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: 139

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

U.S. Opens Door to Additional Beef Imports in Bid to Lower Ground Beef Prices

U.S. has unveiled a temporary measure allowing additional imported beef into the United States without higher tariff penalties.

Crop Report for the Period August 11 to 17, 2026

Harvest progress remained slow last week, reaching four per cent complete as scattered rain showers and thunderstorms moved across the province. While the moisture was welcome in some regions, early-morning humidity shortened harvest windows and created poor desiccation conditions. Producers noted that warmer temperatures are needed to help advance crop maturity. Rainfall was variable across the province last week. Some areas reported receiving significant precipitation from scattered showers and thunderstorms, while others recorded trace or no rainfall, resulting in uneven moisture conditions across crop districts. The highest rainfall was reported in the Browning area, with 115 millimetres (mm) of rain, followed by the Enniskillen area with 106 mm and the Coalfields area with 102 mm. The Reciprocity and Meadow Lake areas reported 73 mm. Localized showers resulted in slight improvements to topsoil moisture conditions across the province. Cropland topsoil moisture is: 2 per cent s

Hail, harvest & inspection strips

With harvest fast approaching in some areas of the province, producers with hail-damaged crops are starting to wonder if Agriculture Financial Services’ (AFSC) claims adjusters will make it to their farm before they need to start harvest. “Our adjusters are working hard to assess hail damage,” said George Kueber, AFSC Claims Adjusting manager. “This year’s storm season is a bit unprecedented. We had two large scale hail events back-to-back on July 4 and 5. We haven’t had claims volumes like this since 2016. “We can’t get to everyone immediately,” said Kueber, adding that there are 2,951 outstanding hail inspections as of August 18. “We prioritize our work based on a number of factors and with harvest getting underway across the province, we will be asking clients to leave representative strips.” Producers with hail-damaged acres can harvest before the crop is assessed, provided they contact their preferred AFSC branch office for approval to leave inspection strips before starting a

Making memories with Meals in the Field

It started over breakfast. And by the time it was over, George and Gail Slusarczyk had welcomed a circle of their friends to their farm to share a meal, watch some live entertainment, and to catch up with one another. “I filled out the form over breakfast one day and submitted it, and walked away from the idea to never think of it again,” explained Gail, during a recent phone conversation. “Then one day, he (George) came in the house and said, ‘We’re getting company.’ And I’m going, ‘Who?’” The answer was the 840 CFCW Meals in the Field crew, including Jackie Rae Greening, Stella Stevens and Dan Davidson, as well as Agriculture Financial Services (AFSC) team members. In addition, Stawnichy’s Mundare Sausage brought a Ukrainian feast, and the Slusarczyks received prizes from Rig Hand Distillery, AFSC, and Meridian Manufacturing. George and Gail, who farm northwest of Warburg, had won the last spot for 2025 in the popular harvest season contest, and they could now invite friends and

Bertha Armyworms, Weeds and Sclerotinia

Bertha armyworm is a native pest so it has lots of natural enemies. If berthas are below thresholds, it may be best to avoid spraying and let these beneficials do their work. A few important beneficials:  –tachinid fly  –parasitic wasp (Banchus flavescens)  –fungus  –virus Among these beneficials, the virus is mostly likely to bring down an outbreak cycle. Infected berthas climb to the top of plants, go all gooey, and rain down virus on the worms below. It can spread fast. If a canola field has a lot of berthas on the pods, make sure they’re actually eating. A lot of them may be dead. Bertha loves quinoa (and a few weeds) Why are some fields overrun with berthas while nearby fields have so few? Timing of canola flowering and the attraction of alternate host plants (weeds in the crop) are possible factors. For example, fields with a lot of kochia, lamb's-quarters, wild mustard or quinoa could be more attractive to egg-laying bertha armyworm moths. (Quinoa is not that common but bert

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service