New flax growers website

The Manitoba Flax Growers Association has launched a new website to provide price and marketing information, industry news and research updates. The new web address is www.mfga.ca. “Our vision is a sustainable, vibrant industry with premium prices so Manitoba farmers choose to grow flax,” said association chair Eric Fridfinnson in a release. “Our new website

Scientists are watching Ug99 closely

Wheat experts are stepping up monitoring of a crop disease first found in Africa in 1999 to minimize the spread of a deadly fungus that is also a threat in Asia, experts said Aug. 31. A “Rust-Tracker,” using data supplied by farmers and scientists, could now monitor the fungus in 27 developing nations across 42


Fungicide season has begun

Flag leaf stage applications provide the best protection Winter wheat is at, or near the stage, for applying fungicides to protect it from various leaf diseases and spring wheat isn’t far behind, says Holly Derksen, a plant pathologist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives (MAFRI). Some winter wheat fields were at the flag-leaf stage

New fungicide options available this year

There are a couple new fungicide combinations available to Manitoba farmers this year and perhaps a new one if final regulatory approval comes in time. BASF’s Twinline combines the active ingredients in the fungicides Headline (Group 11) and Caramba (Group 3) into one jug. The product controls a number of cereal diseases including leaf, stem


Rust arrives ahead of usual

Leaf rust appears to be showing up on winter and spring cereals earlier than usual this year, Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives May 25 insect and disease report says. There have been reports of rust on spring and winter wheat in the Dauphin-Grandview area. “It is unknown whether the pathogen overwintered in the area

Stripe Rust Overwinters In Alberta For The First Time

Stripe rust hit Alberta winter wheat hard last year, after it overwintered there for the first time. Plant pathologists blame the insulating effect of the deep, persistent snow cover we had last winter for the stripe rust fungus surviving in southern Alberta. The fungus infected the winter wheat and spread into spring wheat, limiting the


DuPont Has Two New Fungicides Coming

Near Carman DuPont expects two of its new fungicides will commercially available to Manitoba farmers next year, and says more is to come. There s lots new coming from DuPont, Dave Kloppenburg, DuPont s launch manager for new insecticides and fungicides said Aug. 3 at the company s research farm. The message is next year,

Dual Action Against Fusarium

Anew broad-spectrum fungicide with two Group 3 actives against leaf and head disease in wheat and barley is billed as the “most effective” fungicide to suppress fusarium head blight. Bayer CropScience Canada has announced registration in Western Canada for its tebuconazole and prothioconazole product, Prosaro, to be available at participating ag retailers for the 2011


Best In The West

AC Metcalfe, a two-row malting barley variety, is the winner of Seed of the Year – West in 2010, the Western Grains Research Foundation has announced. Part of the western award is a scholarship for $4,000 awarded to a student enrolled in a western Canadian university and currently completing a masters or PhD in plant

Heritage wheat more rust resistant than modern ones

Walk with Gary Martens down a row of test plots the length of a football field and you’re walking backwards in time through the history of wheat in Western Canada. Start with the latest varieties: Carberry (introduced in 2009) and Waskada (2007). A little farther down you meet Glenlea (1972) and Manitou (1965). Still farther