Manitoba’s fusarium fortunes are a mixed bag, according to Manitoba Agriculture.
Some cereal growers are grappling with high levels, while others report little to no trouble with the fungal disease. Some in central Manitoba report cereals downgraded to Grade 2, the Sept. 3 provincial crop report noted.
Why it matters: Fusarium levels in Manitoba are affecting grain quality for some growers, influencing market prices and harvest decisions.
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“We did see fusarium throughout the province, and the actual incidence of fusarium — the amount of fusarium that we saw in a field — ranged from zero, some fields had no fusarium, upwards of fairly high levels of fusarium,” said Anne Kirk, cereals specialist with Manitoba Agriculture.
Incidence should not be confused with severity, she cautioned. Recent surveys identified a number of fusarium instances, but severity in most cases was low.
“Maybe only one spikelet on each spike actually had fusarium-infected kernels on it.”
Infected kernels tend to be lighter and are often blown out the back of the combine at harvest, Kirk said.
Despite the notation in the provincial crop report, most grain elevator managers in Manitoba say they haven’t seen significant fusarium issues in initial samples and downgrades are few.
Jeremy Pullinger, operator at the Delmar Commodities elevator in Gladstone, Man., said few samples have had a fusarium problem so far, similar to what he saw in 2023.
At Linear Grain Elevator in Carman, Ryan McKnight has noticed more fusarium in spring wheat than in other years. That led to some declines in grade, he noted, but that hasn’t been common.
“We are hearing a little bit about some higher (fusarium levels) found in barley, but … we haven’t had any real problems so far in the Carman area,” he said.
A more comprehensive picture of fusarium severity will emerge in October, when the province publishes its crop diseases surveys, Kirk noted. She and other specialists have been collecting samples and investigating disease across Manitoba.
More data will also be available in quality reports from the Canadian Grain Commission.
