Crop disease ... Getting outa hand ?

[furrowtickler]

I know it's supposed to be all about conditions, but ..... After what we seen with root rot in peas, and definite links to other factors , one must look at what other factors are going on in all our crops.
Even here, with limited rain fall in June and July , below average for sure with basically only 3 decent rains all growing season , certain crop diseases were at levels far higher than expected.
Fuz has spread like wildfire even into traditional dry areas very fast and hard.
We had sclerotina in this area after two dryish growing seasons. And no , our crop canopy was not wet from dew everyday - not even close.
This may be out there, but there is supposed to be a link done in North Dakota with fusarium levels and glyphosate. The higher the use rates of glyphosate the higher the levels of fusarium. There is also a link with glyphosate and SDS in soybeans.
It is getting to be well known now that certain , or most herbicides , are tying up nutrient uptake in crops a lot more than we are told . Thus effecting plant health and leading to a "must use of fungicides" as a band aid to fix a problem that should not be nearly as severe as it is .
Just trying to get a broader look at what is going on. We have had wet summers before with not nearly the disease levels we are seeing today.
Most guys fertility levels are far better than in the past and crops should be healthier or at least be able to hold off disease much better than they are.
Something just does not seem right , I had a gut feeling on the root rot in peas and I was right . But I may be wrong on this topic with fusarium, sclerotina and other diseases getting much worse than weather conditions allow but what do others think?
I think micro nutrients are going to play a much bigger role than most think in maintaining crop health.
When fungicides do not help at all , as some here have seen , something is off balance.
I am a firm believer that the standard "it's just the weather conditions" answer from most Chem reps is not the right one - at all.
If we as farmers don't start to look at this issue a little deeper , there will be very limited options to what we can grow for crops in the very near future. It is already that way in some areas.
We can not "spray our way" out of this with fungicides IMO or rely on seed treatments anymore... That is a fact showing its ugly head the past two years.
Do they help , sometimes yes, but they are becoming less effective.

[SASKFARMER3]

Tillage tillage and tillage.

Had experiments this year with Fungicides and Canola some fields not tilled last fall some tilled. Results so far is tillage fields had less issues than the strait heavy straw fields.

Years ago we had min disease before we started to direct seed.

We have been trying to get over all land in fall at least once before freeze up.

This year again fields worked turned out better in yield and disease results. Canola 1 in 30 plants average on 320 acres vs 5 or higher for others.

Yes the chemical is hit and miss.

Sooner or later disease is going to wipe out a lot of crop.

[cottonpicken]

My 2 cents which is all its worth,has anybody done work on micro-nutrient manly minerals and disease?

[cottonpicken]

Wheres Klause been?

[SASKFARMER3]

Disease has been funny but one thing that I have found is the Canola test does work and can save a farmer some money with spray or don't spray!

[Guest]

it's still hit and miss though? we had 3 years rain in one summer and still ended up with 45 bpa peas and 60-65 bpa #1 wheat here . crop was soaked all summer , never dried . I just don't get it ? the peas and wheat were both on zero till canola stubble . I would of bet anything wheat was garbage and peas should of floated away . maybe we were too wet for disease , wished I knew ? we use lots of glyphos ?

[SASKFARMER3]

Similar here with Lots of Glyphos and wet all summer. If you walked any day through the crop your pants shoes were soaked.

[furrowtickler]

One thing that stops my train of thought though is guys that seeded durum on pasture breaking that still had high disease levels . So maybe just have to deal with it ??
But when one adds up the extra cost of multiple fungicides, high land rents / cost and top it off with additional carbon taxes then get side swiped with Mother Nature - maybe the guys selling out are the smart ones ??
Many producers in western Canada are going to be wearing out Alota pencils this winter trying to make a plan for next year .
When tough harvests like this happen , this one may be exceptional because it is so wide spread , it shows why the whole Ag industry needs to stop the June , July, August hard push to sell inputs for the next spring. This is exactly why the Mid October selling season used to work fine.
A lot more sound decisions can be made now than back before harvest even started.

[furrowtickler]

Good point caseih, S/F . Our wettest year in the past 10 was our best , then the pea wreck , but no disease in wheat or canola.
The past two years were on the dry side and seen disease levels that should not have been there in this area this year.
Maybe it is just a crap shot I am not sure.

[SASKFARMER3]

Yea i sit at my office desk some days and wonder a lot if I should sell out or stick this out another go round.

Mother nature dictates our outcome and she has been one mean bitch lately.

Funny this time its over such a vast area its scary.

I looked back and thought when we could of went extra and came up with two quarters more than I have done. 300 acres would have been 10% of what I have left. Really nothing when you look at it.

But leaving that much out is sickening.

[farmaholic]

Furrow. ..re: durum seeded into pasture breaking. I believe there are lots of non "crop" plant species that can "host" the diseases that ravage our crops. Then we do what Grassfarmer calls "monoculture" and everything in the field.is susceptible! If all sides of the disease triangle are present, innoculum and susceptible host and the right environmental conditions...bang- you have a problem. Also take into consideration spores can move with the wind....how far? I don't know but none of us farm on an island.

[furrowtickler]

Ya I understand that , but just seems like an onslaught of every disease the past few years . I just feel something else is causing it to be far worse than it is or should be .

[ajl]

The combination of grossly erratic weather, rising disease levels, increasing competition from the black sea, along with greater input supplier concentration at home all adds up to sell before the suckers are out of cash. The only thing that is keeping Canadian farmland values supported is the prospect of another cut in interest rates along with the dollar dropping to $0.50 US which could happen.

[jwab]

I realize it is most likely due to the increased moisture across the prairies for quite some time now but is it possible rising disease levels have anything to do with rising fungicide use?

[biglentil]

Latest study on grainews says yes more diseased kernels with early and repeated fungicide. Would you give a young child a good dose of antibiotics as a precautionary measure? There is evidence that suggests vaccinated mothers do not pass on their natural immunity to new borns like unvaccinated mothers do. Its very possible that we are damaging future generations of seeds immunity. Haven't sprayed my Glenn wheat seed with any fungi or used seed treat in 10 years and virtually 0 fuz in all those years. 2 or better grade every single year.