. “The removal of the disease from the pest act means farmers should still test their seed for Fusarium , but now seed plants can legally process seed with low levels of the disease.”