Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

C&M Seeds Wheat School: Trying to Understand Fusarium.

Fusarium is an ugly monster that continues to rear its ugly head across North America. Some areas are definitely worse than other but the impact is real. With more tolerant wheat genetics coming every year, farmers are desperate to try and manage this disease in the most proactive ways that they can. Some of the management strategies include; timing of irrigation application, crop rotation, fungicide application and variety selection. This is a disease that many areas of the world live with and are forced to manage instead of trying to eradicate. Due to the disease’s reliance on the right environmental conditions, farmers are faced with trying to minimize the impacts.

See the definition of Fusarium on wikipedia

Fusarium not only affects the farmers bottom line but also the millers and bakers. Fusarium has even been used as a form of biological warfare in the 30’s and 40’s in Russia.

With all the talk about fusarium I thought it would be pertinent to talk to Peter Johnson from OMAFRA about fusarium and the impact that it is having in Ontario. I encourage you to watch this video even if you are not in Ontario because the same message applies whether you live in Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta or Montana. Peter provides his discussion around how Ontario farmers try and live side by side with this disease. I hope that this helps you to better understand the possible ways to live side by side with fusarium.

See other episodes of the WheatSchool

Find out more about wheat genetics at C&M Seeds

Views: 137

Comment

You need to be a member of Ontario Agriculture to add comments!

Join Ontario Agriculture

Comment by Avia Eek on April 14, 2010 at 1:14am
Wheat and other such crops aren't the only ones affected by Fusarium. It occurs in carrots as well, Fusarium Dry Rot. Currently, there seems to be no way to combat it in our organic based soil except through crop rotation, and fumigation. We also have a problem with sclerotia, however, we're testing a small area in one of our fields with a new biological fungus which will attack the sclerotia before it attacks the carrot root! Having said this though, as will all tools we use, timing is everything and temperature plays a big role in the success of this new product.

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

Crop Report for The Period June 16 to 22, 2026

Seeding in Saskatchewan is nearly finished with 99 per cent completed. Attention has shifted to in season activities, including haying operations, herbicide applications and monitoring for pests and diseases. Over the past week, most regions in the province received significant rainfall. While these rains were welcomed in some areas, excessive precipitation in others has led to saturated fields. Combined with periodic high winds, these conditions have delayed in-crop spraying operations in several regions. The Foam Lake area recorded the highest rainfall at 110 millimetres (mm), followed by Hillsborough with 77 mm. Both Elfros and Lacadena reported 68 mm of rainfall. Rainfall significantly increased topsoil moisture, with surplus conditions increasing in most areas. Cropland topsoil moisture is: 20 per cent surplus;   77 per cent adequate; and Three per cent short. Hayland topsoil moisture is: 15 per cent surplus; 77 per cent adequate;   Seven per cent short; and   One per cent v

BCRC and CCA Statement on Funding for Federal Scientists at University of Guelph

The Beef Cattle Research Council and Canadian Cattle Association are pleased with the recent announcement that Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) will fund the salaries of Dr. Óscar López-Campos and Dr. Nuria Prieto at the University of Guelph for a two-year period. This funding will help reinvigorate the University’s meat science program, maintain ongoing industry research and provide valuable training opportunities for students and future beef researchers. This was one of the key requests made by the CCA and BCRC when the AAFC cuts were announced in late January, and we acknowledge the efforts made by the University, AAFC and Drs. López-Campos and Prieto to achieve this result.  Dr. Óscar López-Campos has led industry efforts to continuously improve beef carcass grading technology, as well as the recent harmonization of the Canadian and U.S. yield grades. He is also well-known and respected for engaging young producers with the importance of carcass merit through annual 4-H cl

Revolutionizing Canada’s food and fermentation sectors with new AI technology

Canada’s ability to create more value from its agricultural resources is taking a significant step forward. Today, Protein Industries Canada announced a new project with Crush Dynamics and Atomic47 Labs to develop a revolutionary AI-enabled fermentation platform that uses existing industrial sensors and advanced machine learning to continuously infer fermentation conditions, food safety indicators, energy performance and process health in real time. By transforming conventional fermentation from a manually managed process into an intelligent, autonomous system, the technology has the potential to significantly reduce energy consumption, improve product consistency, increase production efficiency and unlock new value from agricultural byproducts, creating a new model for smart and sustainable food manufacturing. “With support from Protein Industries Canada, one of Canada’s global innovation clusters, Crush Dynamics and its partners will use AI-driven innovation to strengthen Canada’s

USRSB Hosts 2026 General Assembly, Driving Progress in Beef Sustainability Through Science & Stewardship

The U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (USRSB) convened for its 2026 General Assembly Meeting, bringing together stakeholders from across the beef value chain to advance the theme “Science & Stewardship: Driving Progress.” This year’s event welcomed members and non-members alike to Tampa, Florida, and highlighted the power of collaboration and innovation through engaging main stage sessions, interactive breakout discussions, and beef sustainability-focused tours. “More than 145 industry stakeholders joined us this year to explore critical topics ranging from food waste and supply chain innovation to grazingland conversion and water stewardship,” said Samantha Werth, PhD, executive director of the USRSB. “I am proud of the work our membership is pursuing to drive progress across all facets of the beef value chain.” In addition to robust discussions and networking opportunities, which included an evening rooftop reception and option between two pre-meeting Beef Industry Sustai

Family diversifies tricentennial dairy farm

Meet Robbie and Shannon Dygert, 13th-generation dairy farmers of Dygert Farms in Palatine Bridge, New York, an operation that has been in the family for more than 300 years. The original farmstead was deeded to the family in 1723 by the British royal family and has been run as a dairy ever since. Robbie and Shannon took over ownership of the farm in 2009 to steer it into the fourth century of operation. Robbie and Shannon started milking 50 cows in a tie stall barn. Since then, they have gradually expanded the operation to milking 250 cows, housed in two freestalls, and converted the old tiestall barn into a double-eight parallel milking parlor. Looking for ways to diversify the farm, the Dygerts established Dygert Farms Creamery in 2015 with the hope they would one day bottle and sell their own milk. In the early days of the creamery, Robbie and Shannon bought and distributed milk to local businesses and through home delivery, which also allowed them to build their customer base. Th

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service